LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Aggies are back in the win column.
 
After falling in nine straight to open WAC play and spanning all of January without a win, NM State (8-14, 1-9 WAC) took down Stephen F. Austin 73-67 at home on Wednesday night inside the Pan American Center.
 
"Our guys just keep working," said Head Coach Greg Heiar. "They keep showing up every day and we've gotten better in the last seven days. This is how I expect our team to play all the time. I'm so proud of our guys just for sticking together and working as hard as they've been working."
 
The Aggies' first WAC victory during the Greg Heiar era was the definition of a "team win" as five individuals reached double figures for the first time since the Aggies' last win on Dec. 22. DaJuan Quaye Gordon injected a different sense of energy for the Aggies off the bench as he paced all scorers with 15 points while adding five rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
Northwest Florida State College product Issa Muhammad also played a major role in helping the Aggies get over the hump as he posted the second double-double of his career (12 points, 11 rebounds). A trio of fellow starters also joined Muhammad with 10-plus points as Deshawndre Washington finished the night with 13 points, Doctor Bradley tallied 12 points and Anthony Roy finished with exactly 10.
 
As a team, NM State dominated the painted area as they outscored the Lumberjacks 44-26 around the rim while limiting SFA to just five offensive rebounds – its fewest in league action. The Aggies also allowed the 'Jacks their fewest point total since Dec. 31.
 
FIRST HALF

• After scoring a combined 43 points in his last two outings, Anthony Roy made the second start of his Aggie career and immediately came out looking to score – tallying the first two points of the game off of a left-handed floater from about six feet out.
• Admittedly so, slow starts have been an issue for the Aggies as of late, however, that was not the case tonight as NM State shot just over 73% from the field during the first nine minutes and 15 seconds of action as they built a nine-point cushion. The back end of the Aggies' hot start was capped off with a nine-point scoring run to which four different Aggies contributed to.
• A layup from Doctor Bradley followed by a pair of free throws from Xavier Pinson put the Aggies in the lead position by eight points with 3:11 to play in the first half.
• The home side would maintain this advantage until the closing minutes of the half when SFA rattled off six-straight points before intermission to pull within two points going into the locker room.
• NM State seemed to put an emphasis on protecting the glass as they gave up just one offensive rebound and zero second-chance point in the opening period.
• Despite the defensive presence of both programs, the two sides shot the ball exceptionally during the first 20 minutes as the Aggies finished the half with a 57.1 shooting percentage while the 'Jacks shot at a 50% clip. 

SECOND HALF

• After a slight struggle to get stops toward the end of the first period, the Aggies allowed SFA to score just two points across the first 4:51 of the second frame. Meanwhile, an Anthony Roy three-pointer just 44 seconds into the half jumpstarted an 11-2 run that put NM State ahead by double digits for the first time since the WAC opener against Southern Utah on Dec. 28.
• Although, SFA was far from out of it as Head Coach Kyle Keller was able to rally his squad at the ensuing media timeout just before his team rattled off seven straight points to pull within four at the 13:43 mark.
• The Aggies turned to their star guard Deshawndre Washington who sunk a turnaround jump shot while drawing the foul and earned another point at the free-throw line.
• Later, a pair of Doctor Bradley buckets bookended a seven-point run for the Aggies which helped NM State work up an eight-point lead with 7:15 left on the clock.
• Stephen F. Austin's duo of Jaylin Jackson-Posey and Sadaidrene Hall managed to help the 'Jacks lasso the Aggies and reduce the Aggie lead to just one point with 2:44 to play.
• The play of the game undoubtedly came at the 2:06 mark when Xavier Pinson found a high-flying DaJuan Quaye Gordon for a dunk while Gordon also absorbed contact and earned the and-one opportunity. Gordon would convert the free throw to push the Aggie lead to four points.
• From there, the Aggies would feed off the energy of the 5,107 Aggie fans in attendance while Issa Muhammad tapped in a putback attempt to put the Aggies ahead by six points with only 47 seconds remaining on the clock. 

NUMBERS OF NOTE

• Anthony Roy achieved double-digit scoring numbers for the third consecutive game while knocking down at least two triples for the fourth straight game.
• Issa Muhammad tallied the second double-double of his Aggie career as he finished with a career-high 11 rebounds while posting his highest point total (12) since Dec. 22.
• Xavier Pinson dished out six assists against the 'Jacks – marking the eighth time this season the senior has tallied five or more helpers in a game.
• DaJuan Quaye Gordon finished with double figures in the scoring column for the first time since Jan. 12 and 11^th time this season as he went 5-of-7 from the field.
• Doctor Bradley notched his second double-digit scoring effort of the last three games.
• Deshawndre Washington's double-figure scoring night marks the fourth straight game that he has posted at least 11 points.
• The Aggies still managed to reach almost exactly their scoring average (73.7) despite tying a season-low in threes made with just four shots falling from beyond the arc. Those four also came from the hands of just two players as both Gordon and Roy drained a pair of triples.

 
UP NEXT
The Aggies will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 4, when they play host to Seattle U – a team now riding a three-game losing streak after falling at home on Wednesday to Abilene Christian. Tip for Saturday's contest is scheduled for 7 p.m.