LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The NM State men's basketball team looks to stay undefeated at home in the Pan American Center Tuesday, Nov. 22, at 7 p.m. as it entertains Nicholls State as part of the San Diego Classic.
 
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 on 99.5 Zia Country or listen to the game live with their mobile or tablet device on the TuneIn app for free. In addition, fans can listen to the game on the following affiliate stations:
 
Alamagordo      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
 
GAMEDAY PROMOTION
Fans in attendance for Tuesday night's game will have an opportunity to win tickets to the upcoming Harlem Globetrotter event in the Pan American Center Saturday, Jan. 7, at 7 p.m.
 
BATTLING THE COLONELS
Tuesday's contest between New Mexico State and Nicholls State will be the first meeting between the two teams. The Aggies are 3-2 entering the game while the Colonels are 2-2 on the year after dropping an 81-72 decision to tournament host, San Diego, at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
 
Nicholls returns 7-of-13 players from last year's team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the Southland Conference Tournament. Ja'Dante' Frye are the Colonels leading returner with12.5 points and 4.6 rebounds last season. They also return their second-leading rebounder in Thomas Liam, who pulled 5.2 boards per game while also dishing out 70 assists with 85 blocks. The 7-footer from Australia is also the second-leading scorer to return for Nicholls.
 
Transfer DeAndre Harris currently paces the three double-digit scorers for Nicholls, checking in with 16.5 points per game while JUCO transfer Johnathan Bell sits in second on the team with 13 points per game while leading the Colonels while averaging 8.5 boards. Frye rounds out the list of players averaging double-digits for Nicholls with 11.3 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game.
 
Jahvaughn Powell and Tre O'Neal have been the main distributors for the team, tallying 13 and 12 assists – respectively. However, Bell and Harris are not far behind in the assists column with nine and eight dimes apiece.
 
The Colonels opened up their season with a huge road win over Boston College, 79-73, before falling to UCF on the road 80-56. They then returned home to face Mississippi College in their home-opener, an 86-55 victory, before falling to San Diego this past Sunday.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Career night for Braxton Huggins and Sidy N'Dir on offense guided the New Mexico State men's basketball team past Bethune-Cookman, 89-73, Sunday afternoon in its second game of the University of San Diego Classic.
 
After trailing Bethune-Cookman the first 9:20 minutes of action, NM State (3-2) erupted in the latter part of the first half and went on a 34-8 run to take a 50-29 lead heading into the break. Huggins scored 17 of his career-high 28 points in the opening half on 3-of-3 shooting beyond the arc on top of his 8-of-10 effort behind the line.
 
N'Dir also chipped in with 10 points in the opening stanza – including a thunderous dunk at the 1:11 mark that forced a Wildcat (2-2) timeout.
 
The Aggies' largest lead of the game, 70-44, came at the 11:38 mark when Joe Garza drained a 3-pointer as time expired on the shot clock. From there, NM State managed its lead before cruising to an 89-73 victory over the Wildcats.
 
UP NEXT
The Aggies will finally complete its jam-packed opening stretch of the season on Saturday, Nov. 26, in San Diego, Calif., when they take on San Diego, the tournament host, in the Jenny Craig Pavilion at 3 p.m. (MT).