LAS CRUCES, N.M. - In his first season as the head coach at NM State, Jason Hooten and his team have had their fair share of close contests, coming out on either side of victory and defeat on multiple occasions. Saturday night proved no different, as the Aggies welcomed former WAC foe in the California Baptist Lancers into the Pan American Center. While the Crimson & White lead grew as large as 14 in the second half, NM State (6-9, 0-0 CUSA) came away with a 66-61 win over the Lancers (8-5, 1-1 WAC). 

Robert Carpenter led all scorers with 20 points – his second 20-point performance for the Aggies, while knocking down a season-best four 3-pointers. NM State used a combination of transition opportunities (18-6 advantage in fastbreak points) and low-post scoring (32-22 edge in paint points) to record their second win over a Division I opponent in Las Cruces and snap a three-game losing skid.  

First Half 

• Kaosi Ezeagu won the opening tip, and the Aggies wasted no time getting into a groove. Robert Carpenter got involved quickly and made his first two field goals, both coming from beyond the arc to give NM State an early 6-0 lead. The Lancers would respond with a pair of baskets to make it 6-4 with 16:43 left.  

• After a mid-range jumper from Brandon Suggs and a three-pointer from Jaylin Jackson-Posey, the Aggies pushed the score to 13-7. The Lancers made a move of their own and performed a 9-0 run sparked by a Kendal Coleman one-handed jam to make the score 19-15 with 8:44 left and take their first lead.  

• On the next possession, Jackson-Posey connected on a mid-range jumper to get an 8-0 run rolling with Femi Odukale getting his first field goal of the night off a tough layup in the paint. The Lancers sprung back again to even the score 24-24 with 2:14 left in the half of play.  

• The Aggies ended the half with a two-for-one situation and Carpenter knocked in both shot attempts. He proceeded to end the half like he started scoring six points in quick succession to end the half with NM State holding the lead 32-26. 

Second Half 

• Following a 15-point first half, Robert Carpenter picked up where he left off as he scored the first Aggie points of the second half. Jaylin Jackson-Posey also contributed to a quick start for the home side – coming up with a steal and slamming it home on the opposite end to push the lead to eight points.  

• California Baptist then benefitted from an Aggie scoring drought that lasted nearly four minutes as a six-point Lancer run cut the NM State lead to just two points. The Aggies finally got back on track as Femi Odukale blew by his defender for an easy two before Jaylin Jackson-Posey and Jonathan Kanyanga connected for the first of two emphatic alley-oops to help the Aggies regain the momentum.  

• NM State later went on a 9-1 run featuring points from four different Aggies to increase the lead to the largest of the game at 14 points with 7:51 remaining on the clock.  

• CBU then responded with a 6-0 run of its own, however, Carpenter's fourth three-pointer followed by an alley-oop dunk worthy of a poster from Jonathan Kanyanga built the lead back up to 13 points.  

• In the closing minutes of the game, NM State went 7-of-8 from the charity stripe to help close out the game. During the stretch, California Baptist did continue to execute on the offensive end, including draining a corner three at the buzzer to make the score appear closer than the contest was.  

NUMBERS OF NOTE 

• Robert Carpenter posted 20 points in just 17 minutes, his eighth game in double-digits for the Aggies and second 20-point performance this season, putting up 20 points against Fresno State in the Cancun Challenge (11/21). The junior from Detroit also led the team with seven rebounds.  

• Jaylin Jackson-Posey recorded his sixth double-figure scoring night, adding in 11 points and a pair of steals in 30 minutes. This became the Aggies' first win on the year when having two or fewer players score in double digits.  

• Tanahj Pettway recorded his first points for the Aggies since his debut against Northern New Mexico (12/12), recording season-highs in rebounds (2), minutes (11) and tying his season-best in steals (1).  

•  The Lancers edged NM State in turnovers, recording 13 compared to 12 for the Crimson & White. Winning the turnover battle has been a key to success for NM State this season, improving to 6-2 on the season with fewer turnovers than their opponents.  

• The Aggies have been a force historically in the Pan American Center, and this trend followed the program into 2023.  With the win, the Aggies close non-conference play with a 6-1 home record. 

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