NMMI Sports Press

The New Mexico Military Institute Bronco basketball team opened up their annual classic tournament with a lopsided win against the University of the Southwest JV team, 99-66.

All but two of the Institute players scored points in the victory – five in double digits – led by the hot outside touch of freshman point guard Javier Mendoza who had 17 points, including a trio of three-pointers.

"It was good to get a win, but we're going to have to play better defense tomorrow," said head NMMI coach Sean Schooley.

The victory snaps a four-game slide by the Broncos during the second half of November, after a promising start with an overtime win in their first match at home against Ranger College on Nov. 8 and knocking down Weatherford College, a top-10 ranked team, on the road a week later.

 "We had a few solid wins against some excellent teams early, but these last couple of weeks have been tough," continued coach Schooley. "We've got a young team, almost entirely freshmen, and sometimes we play like freshman. Tonight we shot well, especially from behind the arc. But again, we'll need to defend a whole lot better against Trinidad tomorrow."

NMMI hit 50% of their shots from three-point land, 7-of-14, and also looked solid from the rest of the field, with shots dropping in from all over the court, along with a hefty helping of points in the paint.

The Broncos also outrebounded the Mustangs, collecting 43 total boards, compared to 23 by USW.

Mendoza was also NMMI top glass-cleaner with six: one on offense and five on defense.

With the win, the Broncos improve to 4-7 on the season.

They'll take on Trinidad State Junior College tomorrow afternoon at home in their final game of this year's NMMI Classic. Tipoff scheduled for 4 pm in the Cahoon Armory gym on the NMMI campus.