ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (Interstat) — The New Mexico Thunderbirds used a dominant second half to defeat the Howard (Tex.) Hawks 80-64 in a men’s junior college basketball game Thursday night. New Mexico erased a halftime deficit by outscoring Howard 47-35 after the break.

Ladji Coulibaly led the Thunderbirds with 18 points and six rebounds. Michael Mackey added 16 points, all in the second half, as New Mexico improved to 16-4. Kuai Deng scored 15 points for the Hawks, who fell to 20-4. New Mexico shot 44.8% from the field and made 11 3-pointers, while Howard was hampered by 35.7% shooting. The Thunderbirds avenged a 73-55 loss to the Hawks on Jan. 12.