LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Despite jumping out to an early lead, the Aggies' (7-6, 0-1 WAC) dropped their WAC home opener for the first time since 2008 - falling to league newcomer Southern Utah (9-5, 1-0 WAC) 79-75 on Wednesday night.
NM State was led in scoring by
Deshawndre Washington who posted 18 points on the night after finishing with a season-low five points in the win over North Carolina A&T last week. Washington also led the Aggies in rebounding as he pulled down 11 boards to record his third double-double of the season.
Xavier Pinson,
Anthony Roy and
DaJuan Quaye Gordon also reached double digits against the Thunderbirds – finishing with 16, 11 and 10, respectively.
As a team, NM State shot 44% (24-54) from the floor while also managing to outrebound one of the top rebounding teams in the conference (35-34). The Aggies' struggled to control the ball as they finished the night with 16 turnovers, including 10 in the first half. The Thunderbirds also took advantage of the Aggie mistakes – tallying 25 points off turnovers while NM State was only able to turn Southern Utah's 15 turnovers into just 10 points.
Preseason First Team All-WAC selection Tevian Jones paced SUU in scoring by way of posting 20 points with much of his production coming from beyond the arc (5-7). Even with Jones' performance, the Thunderbirds did put forth a balanced attack as they finished with five scorers in double digits.
FIRST HALF
- Saying the Aggies got off to a strong start would be an understatement as NM State held the nation's third-highest-scoring offense to zero points for nearly four minutes as the Thunderbirds opened the game 0-7 from the field. Meanwhile, led by five points from Xavier Pinson, NM State was able to build a 10-0 lead out of the gate.
- Following the fast start, the virtual lid on the rim would switch ends as Southern Utah bounced back with a 15-4 run to take a 15-14 lead with 10:14 still on the clock.
- DaJuan Quaye Gordon eventually knocked down a three to put the Aggies back in the driver's seat. However, Southern Utah would respond with a 9-0 run to push their lead to seven points with 7:54 remaining in the first period.
- After a bit of back-and-forth, Anthony Roy would serve as the Aggies' lone source of offense to close the half – hitting a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to help NM State enter the intermission trailing by five points.
SECOND HALF
- Doctor Bradley injected some life into the building with a dunk over a Southern Utah defender to open the second-half scoring for the Aggies. However, SUU guard Drake Allen responded with a dunk of his own on the ensuing possession to put the Thunderbirds ahead by eight points while also quieting the crowd.
- Later, Southern Utah would push its lead to 10 points following a five-point run in which all five points came from Jason Spurgin. NM State would eventually find itself looking at a 14-point deficit with just 7:52 left to play.
- Sparked by a Deshawndre Washington and-one, NM State was able to rattle off five straight points to reduce the gap to nine points with 5:27 on the clock.
- Trailing by 11 with just over two minutes to play, NM State was able to score seven unanswered points to make it a two-possession game.
- However, a Southern Utah and-one with about 30 seconds left seemed to represent the final nail in the Aggie coffin as the Thunderbirds went on to knock off the Aggies by four points.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- For the second time this season, Deshawndre Washington finished the game as the Aggies' top scorer (18) and top rebounder (11). This also marks his third double-double of the season and the third consecutive game in which an Aggie has recorded a double-double.
- After being out of the lineup for NM State's stint in the Sun Bowl Invitational, Anthony Roy returned to the court and finished with 11 points to mark his best scoring output since Nov. 30 when he posted 23 against UTEP.
- Marchelus Avery appeared in the starting lineup for the fourth consecutive game.
- Xavier Pinson finished with 10-plus points for the ninth time this season as he turned in 16 points, including going a perfect 6-6 from the free-throw line for the second time this season.
- DaJuan Quaye Gordon continued his scoring ways as he scored 10 points to make it six straight games that he has recorded double figures in the scoring column.
++NM State++
