EL PASO - For the second time in his collegiate career - and for the first time in a rivalry game - Jabari Rice beat the buzzer and broke the hearts of an NM State opponent.

With a 10-point first-half lead a thing of the distant past, NM State watched as Rice pulled up from long range and swirled in a game-winning long ball with 1.6 seconds to go to lift the Aggies to their third-straight win over UTEP, 72-69, Friday night at the Don Haskins Center.

Thanks to Rice, the Aggies improved to 12-1 in their last 13 matchups with the Miners and 15-2 in their last 17 showdowns against their longtime Texas rivals.

FIRST HALF
• On a quest to sweep their Texas foes for the first time since the 2018-19 season, NM State came out the tougher team and constructed an early lead. Five players put in points as the Aggies opened up a 15-5 lead 7:04 into the final showdown between them and the Miners in 2021-22.
• Teddy Allen contributed seven points during that surge and finished off the Aggies' game-opening run by twisting his way to the tin for a layup in traffic. Rice, Johnny McCants, Will McNair and Mike Peake contributed points to the Aggies' cause through that game-opening surge, too.
• No lead, unfortunately, was safe as UTEP scratched and clawed its way back into the thick of things thanks to an 11-3 scoring spree. Souley Boum and Keonte Kennedy each connected on a three-pointer for the Miners through their run which spanned 5:39. It was Kennedy's long ball which cut NM State's lead to 18-16 with 7:17 to go in the frame.
• A corner three by Rice capped off a 7-2 NM State run and pushed the visitors' lead back to seven with 4:59 on the scoreboard, but again the Miners answered. In a 25-18 hole, UTEP showed off its spurtability on offensive once again by embarking on a 9-1 run to take its first lead of the game, 27-26, with 2:57 left in the opening stanza.
• Again it was Boum leading the way, putting in five of the Miners' nine points during the run.
• The teams swapped leads three more times in the last 2:44 of the half with Allen's mid-range job giving the Aggies a 30-29 lead with 64 seconds to go in the frame. Mario McKinney Jr., who made his first start of the season, concluded the first half with a hard-driving layup through contact to hand the Aggies a 32-30 lead at the break.

SECOND HALF
• Lids were placed firmly on both baskets over the course of the first five minute of the deciding frame. Two free throws by the Aggies and a layup from the Miners made it so only four points were put up on the scoreboard through the early stages of the half.
• UTEP's layup at the 17:04 mark of the frame represented the start of a 7-0 run by the home team which was capped off by Jamari Sibley's three-point play with 14:32 to go.
• With their crowd into it, the Miners maintained their lead past the midway point of the stanza, but the Aggies slowly but surely started to chip away. Trailing 49-45 with 10:24 left, NM State sucked the air out of the venerable El Paso facility by taking off on a 10-0 run led by a number of individuals.
• Though it was Allen who wrapped up the run with yet another smooth jumper, it was McNair who kept the Aggies afloat on offense. Owning the block, "Big Philly" pumped in 16 of his career-high 18 points through the second half and started the Aggies' comeback by getting either layups or dunks on four of seven possessions by the visitors.
• Just as it appeared as though the Aggies had things in the bag, however, the Miners proved to have one final push. With McNair manning the post, that opened things up for the Aggies' guards to drive to the bucket time and time again. Allen was one of those guards and after slithering his way inside for an additional layup through contact to hike the visitors' lead to 63-56, he was hit with a technical foul.
• That put a charge in the Miners who went on a 7-0 run to pull even. Jamal Bieniemy came up with the equalizer, draining a difficult jumper with 3:22 to go which knotted things at 63-all. The Miners' run nearly continued after McCants' turnover with 2:52 left, but the Aggies' senior stayed with the play and took to the sky for a colossal chase down block on a layup try by Boum with 2:47 left.
• McCants' third and final rejection loomed large as the Miners misfired on their field goal try out of the ensuing media timeout. McNair broke the deadlock after Rice drew a trio of defenders on his drive to the rim. Wisely, Rice dished to a wide-open McNair who laid in a go-ahead bucket.
• Sibley answered with a three-pointer to give the Miners their last lead of the game, but NM State used the exact same play on two occasions down the stretch. Allen drove and dished to McNair for layups on consecutive NM State possessions to hand the visitors a 69-66 lead with 45 ticks to go.
• Sibley may have canned a game-tying long ball with 24 seconds left, but that was before Rice broke hearts all over The Sun City with his game-winner. UTEP's last-second heave didn't find its target, and the Aggies departed with the win.

KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• A massive disparity in points in the paint favored the Aggies and allowed them to get back in the win column. NM State outscored UTEP by a 52-28 margin in the painted area and saw four players finish with at least 10 points.
• In addition to Rice, McNair Jr., contributed a career-best 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Allen added 15 while McCants went 5-of-6 from the field en route to a 10-point outing. McCants' stat line also included four rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and one of the Aggies' five steals.
• Boum did get to a point total of 19 for the Miners, but needed 21 shots from the field to do so. Sibley added 18 for the Miners while Bieniemy wrapped up the game with 11 on a 5-of-15 mark from the field.
• Rice's go ahead field goal inside the final three seconds of the game was the second of his NM State career. His first came in a wild 84-82 win over Utah Valley in February of 2020 with the go-ahead shot also being a three-pointer.
• Allen, McCants and Rice tied for the game-lead in assists by passing out three apiece. NM State amassed 14 helpers compared to just seven by the Miners.
• NM State head coach Chris Jans made his return to the bench after missing his team's last two contests due to COVID-19 protocols. Back patrolling the sidelines, he witnessed the Aggies force 10 Miner turnovers en route to NM State's first true road win of the season.
• Jans hiked his all-time record to 7-1 against UTEP in his tenure at NM State which includes a 3-1 mark against the Miners in the Don Haskins Center. Jans owns a 5-1 record as the Aggies' head coach in the Miners' home facility after the Aggies played - and won - two of their 2020-21 contests there.

COMING UP NEXT
• With the feeling of Tuesday night's loss still fresh in their minds, the Aggies head north to The Duke City in search of a measure of revenge against their longtime in-state foes. NM State and New Mexico meet for the second and final time in the 2021-22 season Monday night at 7:00 p.m. in The Pit.

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