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Filipovity and Carpenter combine for 42, but Aggies fall short.
Source: NMSU Athletics
Photo: Courtesy
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The New Mexico State Aggies fought valiantly but came up just short in an 80-77 loss to Kennesaw State in the Conference USA Basketball Championships on Thursday night at Propst Arena. The Aggies and Owls battled in a back-and-forth affair that saw seven ties and five lead changes.
With both teams struggling to score early, Kennesaw State used a trio of free throws and a 3-pointer to jump out to a 7-2 lead. Looking to get something going, Head Coach Jason Hooten turned to his bench as Robert Carpenter went on a 9-0 run on his own to push the Aggies in front 11-7 with a little over six minutes gone.
Carpenter’s run would eventually extend to a 16-2 run with all 16 points coming from the NM State bench – giving the Aggies an 18-9 advantage at the 11:32 mark. Eventually, Kennesaw State got going and pulled within four points following a three from Ricardo Wright. Nate Tshimanga would then account for the next four Aggie points to bring his first half total to six points after averaging just 2.6 points per game during the regular season.
A deep ball from CUSA Freshman of the Year Adrian Wooley would kick start a 9-3 KSU run that gave the Owls a two-point lead before Gabe Pickens went coast to coast in the final seconds of the half to pull the Aggies even at 34 entering the locker room.
In the first half, the Aggies shot 44% (12-27) from the floor while limiting the Owls to just 35% (9-26). In total, 25 of the Aggies’ 34 first half points came from the bench, including 12 from Robert Carpenter who paced all Aggies during the first 20 minutes of action.
Kennesaw State’s Simeon Cottle got the Owls going early in the second half as he tallied seven points during a 15-3 KSU run across the first five minutes of action, putting the Aggies in a 12-point hole.
With pendulum swaying in the direction of the Owls, Peter Filipovity put the Aggies on his back and helped propel the Aggies on a 14-2 run that allowed NM State to tie the game at 51 with 11:22 remaining on the clock. During the stretch, the Maine transfer recorded eight of the Aggies last nine points and was a force on the offensive glass, hauling in a pair of offensive rebounds.
The Owls would eventually rebuild their lead back to five points (61-55) with just over eight minutes to play before consecutive threes from Christian Cook and Robert Carpenter played a part in the Aggies gaining a 63-61 advantage with 5:40 to play.
The physicality then increased as 11 of the ensuing 18 combined points came from the charity stripe. With the Aggies facing a 73-72 deficit and less than three minutes remaining on the clock, true freshman Gabe Pickens drained a massive shot from downtown to cut the lead to one point.
NM State would hang around the rest of the way and eventually find itself down by three points and the ball with just 19 seconds on the clock. Following a miss, Jae’Coby Osborne hauled in an offensive rebound and managed to earn an and-one opportunity to tie the game with three seconds on the clock. Unfortunately, the Aggies’ struggles at the free throw line continued as the shot hit the back rim and Kennesaw State was able to secure the defensive board and, ultimately, the 80-77 victory after a pair of late free throws.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- The Aggies’ bench outscored Kennesaw State’s reserves 44-15, including season highs from both Robert Carpenter (21 points) and Nate Tshimanga (10 points).
- NM State finished the game just 15-27 (56%) from the charity stripe while KSU shot 23-29 (79%) from the free throw line.
- Peter Filipovity turned in his fourth 20-plus point performance of the season while matching his career high in free throws made with eight. His eight free throws also matched the second most in a single game by any Aggie this season.
- The Aggies fall to 0-2 all-time in CUSA Tournament games
Las Cruces Digest would like to thank the NMSU Men’s Basketball team for demonstrating courage and grit, and for giving us a team we could get excited about. Thank you!
For complete coverage of NM State Men’s Basketball, visit NMStateSports.com – the official home of Aggie athletics – and follow us on Twitter (@NMStateMBB), Instagram (@NMStateMBB), and like us on Facebook (NMStateMBB).
