Postgame Press Conference | NM State head coach Chris Jans and senior forward Johnny McCants
LAS VEGAS - Let's toss a hypothetical scenario out here, shall we?
Two basketball teams - one a co-regular season champion, the other a college basketball vagabond throughout an uneven 2020-21 season - are set to duke it out for a trip to the WAC Tournament title game.
The co-champ has the league's Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year on it. That other squad has some dude they call "Johnny from Cruces," and another cat who looked like he had no semblance of an outside shot through the first 14 games of the year.
Who are you picking? Well, wait. Before you answer, there's another important piece of information you should probably know.
The "other squad" is NM State, it's playing in the Orleans Arena in the month of March and their head coach just said, "we're playing Aggie basketball." If you're still confused on who to pick in this situation, trust us: pick the Aggies.
Donnie Tillman's star power continued to shine bright in The Entertainment Capital of the World as he dropped in a season and team-high 23 points, a devastating dose of defense held the 2021 WAC Player of the Year scoreless in 29 minutes of action and third-seeded NM State advanced to the WAC Tournament championship game for the ninth-consecutive time by suffocating second-seeded and WAC co-champion Utah Valley 78-62 Friday night at the Orleans Arena.
The Aggies, winners of 11-consecutive WAC Tournament games, will play top-seeded and 2021 WAC co-champion GCU Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. MT from the Orleans Arena with the winner capturing the WAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
FIRST HALF
• Continuing to prove scouting reports all around the league wrong, Tillman began the Aggies' 15-2 run through the first 7:10 by connecting on a wide-open three-pointer at the top of the key just 31 seconds into the second semifinal showdown.
• Eight of the Aggies' first 15 points through that run were put in by Detroit's finest while Jabari Rice added the other seven to give the lower seed an early 13-point edge.
• It took a minute, but the Wolverines finally found their footing on offense and from there the battle was on. Sparked by the play of Trey Woodbury, Utah Valley took off on a 10-4 run fueled by six points off the mitts of Woodbury. That surge cut the Aggies' lead to 19-12 with 7:35 to go in the frame, giving the opportunity for an unlikely hero to emerge.
• Sophomore guard Kalen Williams, who had a meager five points in his team's quarterfinal victory the night prior, provided the Aggies with the offensive spark they needed for the remainder of the frame. The Hephzibah, Ga., netted eight of the Aggies' final 13 points of the half and dropped in a nifty mid-range job at the horn to hand NM State a 32-23 advantage upon the conclusion of the opening stanza.
• The story was in part the Aggies and their hot start, but the defense deserved credit, too. NM State allowed Utah Valley to go just 7-of-29 (24.1-percent) from the field in the first frame, making it an uphill climb for the Wolverines all night long.
SECOND HALF
• Starting each half strong was preached by head coach Chris Jans and the Aggies followed his order to the letter. Evan Gilyard II and Rice sandwiched two-point shots around a Johnny McCants triple as the Aggies started the final frame on a 7-0 run to push their lead to 39-23 with 17:43 left.
• Keeping their foot pressed firmly on the gas pedal, the Aggies ran their lead to 20 points, 49-29, following a driving layup from Tillman at the 12:55 mark of the half. Gilyard II splashed a three-pointer of his own with 10:06 left to keep the Aggies' edge at 20 points, 54-34, but that's when things got a little tenuous.
• Incensed at the success the lower-seeded Aggies were having, Woodbury took it upon himself to try and will the Wolverines back into the game. The guard scored 12-straight points for Utah Valley before Jamison Overton added five in a row which cut NM State's lead down to 61-51 with 5:27 left.
• Woodbury continued his assault on the Aggies by getting a runner to fall with 3:58 to go. That hoop shrank NM State's lead to 62-53, but on the ensuing Aggie possession Overton was whistled for a technical foul after voicing his displeasure with a call down on the block. Tillman stepped to the line and hit the two technical foul free throws before adding two more on the foul he drew preceding the tech to push the Aggies' lead back to double-digits, 66-53.
• Tillman effectively called game with 3:01 left by canning a wide-open three-pointer right in front of the Aggies' bench which made matters 71-54.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Tillman's 23-point performance came at the hands of the league's Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Fardaws Aimaq. Though Aimaq did grab hold of a game-high 13 rebounds, he shot 0-for-7 from the field as the Aggies frustrated him all night long.
• Rice added 13 more points for the Aggies on 4-of-5 shooting while McCants' energy was unmatched. The Las Cruces, N.M., product wrapped up his night with nine points, six rebounds and two of the Aggies' five blocked shots.
• Woodbury went wild, winding up with a game-high 34 points on 8-of-19 shooting and a 15-of-16 effort at the foul line. Overton added 11 for the Wolverines who saw their season come to an end.
• For the game, NM State held the Wolverines to a shooting clip of just 29.8-percent (17-of-57) while included a 5-of-21 (23.8-percent) showing from three-point range.
• NM State moved to 11-2 all-time as a number-three seed in the WAC Tournament and is 12-3 all-time in the semifinal round of the league tourney.
• Head coach Chris Jans is now 8-0 as the Aggies' bench boss in the WAC Tournament. Additionally, he has won his last 15 games in the month of March against WAC opposition.
COMING UP NEXT
• For the third time in as many WAC Tournament finals, NM State will go toe-to-toe with Grand Canyon for the right to move on to the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies and top-seeded Lopes will tip off at 8:00 p.m. MT Saturday night from the Orleans Arena.
++NM State++
