K.C. Ross Miller would start the Game by draining a 3. Chili and Sim scored the next 11 points. Three straight triples followed, two from Aronis & one from Mullings. This put the Aggies up 23-5 over the now shallacked Lobos and their fans, with 13:51 left in the first half.
For the rest of the game UNM would try to make a come back but the Aggies would respond and never give up the lead. Booing and crying wolf were the cheers of the game for UNM fans. Guess this is why they didn't want it on TV.
Way to go Aggies!
Junior guard Daniel Mullings was great on both ends of the court posting 14 points while going 5-of-6 from the free throw line and adding five assists and four steals. Tonight marked the 12th time Mullings tallied double-figures in scoring and the fifth time he has dropped at least five dimes.
The Aggies narrowly outshot New Mexico 37.5 percent to 34.6 percent but the Lobos had one more rebound than NM State (37-36). Three different Aggies scored in double figures and sophomore center Sim Bhullar was huge on the defensive end with five blocks.
NM State started the second half allowing the Lobos to score the first two points but bounced back scoring the next four to take a 43-28 lead. UNM went on a 6-0 run to pull to within nine at the 16:11 mark but the Aggies would not let up holding that nine point lead through the 11:30 mark at 51-40 when Mullings took it to the basket making another lay-up.
The Aggies held UNM without a 3-pointer, which is the first time a team has held the Lobos without a three in 23 years.
“We kept the crowd at bay for most of the game, but they stepped up there at the end, which made it hard for us,” said head coach Marvin Menzies. “It was good that we had some guys step up and that is because we have experience on our team. It is great to come out with a win like this one.”
The Aggies started out on fire taking a 14-2 lead that was capped off with a Bhullar lay-up at the 15:40 mark. After three free throws by the Lobos, Aronis hit a three to put his team up 17-5 with 14:49 left in the half. Both teams exchanged buckets for the next six minutes of play before Dixon hit his first 3-pointer of the season to give the Aggies a 29-17 lead. UNM pulled to within eight at 32-24 with 3:01 in the half but a 7-2 run over the next 1:12, which included five points by Ross-Miller gave the Aggies a 39-26 lead going into the locker room.
NM State shot an outrageous 7-of-12 from behind the 3-point arc in the first half that helped the Aggies take a lead in The Pit for the first time since the 2005-06 season. Aronis led the Aggies with nine first half points going 3-of-5 from 3-point land. Junior Tshilidzi Nephawe added eight points in the first half that included 4-of-6 free throw shooting.
Dating back to 1991, UNM has made a three pointer in every game. That came to an end in the Aggies win as the Lobos would not score a single three the entire game. #AggieUp!
Let the march to March begin.
During the past three weeks, the New Mexico State Aggies were a little out of step. But after Tuesday night’s gritty 67-61 win against New Mexico in the Pit, the cadence is back.
And the Aggies will soon be high-stepping it into a Western Athletic Conference that they should, well, march through with ease.
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