PHOENIX - The effort was unquestionably there for the NM State men's basketball team. As was the grit and the personnel.
Unfortunately, the only ingredient missing Friday night for the Aggies inside GCU Arena was the shot making.
A 25-of-33 effort at the foul line helped the Aggies stay afloat on offense for large portions of the deciding frame, but NM State shot just 5-of-26 (19.2-percent) through the final 20 minutes and watched GCU pull away late for a 70-62 win in the Aggies' first WAC contest of the 2020-21 season.
FIRST HALF
• Thanks to a pair of pauses due to COVID-19, NM State found itself engaged in its WAC opener three weeks later than anticipated, but early indications showed no signs of rust in the shot making department for the three-time defending league champions.
• Wilfried Likayi laced a pair of three-pointers and Evan Gilyard II added another during NM State's 13-4 run through the first 4:01 of the game. Following a GCU timeout, though, the home team started to chip away at its deficit.
• Johnny McCants' fast-break layup to end the Aggies' 13-4 run to start thing off represented NM State's last field goal make for a span of 7:27. During that stretch, the Lopes got buckets from four different players and used a 9-3 surge to cut the Aggies' lead to 16-15.
• McCants converted a layup off of a missed jumper by Jabari Rice to push NM State's lead back to three, but the Lopes' earlier successes on offense set the stage for a more sustained push for the home team.
• Alessandro Lever and Chance McMillan drilled triples for the Lopes while McCants drained one for the Aggies to make things 21-all with 5:58 left in the frame. Will McNair operated down low and banked in a hook shot to hand the Aggies their last lead of the half, 23-21, with 5:00 left in the half.
• Lever hit another three and Likayi answered for NM State by going 1-of-2 at the foul line to make matters 24-24, but GCU settled into its offensive groove in a big way to end the frame. The hosts went on a 13-6 run by hitting their final six field goal attempts of the frame to take a 37-30 lead into the locker room at the break.
SECOND HALF
• It was NM State's turn to chip away in the deciding frame and the Aggies started that process when Rice converted an old-fashioned three-point play on his team's first possession of the half.
• GCU took its largest lead of the game when Oscar Frayer connected on a long ball to put the Aggies at a 42-34 disadvantage with 17:23 left.
• NM State remained within striking distance because of two things: rebounding and free throw shooting. The Aggies' next eight points of the game came from the foul line before Rice started a 5-0 NM State run by swishing a corner three-pointer with 10:40 left.
• Donnie Tillman canned a pair of free throws with 9:30 to go to hand the Aggies a 47-46 edge - their first lead since the opening stanza.
• A nifty three-point play courtesy of C.J. Roberts made NM State's lead 50-48 with 7:56 left, but Jovan Blacksher, Jr., scored four in a row for the Lopes after that to put the hosts back on top.
• NM State never held the lead again, but had plenty of chances to regain it. McCants pulled the Aggies back within three, 61-58, with two free throws at the 2:18 mark of the half. Unfortunately, GCU responded with a Lever layup as well as dunks from Frayer and Asbjørn Mitgaard to put the game on ice.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• McCants wrapped up his night with a team-high 13 for NM State while Rice, who was playing in his first game since Dec. 1, 2020 after recovering from a foot injury, generated 12 points and four rebounds.
• The loss snapped NM State's WAC record 31-game winning streak in league action as well as the Aggies' 34-straight games won against WAC opposition. Prior to Friday night, NM State's last loss in WAC play came at California Baptist on January 3, 2019.
• Despite giving up a great deal of size to the Lopes, that didn't deter the Aggies from controlling the glass. NM State finished with a 37-26 (+11) edge in the rebounding department.
• After starting the game 3-of-3 from three-point range, the Aggies shot just 2-of-25 (eight-percent) from that distance the rest of the way.
• NM State got 40.3-percent (25 points) of its total scoring output from the foul line and finished with 14 more makes and 21 more attempts from there than the Lopes.
• Lever and Mikey Dixon each contributed 14 points for GCU who snapped an eight-game losing skid to NM State. The Lopes moved to 11-3 and 5-0 in WAC play with the victory.
COMING UP NEXT
• NM State won't have to wait too long to receive its opportunity to begin at new WAC winning streak. The Aggies will face off against the Lopes in the second and final regular season meeting between the two programs Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. from inside GCU Arena.
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