Teddy Allen and Jabari Rice combined for 52 points, but NM State couldn't contain New Mexico's high-scoring tandem of Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn who totaled 50 as the Aggies dropped a 101-94 decision to the Lobos Tuesday night inside the Pan American Center.
Without head coach Chris Jans on the sidelines for a second-straight game due to COVID-19 protocols, the Aggies surrendered 100 or more points for the first time since Feb. 18, 2017 (a 107-101 WAC win over UTRGV) and saw their 14-game winning streak in the Pan American Center come to an end.
FIRST HALF
• Neither team could get into much of a rhythm due to a power outage early in the opening frame. The entire Pan American Center - as well as much of NM State's campus - lost power following the game's first media timeout with 15:17 to go in the opening frame.
• Power was eventually restored to the Pan American Center after nearly 40 minutes with the Aggies leading 9-7. Teddy Allen's three-pointer with 13:29 to go in the frame handed the hosts their largest lead of the night, 15-11, but that was one of just two field goals the Aggies connected on for a span of nearly four minutes.
• Following Allen's long ball, New Mexico took off on a 14-3 run led by House. The Lobos' guard netted six points through that surge with a three-pointer from his hands capping the surge. That trifecta put the Aggies in a 25-18 hole and made it necessary for Levar Williams to did them out of it.
• The Aggies' sharpshooting sophomore splashed two triples through an 8-0 surge by the home team. Williams' second three gave the Aggies the lead again, 26-25, but it proved to be short lived.
• The lead would change hands six times over a span of 1:31 with the final time coming when House hit a difficult runner with 5:40 left that handed the Lobos a 32-31 lead.
• Over the final 5:40 of the half, New Mexico outscored NM State by a 19-11 margin with House accounting for eight of those points.
• A trio of technical fouls were called in the opening frame - two of which were whistled on the Aggies - and as a result New Mexico hit four free throws to help it build a lead.
• In addition to the power outage, a seemingly never-ending deluge of foul calls prevented either team from finding their respective rhythms, too. A total of 31 free throws were taken in the first frame with the Lobos going 16-of-19 from the stripe to open up a 49-42 lead at the break.
SECOND HALF
• The Lobos' lead hit double-digits twice in the second half with the last of those times coming when Gethro Muscadin hit a layup to build the visitors' lead to 56-46 with 17:20 left.
• NM State never regained the lead, but came close on a few occasions. Rice made it a one-point game, 61-60, by ending a personal 5-0 run with three consecutive free throw makes, but that was as close as the Aggies would get.
• Jamal Mashburn Jr., answered with a 4-0 run of his own to counter Rice's one-man scoring spree. Three times the Aggies managed to close within two points, but each time the Lobos had a response.
• The last time the Aggies made it a two-point game came when Marchelus Avery slammed home a two-handed dunk to cut the visitors' advantage to 77-75 with 6:35 left. New Mexico responded to that jam with a 6-0 run that pushed its lead back to eight, 83-75, with 4:45 left.
• New Mexico hit 10 of its 12 free throws in the final 1:18 to put the game on ice.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Allen's 31 points represented both a game-high and a NM State high for the redshirt junior. The high-scoring guard went a perfect 12-for-12 at the free throw line - an area where the two teams spent the vast majority of the night.
• NM State and New Mexico combined to take 77 free throws in the contest with the Lobos going 35-of-42 (.833) to hold a slight edge over the Aggies who converted 77.1-percent (27-of-35) of their attempts.
• Will McNair Jr., finished with a career-high 14 points in a losing effort to go along with eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Johnny McCants and Donnie Tillman both fouled out of the game after finding themselves saddled with foul trouble all night.
• Rice neared double-double territory by finishing with a game-high eight assists. Though NM State committed just nine turnovers - a season low - it wasn't enough to offset the Lobos' accuracy at the free throw line or the high-scoring play of House
• Though he wasn't in the building for the second-straight game due to COVID-19 protocols, Jans was saddled with the loss against the Lobos. NM State has now dropped three consecutive showdowns with their longtime in-state foes.
COMING UP NEXT
• Another rivalry game is next on the docket for the Aggies as they head to El Paso, Texas, for a Friday evening showdown with longtime Lone Star State adversary UTEP. At 6:00 p.m. from the Don Haskins Center, NM State will go for the season sweep of the Miners.
