The New Mexico State men’s basketball team returned home from a three-game road trip and delivered a dominant 84-49 victory over the University of the Southwest Mustangs. The win snapped a three-game losing streak, putting them a game under .500 with a record of 4-6.
The Aggies got the night started with a commanding 20-2 run after hitting their first three-point shot attempts while outscoring the Mustangs inside the paint. As the starters were slowly getting subbed out, the Aggies maintained an 18-point lead, shooting 70% from the field with a high 80% from behind the arc.
After the slow start for the Mustangs, their offense made some adjustments and started nailing their shots. While facing a 23-7 deficit, the Mustangs’ Scott Anthony and Caleb Wilson hit a few shots to reach double digits. Despite the increase in buckets, the Mustangs’ defense struggled to slow the Aggies’ momentum as they increased their lead from 15 to 20 points with under eight minutes left in the first half.
Senior and junior forwards Kaosi Ezeagu and Robert Carpenter continued to hit shots at a high percentage, while the Aggies’ defense maintained control over the Mustangs.
The aggressive offensive start for the Aggies did not endure through the entire first half as they sunk into a two-minute scoring drought. On the defensive side, the Aggies held the Mustangs to a low shooting percentage while protecting a 26-point lead to finished the half 46-21.
The Aggies tipped off the second half with the momentum on their side and never looked back while dominating the rest of the game.
Both teams went on a short scoring drought before junior guard Christian Cook scored the first two points of the second half with an inside jumper, giving them their largest lead of the game at 27 points.
Throughout the entire second half, the Aggies outscored the Mustangs inside the paint, dropping 34 points, while having 17 second chance scoring opportunities compared to the Mustangs five.
Despite their dominance, the Aggies overall shooting percentage took a dive as their shooting percentage dropped from 62% to 39%, while their three-point efficiency dropped from 75% to 41%. The Aggies held the Mustangs in check forcing them to take difficult shots and retaining them to shooting 33% from the floor and 36% from behind the arc.
Senior forward Clarence Jackson led the Aggies in scoring with 13 points, while making five of his nine shot attempts. Ezeagu and Junior guard Jaylin Jackson-Posey both dropped 12 points to lead the Aggies to an 84-49 commanding win over the Mustangs.
The Aggies will now travel to Albuquerque to take on I25 rival, the University of New Mexico on Saturday Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. Coverage will be steamed on the Mountain West Network.
