LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Following a week away, NM State (9-5, 2-2 CUSA) got back in the win column on Thursday night as they earned a dominant 80-64 victory over Western Kentucky (9-6, 2-2 CUSA) inside the Pan American Center. 

In a game that it never trailed, NM State was led in the scoring column by Jemel Jones, who finished with 24 points to serve as one of four Aggies to post double figures. He was also joined by Elijah Elliott (12 points), Jayland Randall (12 points) and Kyrese Mullen (10 points). Julius Mims was also a key contributor in his starting role, finishing with eight points and a career-high 15 rebounds.

Coming out of the gate, the Aggies would get things going in emphatic fashion with Julius Mims throwing down an alley-oop slam from an assist from Elijah Elliott, who got his first start of the season. This would then fuel the Aggies to one of their hottest starts of the season, with a 13-0 run that was capped by a Jemel Jones shot from beyond the arc. 

The Hilltoppers would finally find their first basket coming off an Armelo Boone layup, but that wouldn't stop anything for the Aggies as they would score eight unanswered points to push their lead to 21-2 just over six minutes into the first half.

The Aggies would keep working and balloon their lead to 28 points after Kyrese Mullen connected on his second 3-pointer of the night to make the score 41-13 with 5:38 left in the half. The Hilltoppers would finally get something to go in their favor, but the Aggies would still be up big as they would hold a 46-28 advantage going into the break.

Western Kentucky threw the first jab in the second half as they tallied the first five points of the period to trim the Aggie lead to 13 points before NM State recorded a 6-2 run to build its lead back to 17 points (52-35).

WKU then continued to chip away at the deficit as it went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to single digits for the first time since the 16:55 mark in the first half. Shortly after, Jae'Coby Osborne caught a lob from Gabe Pickens for a resounding dunk that pushed the lead back to 11 at the 13:56 mark.

With the lead at 10 points and the Aggies in need of a shift in momentum, WKU Head Coach Hank Plona was assessed a technical foul at the 11:25 mark. This would spark a 7-0 Aggie run that spanned less than one minute of game time. Eventually, NM State would build the lead back up as Elijah Elliott converted a four-point play to push the advantage to 20 points with 9:16 remaining.This fueled the Aggies down the stretch to run away with a 

NUMBERS OF NOTE    

• With the win, the Aggies improve to a perfect 7-0 inside the Pan American Center and are now on an eight-game home winning streak dating back to last season. The Aggies 7-0 record at home also marks the program's best start since the 2016-17 season, when Paul Weir guided the Aggies to a 12-0 start on Lou Henson Court.

• With the victory, Head Coach Jason Hooten recorded his 300th career win. This includes 39 wins at NM State and 261 wins as the leader of the Sam Houston program.

• Jemel Jones' 24 points match his season high and mark the most points by any Aggie this season. Jones has also now scored 20-plus points three times; however, this is his first 20-point effort since the second game of the season.

• Jones also finished the game with 11 made free throws, to represent the most by an Aggie this season.

• Julius Mims concluded the game with a career-best 15 rebounds to mark the most rebounds by an Aggie in a single game since Peter Filipovity hauled in 17 boards on Jan. 25, 2025.

• Elijah Elliott tallied 12 points to eclipse the 1,000-point mark for his collegiate career, including 130 points this season for the Crimson & White.

• NM State's 10 made threes match the most in any game this season - a mark they have achieved three other times this season.

• Kyrese Mullen had another one of his better performances of the season, as he flirted with a double-double on the night with 10 points and matched his season-high with 8 rebounds for the Aggies.

• With 49 rebounds, the Aggies equaled their highest rebound total against a Division I opponent this year.
   

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