CANCÚN, Mexico – NM State (5-0) leaned on its defense, depth and late-game poise to earn a 57-45 win over UC Irvine (3-4) on Tuesday night in Cancun. The victory pushes the Aggies to a 5–0 start for the first time since the 1990–91 season, marking one of the strongest season openings in program history.
Despite shooting struggles on both sides, the Aggies controlled the game for more than 37 minutes and used timely runs in each half to separate from the Anteaters and secure their second win of the Cancun Challenge.
NM State opened the night with strong defensive energy, forcing six UC Irvine turnovers in the first eight minutes. A 7-0 Aggie burst highlighted by buckets from Kyrese Mullen, Jemel Jones and Jayland Randall gave NM State a 16-7 advantage with 11:28 left in the first half – their largest lead of the period.
UC Irvine briefly trimmed the gap to two, but the Aggies closed the half with another momentum surge. In the final 1:20, Mullen and Randall combined for back-to-back second-chance buckets, fueling a 6-1 spurt that sent NM State into the locker room in front 26-20.
Out of the break, the Aggies maintained control through their defense, holding the Anteaters without a field goal for nearly three minutes. After UC Irvine closed within two at 28-26, NM State responded with a pivotal swing. At the 7:45 mark, NM State sparked a 9-2 run that created the first double-digit separation of the game – highlighted by an eight-minute stretch where UC Irvine went just 2-12 from the floor. The run included a three from Gabe Pickens, two free throws from Jones and a transition jumper from Randall.
The Aggies never led by fewer than six the rest of the way and eventually extended the margin to a game-high 14 following a Jae'Coby Osborne layup with 1:11 remaining.
In a low-scoring defensive battle, NM State's depth showed, with 29 bench points compared to just eight for the Anteaters. Jones led the Aggies with 12 points while adding 5 rebounds and a team-high 3 steals. Randall delivered an important spark with seven points and tied the team high with eight rebounds, while Osborne added 10 points, including a 6-8 effort from the free-throw line. Defensively, NM State held UC Irvine to 26.7% shooting, their lowest by an opponent this season.
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