NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - CSUN's TJ Starks buried a three-pointer with 20 seconds remaining to give his team its only lead of the second half, Donnie Tillman misfired on a potential game-tying three-pointer with seconds to go and NM State dropped a 66-63 non-conference decision against the Matadors Monday afternoon.

FIRST HALF
• Taking part in their first game in 26 days, the Aggies shook off a slow start in the opening frame and eventually opened up a double-digit lead.
• After the Matadors began the game with a 5-1 spurt, NM State answered with a 9-0 spurt on the strength of Johnny McCants. The forward drilled a pair of three-pointers and converted a layup during that stretch which put the visitors in front for the remainder of the half.
• The Aggies remained in control and saw their lead balloon to as many as 11 points after McCants drilled another triple with 6:16 left. That made matters 28-17, but the Matadors started chipping away from there.
• A pair of free throw makes by Darius Brown II pulled CSUN within six, 34-28, with 1:29 left but four consecutive foul line makes for the Aggies pushed the visitors' lead back to double-digits.
• Miles Brookins converted a pair of free throw line opportunities with 30 seconds left to whittle NM State's lead down to 38-30 at the break.
• Much of the Aggies' success in the frame came from the foul line where they went 10-of-15 (.667). For his part, Gilyard II put in five of his six tries from that distance during the stanza.

SECOND HALF
• Picking up right where they left off, the Aggies' first point of the final frame came courtesy of two Gilyard II makes at the free throw stripe.
• It took half of the stanza, but the Matadors managed to make matters a one-possession game with 10 minutes to go. Following a fast break layup courtesy of Donnie Tillman that made the score 42-32 Aggies with 16:38 left, NM State didn't convert another field goal for 6:48. CSUN took advantage and used a 10-3 run culminating with Festus Ndumanya splitting a pair of freebies to shrink their deficit to three, 45-42.
• NM State regained control in a big way off of Gilyard II's play. The senior started an 8-0 Aggie run with an old-fashioned three-point play, generated a steal that led to a Wilfried Likayi fast-break layup and splashed a three-pointer with 8:44 left that hiked the Aggies' lead to 53-42.
• McCants showed his lethal long range touch again in order to give the visitors their largest lead of the game. His fifth and final three-pointer with 6:29 left handed the Aggies a 59-47 lead but NM State would hit just two field goals the rest of the way.
• Vante Hendrix captained an 11-2 Matador run over a span of 3:34. Hendrix clawed his team within three, 61-58, with 2:21 left by scoring seven of his team's 11 points during the surge.
• Tillman tossed down a two-handed dunk that extended the Aggies' lead to 63-58 with 1:57 left, but the Aggies missed their last four shots from the field while watching Hendrix set the stage for Starks' go-ahead bucket by scoring four-straight point for the Matadors.

KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• McCants did all he could to keep the Aggies afloat before fouling out with eight seconds remaining. The senior out of Las Cruces, N.M., finished with a game-high 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting. McCants showed off his long range touch in a major way, splashing a career-best five three-pointers but outside of McCants (5-of-10) the Aggies went just 2-of-16 (.125) from long range.
• Tillman tore up the boards all afternoon, pulling down a game and career-high 17 in the Aggies' first setback in over a calendar year. The native of Detroit, Mich., completed his double-double bid with 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting in a team-high 35 minutes of action.
• In the backcourt, Gilyard II led the Aggies' charge at the foul line by going 8-of-9 from that distance to finish with 13 points. The senior suffered from an off night from the field, though, going just 2-of-13.
• Making his Aggie debut, Mayan Kiir finished with two points, and a pair of rebounds in two minutes of action.
• Kalen Williams also stepped onto the floor for the first time in a NM State uniform. The sophomore guard finished with two points and a pair of assists in 21 minutes.
• Starks wrapped up his night with a team high 18 points on 6-of-20 shooting for the Matadors. Including his go-ahead make in the waning seconds, he finished 1-of-9 from three-point range.
• Brown II (12), Alex Merkviladze (11) and Vante Hendrix (11) each chipped in double-digit points for the Matadors to help them stop a two-game skid.
• The Aggies' school record-tying 21-game winning streak came to a halt as a result of the loss, too. It's NM State's first setback since Dec. 14, 2019 when they dropped a 69-62 decision at in-state rival New Mexico.
• NM State put up shooting splits of .317/.269/.727 in the loss while the Matadors' marks of .333/.222/.800 weren't much gaudier.

COMING UP NEXT
• NM State is in the midst of trying to schedule more games in the state of California before their WAC opener on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021 at Dixie State. For all scheduling news, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Men's Basketball), Twitter (@NMStateMBB) and Instagram (@NMStateMBB).

++NM State++