EL PASO, Texas - Don't carve the words NM State men's basketball into a headstone just yet.
Needing a win in the worst way, the Aggies seemingly banished Friday night's tilt with California Baptist from their minds and thrashed the Lancers, 97-70, inside Eastwood High School Saturday night to collect their first WAC victory of the season.
NM State's first win over an NCAA Division I opponent this year put an end to the team's three-game losing skid and came as a result of the Aggies' on-brand shot-making and defensive tenacity which was a welcome sight for their faithful.
FIRST HALF
• Outside of the game's first four minutes, the Aggies had little trouble with the Lancers. Some of the lone bright spots for California Baptist on the night came early when Gorjok Gak punched in a two-handed slam to end a 6-2 run by the Lancers to start the game.
• California Baptist's lead stayed at four points, 8-4, after a jumper by Ty Rowell, but the Aggies caught fire shortly thereafter. Jabari Rice started a 14-3 Aggie surge with a three-pointer and a fast break layup courtesy of Clayton Henry following that triple put the Aggies ahead for good.
• Attacking the Lancers with unrelenting fury, NM State's lead hit double-digits when Donnie Tillman drove in for a layup with 8:17 to go in the half which made matters 30-20. From there, the Aggies' edge dipped below 10 points just once more.
• NM State scorched the nets through the opening frame, registering shooting splits of .679/.500/.583 in order to build its 16-point lead at the break. The Lancers put up splits of .565/.400/.857 - by no means anything to shrug at - but the Aggies got whatever they wanted from all areas of the floor as a result of their unmatched intensity.
SECOND HALF
• Rarely did the the Aggies let their foot off the gas through the deciding 20 minutes of action. After Evan Gilyard II set the tone with a hard-driving layup, Rice canned another three to push the hosts' lead to 20, 55-35, just 44 seconds into the half.
• The Lancers had one last push in them, however, when back-to-back three-pointers by Elijah Thomas and Rowell cut the Aggies' lead down to 60-46 with 12:58 left.
• NM State's answer to those triples came in the form of a renewed assault on the painted area. The team's next four buckets came from that area before McNair sent a sizable jolt through the Aggies' bench by knocking down a wide-open three-pointer that made matters 71-51 with 8:31 to go.
• Tillman and redshirt freshman Marcus Watson wowed NM State's bench by tossing down one dunk each. Watson's was a highlight-reel, fast-break windmill jam with 2:31 to go.
• The Aggies' lead grew to as many as 30 points after junior forward Mayan Kiir sank a pair of free throws to make matters 91-61 with 1:37 remaining.
• NM State's defensive intensity showed in the final 20 minutes as they limited the Lancers to a shooting clip of 37.5-percent (9-of-24) through that span.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Rice led the way in the Aggies thrashing of the Lancers, pouring in a team-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting while adding three rebounds and a pair of assists.
• Tillman delivered from everywhere, too, recording 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go along with four rebounds and three of the Aggies' 14 assists.
• Thanks to the likes of McNair and Roberts, who finished with 11 and 12 points respectively, the Aggies' bench outscored the Lancers by a 40-16 margin. Much of NM State's damage was done in the paint, where they racked up 50 of their 97 markers.
• Though Rowell recorded a game-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting, the Aggies' guards locked up the rest of the Lancers' backcourt. Reed Nottage, the reigning WAC Player of the Week, finished with only four points while Tre Armstrong had just one. The pair combined to go 0-of-10 from the field and 0-of-5 from three-point range.
• NM State's 97 points matched the team's most in a WAC game in Chris Jans' tenure as head coach. The last time the Aggies netted that many came in a 97-60 triumph at league foe Chicago State on Jan. 6, 2018.
COMING UP NEXT
• With their first WAC victory of 2020-21 under their belts, the Aggies will make their way to Seattle, Wash., next week to take Seattle U in another pair of league contests. The Aggies' first battle with the Redhawks begins at 7:00 p.m. Friday night from the Redhawk Center.
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