The New Mexico State Aggies men’s basketball team faced off against I-25 rival, the University of New Mexico Lobos for the first time since the Aggie’s season was canceled earlier this year. Unable to perform cohesively, the Aggies fell to the Lobos 106-62 in the sold-out arena after an impressive, veteran performance from UNM’s Jaelen House and dropped to a 4-6 losing record. Despite the loss, NMSU’s senior guard Femi Odukale led the Aggies recording 18 points with seven rebounds.
The starters for the Aggies in Albuquerque were senior Femi Odukale, graduate student Kaosi Ezeagu, with juniors Christian Cook, Robert Carpenter, and Jaylin Jackson Posey.
The first half was a toss-up at the start, with neither team able to take a decisive lead after junior guard Jaylin Jackson-Posey nailed the first bucket. With 9:20 left on the clock, the Lobos found their momentum and hit a three-pointer to go up 27-19. From here, the Lobos maintained the lead for the rest of the matchup after posting a 23-0 run ending with the Aggies down 55-32 heading into half time.
The Aggies shot 50% from the field and 25% from the three-point line but were plagued by their 18 fouls in the first 20 minutes. The Aggies continued their trend of staying fresh on the fresh throws, finishing 12-17 with a 70.59% shooting percentage going into the half.
In the second frame, the Lobos continued to run away with the game as the Aggies continued to stumble on both sides of the ball. Jackson-Posey fouled out of the game with 10:29 seconds left, while the Aggies made only 10 of their 30 shots from the field, accompanied by a single successful three-pointer from freshman guard Keylon Dorsey. The Aggies were able to outrebound the Lobos by two with 18 total in the second half.
The Aggies’ defense declined in the second half as the Lobos saw 14 three-point attempts with seven hitting the mark. With minutes winding down and the Lobos nailing 18 of their total 28 field goals, the Aggies, unable to respond, were handed a rough 106-62 loss.
The leaders for the night were Odukale with 18 points and seven rebounds, followed by forward Kaosi Ezagu with 13 points and five rebounds, and finally senior Monzy Jackson with 10 points and seven rebounds as well.
The team finished with 17 turnovers compared to the Lobos seven, shot 39.6% from the field and 16.7% from three. The Aggies ended the night with a high free throw percentage of 75% and outrebounded the Lobos 33-31.
Looking to flip the script, the Aggies will return to the Pan American Center to face the Northern New Mexico Eagles on Tuesday, December 12 at 7:30 p.m. Coverage will be streamed on ESPN + and aired on Zia Country 99.5-FM.
