LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The NM State men's basketball team returns to action after the Christmas break with a 7 p.m. tip-off against in-state foe Eastern New Mexico on Tuesday, Dec. 27, for Canada Night.
 
GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS
Tuesday night's game will be the second opportunity Aggie fans will have to take advantage of the 4 for $40 ticket special – which includes four tickets, four hot dogs and four soft drinks for just $40. In addition, there will be plenty of in-game promotions revolved around the night's theme with head coach Paul Weir hailing from Canada with four fellow Canucks on the NM State roster.
 
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
 
RPI CHECK
After debuting at 94 in the first RPI ranking by the NCAA on Dec. 6, NM State is now sitting at No. 67, good for the highest amongst Western Athletic Conference teams through games on Dec. 17. Utah Valley, who debuted at No. 88 to lead the WAC, is now sitting at No. 204.
 
UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
For its final game of the 2016 calendar year, NM State will host its Hispanic Heritage Night in conjunction with the Las Cruces Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Friday, Dec. 30, as it hosts the second meeting against Battle of I-10 rival UTEP.
 
GREYHOUNDS ARRIVE IN LAS CRUCES
Entering Tuesday's contest, NM State leads the all-time series against Eastern New Mexico 20-4 and have won eight-consecutive games. The Aggies took the last meeting 86-76 on Lou Henson Court back in 2004 while the Greyhounds haven't won in Las Cruces since 1951 – a 42-33 contest in favor of ENMU.
 
The Greyhounds recently snapped their five-game losing streak with an 80-70 victory over Texas Wesleyan at home on Dec. 17, leaving Eastern New Mexico at 5-8 overall on the year and 0-4 in Lone Star Conference play.
 
ENMU is averaging 76.1 points as a team, but have allowed opponents to score 79.3 points per game. Its .414 shooting clip is also relatively high, but foes are also shooting .442 from the floor. However, Eastern New Mexico is out-rebounding its opponents by 1.0 and has a turnover margin of plus 0.5.
 
Marquise Harris paces all players with 15.6 points per game while CoRnell Neal is right on his tails with 15.5 points per game. Neal, however, paces the squad in assists (47) and steals (18) while Harris is tied for second in the steals department with 16 with Joe Clarke. On the glass, Chris Lewis is pulling down a team-high 8.0 per game while Andre Hughes is second on the team with 6.2 rebounds per game.
 
AGGIE BASKETBALL TO HONOR SHAWN HARRINGTON
The NM State Athletic Department will honor former Aggie Shawn Harrington at its Jan. 21 game against UMKC. Harrington, who played in Las Cruces from 1995-96, was recruited by former Aggie assistant Rus Bradburd – who currently serves as the analyst for home Aggie basketball games.
 
For a more in-depth read on Harrington's story, read The New York Times article by Joe Nocera by clicking here.
 
LAST TIME OUT
With the game tied at 74 and 2:54 left to play in overtime, Braxton Huggins and Jemerrio Jones teamed up for 12 points as the Aggies survived a pesky UC Irvine team 85-79 last Monday in the Pan American Center.
 
UCI (5-8) struck first in the overtime period, but was answered with a short jumper from Jones in the paint. After a miss from the Anteater's John Edgar Jr, Huggins drained back-to-back 3-pointers followed by a nice layup from Jones that gave NM State (11-2) the 82-74 lead and 34 seconds left to play.
 
A three from Edgar Jr. cut the Aggie lead to 82-77 with 27 seconds remaining as UCI head coach Russell Turner immediately called the timeout. A free throw from Jermaine Haley followed by two from Huggins sealed the deal with 12 seconds remaining.
 
UP NEXT
The Aggies will wrap up its 2016 non-conference schedule per say with the second installment in the Battle of I-10 at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 30, in the Pan American Center. NM State took the first meeting in El Paso, 79-68, behind a game-high 20 points from senior Ian Baker. It was also in that same game that Baker recorded his 1,000th career point as an Aggie in the second-half.