LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State men's basketball team heads to a familiar venue for its final two games of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic in Orleans Arena this weekend.
 
First up for the Aggies will be the Bulldogs from Drake on Saturday, Dec. 22, at 5:30 p.m. (MT)/4:30 p.m. local on FS2 – which can be found on DTV: 618 | AT&T U-Verse: 651 | DISH: 149 – or by using the Channel Finder.
 
Justin Kutcher (@JustinKutcher) and Jimmy Jackson (@jimjackson419) guide fans throughout the weekend tournament in Sin City on-air with Kutcher on the call and Jackson serving as the analyst.
 
WHERE TO WATCH
In addition, fans with a paid cable subscription can catch the action anywhere on the go through their mobile device using the FOX Sports GO App on both Apple and Android platforms. A live-stream is also available with a paid cable subscription by clicking here.
 
GET CONNECTED
Get up to the minute information and news about the NM State men's basketball team all season long on Twitter and Instagram by following @NMStateMBB and on Facebook at FB.com/NMStateMBB.
 
LISTEN UP!
Aggie fans that can't make it to Saturday's contest match-up 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 or via TuneIn.
 
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
 
QUEEN UP
Transfer Trevelin Queen was finally cleared by the NCAA to play for NM State and suited up its Dec. 17 game against Northern Colorado. The Glen Burnie, Md., native had missed out on the first 10 games of the season and has slowly gained footing on the court in his first two games against the Bears and CSUN.
 
Queen comes to New Mexico State from New Mexico Military Institute where he averaged 26 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists as a sophomore. The 6-6 guard also started in 20-of-21 games he saw action in and started the year with 13-straight games with 20-plus points - including a 41-point performance New Mexico Junior College. He also finished the year with four double-doubles.
 
Prior to NMMI, Queen spent his freshman campaign at College of Marin where he averaged 21.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists. The dynamic guard started his collegiate career with a double-double, posting 16 points and 11 rebounds before tallying 20-plus points in nine-straight games to go with five double-doubles on the year.
 
FEELIN' AT HOME
With the final two games of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic played inside Orleans Arena, the Aggies will have a slight advantage over their opponents as they own an 18-2 overall record when playing games there since the WAC moved its conference tournament to Orleans Arena in 2011.  
 
A LONG TIME COMING…
Should the Aggies get two wins this weekend in Sin City and win the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic Championship, it would be NM State's first tournament crown since winning the 1992 Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska. Aggie legend Sam Crawford was named the tournament MVP after guiding the NM State to victories over Chattanooga (75-65), Oregon (86-75) and Illinois (95-94 in the title game.
 
BATTLE WITH THE BULLDOGS
The Aggies will face a familiar foe in Drake for their third game of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic. NM State owns the all-time series 18-9 over the former Missouri Valley Conference rival. The lone neutral site game between the Aggies and Bulldogs occurred on March 14, 1970, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Ft. Worth, Texas, during NM State's Final Four run.
 
Like New Mexico State, Drake is 2-0 so far after the completion of the campus site games of the tournament. The Bulldogs recently took down Rider this past Wednesday 76-58 at home after taking down SIUE 79-66.
 
The 8-2 start by Drake is its best start to a season since the 2008-09 squad opened that year 8-2 as well. That 08-09 team finished 17-16 overall on the year and 7-11 in league play.
 
Heading into this week's match-up, Nick McGlynn leads the team with a 15.4 points average and 7.3 rebounding average. Not too far off is Nick Norton, who is averaging 14.4 points and 4.4 rebounds while dishing 6.5 assists per game. Rounding out the list of double-digit scorers for Drake is D.J. Wilkins, checking in with a 10.6 points average.
 
So far this season, Drake has picked up wins over Boise State and common opponents in UMKC (66-63) and North Dakota State (95-88).
 
MOVIN' ON UP
Through 11 games on the year, redshirt senior Eli Chuha has 842 points in his career here at NM State and is just 158 points shy of joining the 1,000 points club – which would make him the 35th player in program history to do such.
 
Should Chuha reach the 1,000 points mark, the Redlands, Calif., product would be the 17th player in program history to join the 1,000 points and 500 rebounds club.
 
LAST TIME OUT
NM State cruised to victory this past Wednesday over CSUN 92-57 in the campus portion of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic in the Pan American Center. The Aggies were led by Keyon Jones, who hit 7-of-11 shots from beyond the arc for a team-high 21 points. He was joined by AJ Harris (11), Eli Chuha (10), Ivan Aurrecoechea (10) and Robert Brown (10) on the list of Aggies that recorded double-digit points.
 
The 35-point victory margin was tied for the largest this season, matching it with the 100-65 victory over Battle of I-25 rival New Mexico at home on Dec. 4. It was also the first time NM State had drilled 15 triples in a single-game since hitting 15 against Utah Valley at home on Jan. 20 of this past season.

FINAL | Aggie offense too much for CSUN in 92-57 rout!@RealKayJones: 21pts (7-11 3FG)@FAMOUS_AMOS12: 11pts, 4asts@Elichuha22: 10pts, 9rebs@ivanaurre15: 10pts@_robertb15: 10pts (4-4 FG)#AggieUp | #PanAm50 pic.twitter.com/LsgJHtHHGu

— NM State MBB (@NMStateMBB) December 20, 2018

 
LOOKING AHEAD
After a short holiday break, the Aggies will hit the road to Ft. Collins, Colo., for their final game of the 2018 calendar year at Colorado State. New Mexico State will look for its first win ever at Moby Arena when the two duke it out for the second time in three years on Sunday, Dec. 30, at 2 p.m. (MT) on the AT&T Sports Network.
 
UP NEXT
Should the Aggies defeat Drake on Saturday, they'll play the winner between Washington State and San Diego on Sunday, Dec. 23, at 5:30 p.m. (MT) on FS1. A loss against the Bulldogs would place the Aggies in the 8 p.m. (MT) game on Sunday, Dec. 23, on FS2.