The Aggies fell at Southern Utah in the WAC Opener

LAS CRUCES, NM Despite taking an early lead, the Aggies (7-6, 0-1 WAC) dropped a WAC home game for the first time since 2008 – falling to league newcomer Southern Utah (9-5, 1-0 WAC) 79-75 on Wednesday night.

NM State led in scoring Deshawndre Washington who scored 18 points on the night, finishing with a season-low five points in last week’s win over North Carolina A&T. Washington also led the Aggies in scoring as she pulled down 11 boards and recorded her third double-double of the season.

Xavier Pinson, Anthony Roy and DaJuan Quaye Gordon also reached double figures with 16, 11 and 10 over the Thunderbirds.

NM State shot 44% (24-54) from the floor as a team while managing to beat one of the best rebounding teams in the conference (35-34). The Aggies struggled to control the ball as they ended the night with 16 turnovers, including 10 in the first half. The Thunderbirds also took advantage of Aggie mistakes, putting up 25 points off turnovers, while NM State was able to turn Southern Utah’s 15 turnovers into just 10 points.

Preseason First Team All-WAC selection Tevian Jones paced SUU in scoring with 20 points and most of his production came from behind the arc (5-7). Even with Jones’ performance, the Thunderbirds had a balanced attack as they finished with five scorers in double figures.

FIRST HALF

• To say the Aggies got off to a good start would be an understatement, as NM State held the nation’s third-highest scoring offense to zero points for nearly four minutes as the Thunderbirds opened the game 0-7 from the field. At the same time led by five points Xavier PinsonNM State was able to build a 10-0 lead out of the gate.
• After a fast start, the virtual cover of the rim changed ends as Southern Utah rebounded with a 15-4 run to take a 15-14 lead with 10:14 still on the clock.
• DaJuan Quaye Gordon eventually knocked down a three to put the Aggies back in the driver’s seat. However, Southern Utah responded with a 9-0 run to extend its lead to seven points with 7:54 left in the first period.
• After going back and forth for a while Anthony Roy would serve as the Aggies’ only source of offense as he closed out the half by hitting a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers to help NM State trail by five points at halftime.

SECOND HALF

• Dr. Bradley injected life into the building with a dunk over a Southern Utah defender to open the Aggies’ second-half scoring. However, SUU guard Drake Allen responded with a possession dunk of his own to give the Thunderbirds an eight-point lead while silencing the crowd.

Early @WACSports Game of the week candidate!#AggieUp pic.twitter.com/uD6u603YdK

— NM State MBB (@NMStateMBB) December 29, 2022

• Later, Southern Utah extended its lead to 10 points after a five-point run in which all five points came from Jason Spurgin. NM State would end up looking at a 14-point deficit with just 7:52 left in the game.
• Ignite a Deshawndre Washington and one, NM State was able to rattle off five straight points to cut the deficit to nine points with 5:27 on the clock.
• Trailing by 11 with just over two minutes left in the game, NM State managed to score seven unanswered points to make it a two possession.
• However, Southern Utah and one with about 30 seconds left seemed to represent the final nail in the Aggies’ coffin as the Thunderbirds outscored the Aggies by four points.

NOTE NUMBERS

• For the second time this season Deshawndre Washington finished the game as the Aggies’ leading scorer (18) and leading rebounder (11). It’s also his third double-double of the season and the third consecutive game in which an Aggie has recorded a double-double.
• After being left out of the lineup at NM State’s Sun Bowl Invitational, Anthony Roy returned to the court and finished with 11 points, his best since Nov. 30, when he scored 23 against UTEP.
• Marchelus Avery appeared in the starting lineup for the fourth consecutive game.
• Xavier Pinson finished with 10-plus points for the ninth time this season as he scored 16 points, including a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line for the second time this season.
• DaJuan Quaye Gordon continued his scoring ways as he scored 10 points to make it six straight games he’s posted in double figures.

++NM status++