What: Game Ten
Who: NM State (5-4, 0-0 WAC) vs. Northern New Mexico (3-10, 0-0 CAC-NAIA)
When: Sunday, Dec. 18, 4 p.m. MT
Where: Las Cruces, N.M. - Pan American Center (12,504)

Watch: ESPN+ | Comcast NM | Bally Sports Arizona (PxP - Adam Young, Analyst - Rus Bradburd)
Listen: Zia Country 99.5 (PxP - Jack Nixon, Analyst - Anita Skipper)
Attend: Pan American Center Box Office (575-646-1420), Online Ticket Sales
Stats: Click Here
Follow: Twitter - @NMStateMBB, Instagram - @NMStateMBB, Facebook - NM State Men's Basketball

THE OPENING TIP                                      
• Following a 10-day road trip, NM State will return to their home arena to host Northern New Mexico in a Land-of-Enchantment battle on Sunday afternoon.
• At home this season, the Aggies are a perfect 3-0 with an average margin of victory of nearly 40 points (38.7).
• Sunday's game will also mark the tenth-ever meeting between the Aggies and Eagles with the Aggies winning the previous nine tilts.
• The mid-day matchup will also be the Aggies' first home game since Dec. 5 and the second of four home contests during the month of December.
• The Aggies' next scheduled opponent will be Kent State who they will see in El Paso, Texas, during the WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational on Wednesday.
 
HOME IS WHERE WE ARE HAPPIEST     
• With three of its five wins of the season coming on Lou Henson Court, the Aggies have been handling business at home.
• The Aggies are currently averaging 91 points per game while opponents are averaging just 52.3 points.
• NM State also favors its home hoops as they are shooting 49.3% from the field inside the Pan American Center compared to its 33.3 shooting percentage in road games.
 
THE THREE AMIGOS                                                    
• Entering Wednesday, the backcourt trio of Xavier Pinson, Deshawndre Washington and DaJuan Gordon are the only three Aggies to appear in the starting lineup in each of the Aggies' first nine games.
• The three guards who all hail from Chicago, Ill., also combine to average 36.5 of the Aggies' 77.9 points per game.
 
PREACHING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PERIMETER            
• Entering Sunday's contest, the Aggies are among the best teams in the nation at defending the three ball while also registering nationally-competitive numbers from range on the offensive end.
• NM State currently ranks 41st in the country in three-point percentage defense - holding teams to an average of 28.5 percent beyond the arc thus far.
• The Aggies also rank just outside the top 50 in three-pointers per game (56th) and three-point percentage (51st).
 
NEW LEADER, SAME PHILOSOPHY       
• Under former Head Coach Chris Jans, the Aggies were often seen as a defensive-minded team - limiting teams to an average of 63.5 points while scoring 74.1 points per game.
• Although the sample size is minuscule when compared to the 154 games that the Aggies played under Jans, the Aggies are averaging 77.3 points per game with Greg Heiar at the helm while still holding teams to just 65.9 points per game.
 
RESPECT THE RESERVES                        
• The Aggie bench has scored 20-plus points in more than half of their contests this season, including posting a season-high 52 points during a 77-35 win over Simon Fraser.
• In total, the Aggie bench is responsible for 33.5% of its total scoring (235/701).
 
"KEYS" TO SUCCESS                                 
• Men's Basketball Video Coordinator Billy Keys joins his alma mater's coaching staff after putting together an impressive playing career with the Aggies from 1998-2000.
• Despite only playing for the Aggies for two seasons, Keys scored 1,004 total points to become one of 37 Aggies in the 1,000-point club.
• In those two seasons, Keys was twice named to the Big West All-Tournament Team, including being named the Tournament MVP in 1999 when he led the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament.
• NM State Athletics also recognized Keys' contributions as he was one of 20 former players named to the All-Century Team on Feb. 2, 2007.
• Keys was also an elite passer during his time in Las Cruces. This was demonstrated in his first season with the Aggies when he dished out 160 total assists - a mark that still ranks behind only four other Aggies in program history.
• All in all, Keys ranks ninth all-time in career assists with 310. He is also the lone Aggie among the top 10 in career assists to have played at NM State for two seasons or less.
• Keys also began his coaching career in The City of Crosses when he became an assistant coach at Centennial High School prior to earning the head coaching job at Mayfield High School.
• The Chicago native comes to the Aggies after spending three seasons as the Associate Head Coach at Northern New Mexico College.
 
NM STATE ON THIS DATE
• Across the history of the program, the Aggies have played on the 18th of December 24 times in total - boasting an overall record of 14-10.
• After dropping their first five games on this date, NM State has gone 14-5 since 1953, including winning seven of their last eight.
• At home, the Aggies are 8-3 on Dec. 18.
• Additionally, the Aggies' last outing on Dec. 18 came just last season against this same Northern New Mexico program - a game NM State won 93-60.
• One of the most notable wins on Dec. 18 came in 1961 when the Aggies knocked off New Mexico in double overtime in Albuquerque, N.M.
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES     
• Like the Aggies' bench boss, Northern New Mexico Head Coach Jesus Aragon is in his first year with the program and has led the Eagles to three wins.
• The Eagles have earned just one road win on the season - defeating Adams State 82-77 on Saturday, Nov. 19.
• Individually, the Eagles are led in scoring by sophomore Conner Kelley who is averaging 16.4 points across eight games this season.
• Jamal Harris represents the only other Eagle on the roaster averaging more than 10 points per game as he posts 11.8 points per contest.
• Organ Mountain High School graduate Damione Thomas enters Sunday as the Eagles' leading rebounder - pulling down 5.8 boards per game.
• The Eagles will head to Las Cruces on a six-game losing streak while allowing offenses to score an average of points during the skid.
• The Eagles most recently faced off with a Division I opponent on Dec. 3 when they visited El Paso, Texas, and fell to Aggie rival UTEP, 87-50.
• The Aggies have met the Eagles nine times in program history, winning all nine games and managing an average margin of victory of 37.5 points.