LAS CRUCES, N.M. – After a successful four-game homestand, the New Mexico State men's basketball team hits the road for a pair of critical games. Up first for the Aggies will be Utah Valley on Thursday, Feb. 15, for a 7 p.m. (MT) tip-off on the WAC Digital Network.
 
GET CONNECTED
Get up to the minute information and news about the NM State men's basketball team all season on Twitter and Instagram by following @NMStateMBB and on Facebook at FB.com/NMStateMBB.
 
LISTEN UP!
Aggie fans that can't make it to Thursday's contest can catch the game by listening to NM State Athletics/US Bank Hall of Famer Jack Nixon on 99.5 Zia Country and affiliate stations on the Aggie Sports Network listed below.
 
Alamogordo      103.7 FM KNMZ
Albuquerque     1150 AM KNMM
Carlsbad            1240 AM KAMQ
El Paso              1380 AM KHEY
Gallup                1230 AM, 94.9 FM KYVA
Las Vegas          107.1 FM KMDS
 
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
On top of immortalizing himself in the Aggie basketball history books last Saturday, senior Jemerrio Jones may have immortalized himself in the NCAA record books as well. At the end of last Saturday's game, the 6-5 forward finished with a line of 27 points and 20 rebounds. That was his third-straight game with 20 rebounds.
 
The back-to-back-to-back 20-rebound games by Jones made him the only player this century to do such while ESPN Stats & Info and Stats Inc. have confirmed he's the only player to do so since their database began in 1997.
 
Jones also joins elite company in the NM State history books, becoming just the third player to have three games with 20 rebounds or more in a single-season. Sam Lacey did it twice in his career during the 1968-69 (3) and 1969-70 (5) seasons and while Billy Joe Price did it during the 1958-59 (3) season.
 
TOP ATHLETIC PROGRAMS
New Mexico State is part of a very small group of athletic departments that had its football program win a football game and men's basketball program have 22-plus wins.  Through games on Feb. 12, NM State along with Ohio State, Michigan State and Purdue as the only athletic departments to have accomplish such feat.
 
If you expand it to 20 or more wins in men's basketball, Boise State, Duke and MTSU join the elite group of athletic departments with a bowl win and 20-plus wins in men's basketball for the 2017-18 academic year.
 
UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
Upon its return next week to the Pan American Center the following week, Aggie fans will have their final chance to get a special edition Aggie snapback hat in the series for this season at the Thursday game on Feb. 22. The first 1,000 Aggie fans will get the final hat in the series.
 
Meanwhile, the game on Saturday, Feb. 24, will be senior day as NM State honors its four seniors in Jemerrio Jones, Johnathon Wilkins, Joe Garza and Zach Lofton.
 
At halftime of Saturday's game against UMKC on Feb. 24, New Mexico State Athletics will honor the three new inductees into the US Bank/NM State Athletics Hall of Fame. This year's inductees include Hoku Nohara (2008-11), Jimmy Cottrell (Football, 2002-05) and Alane (Pierce) Stutzman (1983-86). In addition, former Aggie football player and current Doña Ana Sheriff's Deputy Jamar Cotton will attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records for hugs in a minute.
 
BATTLE FOR LEAGUE SUPREMACY
With New Mexico State visiting the two teams tied for second in the Western Athletic Conference standings, it is an understatement to see that this road trip is critical for the Aggies. First up for NM State on its road swing this week is Utah Valley.
 
Since their last meeting on Jan. 20 in Las Cruces, the Wolverines have gone 2-2 in league play with wins over Grand Canyon and Chicago State. UVU's losses have come at the hands of Seattle U and UMKC, both of which came on the road.
 
Utah Valley is currently 6-3 in WAC play and 17-8 overall on the year and have outscored opponents by 13.2 points in league action and have a 3.1 advantage on the boards against conference foes.
 
Akolda Manyang leads the group of starters in double-figure scoring with 14.0 points per game while Kenneth Ogbe is right behind at 13.3 points per game. Conner Toolson, the team's leading scorer in WAC play (13.7 ppg) is averaging 12.2 points on the year while his cousin Jake Toolson is averaging 11.9 points. Brandon Randolph rounds out the list of double-digit scorers for UVU with 10.6 points per game.
 
Randolph paces the Wolverine offense with 118 dimes on the year while Manyang leads the team with 8.7 boards per game and 57 blocks on the year.
 
TOURNAMENT SEEDING ON THE LINE
With the WAC Tournament just weeks away, New Mexico State can clinch the No. 1 overall seed this weekend if it can defeat both Utah Valley and Seattle U. Should the Aggies sweep both teams, the Wolverines and Redhawks will have four losses with three games remaining on the schedule.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies were put to the test for the first time since their game at UC Irvine on Dec. 28 this past Saturday against a Grand Canyon team that battled New Mexico State 'til the bitter end. However, NM State prevailed in a 74-70 thriller at home in front of a sellout crowd thanks to its defense that held GCU to just 1-of-8 in the final 4:58 minutes of play.
 
New Mexico State also outscored the Lopes 21-7 in the final 7:31 minutes of play en route to its victory. AJ Harris was one of the heroes down the stretch, hitting the three-ball the tied the game up at 64-64 as well as the offensive board that led to the go-ahead layup. NM State finished the final 4:58 minutes of play hitting 8-of-10 from the free-throw line thanks to Zach Lofton, Keyon Jones and Harris.
 

UP NEXT
New Mexico State remains on the road as it travels to the Pacific Northwest for a 2 p.m. (MT) tilt against the Redhawks of Seattle U on Saturday, Feb. 17, at KeyArena on the WAC Digital Network