NM State secures second win in WAC/CUSA Challenge.
Source: NMSU Athletics
Photo By Emilio Garcia for NMSU: Courtesy
LAS CRUCES, N.M – After coming off a tough road loss against Texas, the Aggies were looking for a positive momentum swing going into a five-game home stand that would start off with a battle against a familiar foe in Southern Utah. Using a balanced scoring attack that featured four Aggies in double-digits, NM State staved off a late SUU run to win 72-69 from the Pan American Center.
NM State opened the game with a purpose as they jumped out to an 11-3 lead thanks to a hot start which included Peter Filipovity, Robert Carpenter and Christian Cookcombining to go 4-of-5 from the field across the first 3:40. During the opening stretch, Filipovity hit a pair of jumpers while also coming up with a steal to trigger a fastbreak which resulted in a dunk for Cook who logged his first points of the evening.
Southern Utah absorbed the first blow and responded with an extended 10-2 run to pull even with the Aggies at 13 points with just under 11 minutes remaining in the period. Later, back-to-back buckets from Carpenter would help the Aggies take hold of a six-point lead with 6:07 remaining on the clock. SUU would erase the Aggie lead with six unanswered points of its own to set the score at 26 all heading into the final stretch of the first half. In the closing four minutes of the stanza, the Aggies received a pair of threes from Dionte Bostick and Chrsitian Cook, however, the Thunderbirds were able to close out the period on a 7-3 run to carry a one-point advantage into the locker room.
Through 20 minutes, the two sides were nearly even in every category as both sides hit exactly 13 field goals, and three three-pointers while committing eight turnovers each.
Like the dachshunds that participated in the much-anticipated half-time wiener dog race, NM State sprinted out of the gates in the second half as seven points from Zawdie Jackson and six points from Christian Cook fueled a 15-2 Aggie scoring run across the first four minutes and two seconds of the second half. The run that was capped off by a big and-one for Cook, gave the Aggies a 12-point advantage after trailing by one entering the break.
Physicality combined with a quicker whistle would slow down the pace across the following four minutes of action as the two sides combined to attempt eight free throws in between the under-16 and under-12 media timeout. The Aggies would still emerge from this stretch with a 54-41 lead.
Unfortunately, this lead would quickly disappear as Southern Utah later generated an 11-0 run to trim the deficit to just one point while forcing an NM State timeout with 8:27 left to play. Finally, a second-chance layup from Peter Filipovitywould end the run as he got his defender in the air to create an uncontested layup opportunity. This put the Aggies ahead by three with just under seven minutes left on the clock. On the following possession, a quick two-handed jam from Jamari Sibley would help the Thunderbirds tie the contest 63-63. With the pressure on, the Aggies turned to consistent scorers, as Christian Cook sank a jumper followed by a tough right-handed finish from none other than Zawdie Jackson with 18 seconds left. This put the Crimson & White ahead 70-66, a lead they would not relinquish – even as the Thunderbirds put in a 3-pointer as the final buzzer sounded. With the 72-69 win, NM State improves to 5-6 on the season, while taking both contests in the WAC/CUSA Challenge.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- The Aggies turned in an efficient performance from the free-throw line, converting at a season high clip, knocking down 14-of-16 attempts (87.5%).
- Jason Hooten‘s squad held the visiting Thunderbirds to 69 points on Monday night, the fourth-lowest output by an NM State opponent this season, and the third lowest versus Division I competition.
- NM State came away victorious against Southern Utah 72-69 while taking a season-low 17 attempts from 3-point range, making six triples at a 35% rate.
- Winning the rebounding battle by eight, the Aggies held SUU to 26 rebounds, a season low for Aggie opponents.
- Finishing the night with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, Peter Filipovity secured a new season-high in scoring, surpassing 15 tallied on the road against #22 Dayton.
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