LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Rocking the nation's second-longest active win-streak and the nation's second-best record (22-2), the New Mexico State men's basketball embarks on a critical two-game road swing. The first challenge for the Aggies will be CSU Bakersfield, who is second in the conference standings on Thursday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m. (MT).
 
Mychal Clanton will have the call on the ESPN3 broadcast while Sed Bonner serves as the analyst on Thursday's game.
 
The 20-game winning-streak for NM State is the nation's second-longest win-streak and trails just Gonzaga (24). Cincinnati now owns the third-longest winning-streak in the country with 14-straight wins through Monday (Feb. 6) while Belmont (13) and Vermont (13) are tied for the fourth-longest winning-streak.
 
UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
The final opportunity for Aggie fans to take advantage of the 4-For-$40 ticket promotion will be for the Utah Valley game on Thursday, Feb. 23., at 7 p.m. Fans get four tickets, four soft drinks and four hot dogs for the price of $40. Two days later, the Aggies will honor its 2017 US Bank/NM State Hall of Fame class at halftime of the Seattle U game on Saturday, Feb. 25.
 
GET CONNECTED
Get up to the minute information and news about the NM State men's basketball team all season on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by following @AggieArmy.
 
LISTEN UP!
Aggie fans that can't make it to the game can listen to NM State Athletics/US Bank Hall of Famer Jack Nixon Saturday night on 99.5 Zia Country and affiliate stations. Fans can also listen to the game live with their mobile or tablet device on the TuneIn app for free. The game will be available on following affiliate stations as well:
 
Alamogordo      103.7 FM KNMZ
Albuquerque     101.7 FM KQTM
Carlsbad           1240 AM KAMQ
Gallup               1230 AM, 94.9 FM KYVA
Las Vegas         107.1 FM KMDS
 
WAC SHOWDOWN SET FOR THURSDAY
Thursday's meeting between New Mexico State and CSU Bakersfield pits the No. 1 and No. 2 team in the Western Athletic Conference on ESPN3. The Aggies enter the anticipated showdown 8-0 in league action while the 'Runners are 6-1 with their only loss to NM State.
 
In their last contest in Las Cruces, CSUB led by as many as nine points in the first-half before NM State walked away with the 63-58 victory. Ian Baker had a team-high 13 points thanks to an 8-of-9 shooting night from the line. The Aggie duo of Eli Chuha and Jemerrio Jones chipped in with 12 points apiece to go along with their double-doubles. Jones posted 16 boards, including eight on the offensive glass, while Chuha pulled down 14 rebounds – 10 of which were on the offensive end.
 
The 'Runners have four players averaging in double-figures with Jaylin Airington lead the pack with 14.7 points per game. Damiyne Durham is second on the team in scoring with 13.8 points per game while Dedrick Basile (12.7 ppg) and Matt Smith (11.0 ppg) round out the list of double-digit scorers. Smith is the team's leading rebounder with 5.9 rebounds per game while Airington is second with 5.2 boards per game.
 
Airington (14.9 ppg) still leads CSUB in scoring through seven games in league play while Smith (14.6 ppg) checks in second followed by Basile (12.4 ppg). Smith is averaging 7.3 boards in WAC play as well to lead CSUB followed by Airington at 5.0 boards per game.
 
HALL OF FAME INDUCTION DINNER
The New Mexico State Athletics Department will formally enshrine Jackie Choi Parker, Gwladys Nocera, James Moore and Billy Joe Price into the US Bank/NM State Hall of Fame on Friday, Feb. 20, in the Pan American Center.
 
Tickets are $40 per person for the special event, which is set to begin with a social hour at 6 p.m. (MT) followed by dinner at 7 p.m. and dessert.
 
To attend the event or for more information, please contact coordinator for special events and community engagement, Nicole Gomez, at 575-646-8050 or by email at nicolemg@nmsu.edu.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The NM State men's basketball team throttled Chicago State this past Saturday in the Pan American Center with an 86-51 victory. The Aggies fired on all cylinders out of the gates to take a 16-0 lead and never looked back.
 
During the first-half onslaught, seven different Aggies recorded points while 16-of-20 shots were assisted on.  NM State also knocked down 8-of-15 from downtown en route to a 49-23 lead at the half.
 
New Mexico State cleared its bench in the second half and saw all 11 active players score. The Aggies led by as much as 35 points (72-37) thanks to a breakaway lay-up from Matt Taylor after Chicago State turned the ball over before ending the game 86-51.
 
Taylor finished with a career-high 15 points and tied his season-high in rebounds with seven. Braxton Huggins chipped in with 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from three while Ian Baker added 13 points. Redshirt freshman Jermaine Haley flirted with a triple-double, ending his night with nine points, eight assists and six rebounds.
 
UP NEXT
New Mexico State will have a short turnaround as it hops on a plane for Phoenix, where it'll face Grand Canyon on Saturday, Feb. 11. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on the ESPN3 broadcast at GCU Arena.