LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Aggies (1-0, 0-0 WAC) began the head coaching career of Greg Heiar with a splash as they throttled New Mexico Highlands (0-0, 0-0 RMAC-DII) on Monday night, winning by a final score of 101-52.
 
"We have a simple motto," said Heiar "We want to attack the paint and we want to protect the paint. I thought we did a great job in both areas throughout the game."
 
This motto was reflected in the lopsided paint point totals as the Aggies outscored the Cowboys 48-22 around the basket.
 
"I was definitely pleased with their effort and togetherness and how we looked as a team," continued Heiar.
 
The two Aggies that made the trip with Heiar from Northwest Florida State College to the Land of Enchantment served as the leaders in the season opener as Deshawndre Washington finished the night with a triple-double (17 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) and Issa Muhammad ended the night as the Aggies' leading scorer (20 points).
 
Meanwhile, the only two individuals that Aggie fans are already familiar with also played a big part in the victory as Mike Peake and Marchelus Avery each turned in double-digit scoring efforts. Peake concluded the night with 16 points and five rebounds while Avery produced 13 points and grabbed six boards.
 
The visitors were led by 18 points from Tyler Rodgers who turned in the lone double-digit scoring on behalf of the Cowboys.
 
FIRST HALF

• From almost the exact same spot that he drained one from in the exhibition contest against Western New Mexico, newcomer Deshawndre put the first Aggie points on the board with a triple from the left wing.
• With just over two minutes off the board, New Mexico Highlands would secure its first and only lead of the tilt after leading returning scorer Tyler Rodgers knocked to a three to put the Cowboys ahead 6-7.
• The Aggies would then cap off a 6-0 run with a possession in which the Aggies created two extra opportunities thanks to offensive rebounds from Mike Peake and Xavier Pinson. The points on the possession would come from a Peake triple that put the Aggies up 12-6 at the 15:56 minute mark.
• The Aggie lead was extended to 13 points when Issa Muhammad converted an and-one off of Deshawndre Washington's first of his ten assists on the night.
• Muhammad converted a second consecutive and-one to even further distance the Aggies from the Cowboys.
• The lead eventually ballooned to 18 points when Washington ran a two-man fast break with Muhammad that resulted in a dunk for the big man. This capped off a 12-2 Aggie run in which Muhammad scored 10 points.
• After receiving the news on Monday morning that his waiver was approved and he would be cleared to compete, Xavier Pinson made his presence felt in the final seconds of the half as he knocked down a pullup jumper as the buzzer sounded to give the Aggies a 21-point advantage after 20 minutes of play.
• In the first half, NM States defense would limit New Mexico Highlands to just 27.3 percent shooting from the field.

SECOND HALF

• As Coach Heiar explained during the preseason, the Aggies are going to look to get up and down the floor quickly this year. That was evident at the start of the second half as the Aggies scored six-straight fast break points to go ahead 53-26, including a dunk from Mike Peake that came thanks to a between-the-legs pass from Deshawndre Washington in transition.
• NM State later went on an 8-0 run to put 40 points in between the Aggies and the opposition. The run was finished off by five Washington points as he knocked down his third three-pointer of the game before slamming down a Pinson alley-oop just 19 seconds later.
• A second eight-point scoring streak grew the Aggie lead to 50 points as Mike Peake knocked down back-to-back three-pointers before Anthony Roy finessed his way into the paint for a layup. Peake's second triple of the stretch also gave Deshawndre Washington the first triple-double of his Aggie career.
• The icing on the cake came with 11 seconds on the clock when Doctor Bradley ignited the crowd by taking a Kyle Feit pass and turning it into an emphatic dunk to put the Aggies over the century mark on the night.
• The Aggie defense continued to keep the pressure on in the second period as they held NMHU to just 11.1 percent from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the NM State offense recorded a staggering 58.8 percent shooting clip from the field in the final 20 minutes.

 
GAME NOTABLES

• Deshawndre Washington tallied a triple-double number one of his young career at the Division I level (17 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists). This also marked the first time a member of the Crimson & White recorded a triple-double since Dec. 12, 2017, when Jemerrio Jones tallied 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
• Fellow Northwest Florida State College transfer Issa Muhammad also filled up the stat sheet on Monday night – finishing the night with a team-high 20 points while shooting 9-of-11 from the field.
• Anthony Roy finished the night with a career-high nine points to best his previous high of eight points which he scored against Gonzaga on Feb. 13, 2021, during his days with San Francisco.
• Kyle Feit also adjusted his career scoring high as he finished with three made triples to score nine total points on the night.
• 10 of the 11 Aggies who recorded minutes also recorded at least one point.
• The season-opening win marked the first win of Head Coach Greg Heiar's tenure at NM State after taking over as the lead man on March 27, 2022.
• Issa Muhammad (20), Deshawndre Washington (17) and Shakiru Odunewu (1) each tallied their first official points at the DI level.

 
UP NEXT

• With just one game under its belt, NM State will now get ready for one of its biggest non-conference bouts as they will travel to El Paso, Texas, to take on UTEP (0-1, 0-0 C-USA) in the Battle of I-10 on Saturday, Nov. 12.
• The game against the Miners is set to tip off at 7 p.m.