ST. GEORGE, Utah - Things were a little more difficult than the NM State men's basketball team may have bargained for - especially down the stretch - but in the end the Aggies got the job done.
Teddy Allen turned in a fourth-straight game of 20 or more points by springing for a team-high 20, Jabari Rice added a 11-point, 10-rebound double-double and Clayton Henry added 12 more markers on a 4-of-5 clip from downtown as NM State hit the 20-win mark for the first time since 2019-20 by eking out a 77-69 win at Dixie State.
Johnny McCants was the fourth NM State player to hit double-digits, finishing with 13 to help his squad become the first WAC team in 2021-22 to hit the 20-win mark.
FIRST HALF
• Coming out of the gates scorching hot, NM State drilled Dixie State with an 18-8 run through the first 5:51 to gain the upper hand early. Keying the scoring surge was the duo of Allen and Henry who combined for 13 of the visitors' 18 points.
• A Marchelus Avery fast break layup with 10:58 to go in the stanza hiked the visitors' edge to 13, 25-12, and it seemed as though the rout was about to be on.
• Will McNair Jr., drained a layup with 9:29 left which made the score 27-15, but Dixie State's offense awoke shortly thereafter.
• The rest of the frame consisted of opposing runs, beginning with Dixie State's 8-2 spurt which culminated with Isaiah Pope's mid-range jumper that pulled the hosts within six, 29-23.
• NM State answered with five straight points, three of which came courtesy of Henry's third long ball of the half.
• The Aggies' lead stood at 38-28 following Rice's driving uncontested layup with 2:50 left, but Dixie State made it a single-digit game at the break by scoring four of the final five points of the half.
• NM State did take a 39-32 lead into the locker room at the break thanks to shooting splits of .571/.625/.500.
SECOND HALF
• As a result of their turnovers, the Aggies were never able to truly put the Trailblazers away. NM State started the deciding frame on a 7-0 run to push its lead to 14, 46-32, with 16:35 to go, but the hosts never laid down.
• Cameron Gooden capped off a 12-3 run by Dixie State by splashing a fast-break three-pointer with 14:23 left. That long ball cut NM State's once double-digit lead down to five, 49-44, before the Aggies again tried to run away with things.
• An NM State run, this one of the 11-2 variety, pushed its lead back to a seemingly comfortable 14 points. Five different Aggies pumped in points though that surge including Rice who finished off the run with a driving layup which made matters 60-46 with 9:55 to go.
• Two free throws off the mitts of Allen kept NM State's lead at double-digits, 66-55, with 6:46 left. From that point on, things got interesting.
• A four-point play courtesy of Dancell Leter started a 6-0 Trailblazer run that trimmed NM State's lead down to five, 66-61, with 6:01 showing on the game clock.
• Frank Staine's layup with 3:06 left ensured Dixie State kept it a five-point game, 68-63, with 3:06 left. On the ensuing NM State possession, McNair Jr., came up with one of the biggest buckets of the game for the visitors as he converted a layup through contact and finished off a three-point play at the foul line to put the Aggies back up by eight with 2:46 left.
• McCants effectively sealed the deal by connecting on a straightaway three-pointer with 1:57 left. That trifecta put NM State's lead at nine, 74-65, with 1:57 left, and the Las Cruces, N.M., product split a pair of tries at the foul line with 32 seconds left to hike the visitors' lead to double digits.
• Though the Trailblazers manufactured another pair of baskets late, NM State held on for the win.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Surviving 18 turnovers, NM State used some hot shooting from all areas in order to get the job done. The Aggies drilled 51.9-percent (28-of-54) of their field goals as well as 53.3-percent (8-of-15) of their tries from long range.
• The Aggies' three-point field goal percentage was the team's best of the 2021-22 campaign and was fueled by Henry's outburst. All 12 of the senior's points came from long distance and he finished with a 4-of-5 showing from that distance to help the Aggies get the win.
• NM State reached the 20-win mark before any other WAC team and was one of three teams who hit the 20-win mark Thursday night.
• Rice's double-double was his second of the season and his second in the Aggies' last four contests.
• Allen pushed his streak of 20+ point games to five with Thursday night's performance.
• The Aggies have now reached or exceeded the 20-win mark for the 34th season and for the fourth time in Chris Jans' five-year tenure as the Aggies' bench boss.
• NM State maintained its one-game lead for the top spot in the WAC standings with Thursday night's win.
• The Aggies moved to 7-1 (.875) in true road games this season. NM State's winning percentage in true road games this season is the fifth-best among all NCAA Division I men's basketball teams.
COMING UP NEXT
• The Aggies' two-game swing in the Beehive State wraps up Saturday afternoon in Orem, Utah, as NM State takes on Utah Valley inside the UCCU Center. The first matchup between the Aggies and Wolverines since the 2021 WAC Tournament Semifinals is set to tip off at 2:00 p.m. MT.
++NM State++
