Baker spurs Aggies to 18th straight win

OREM, Utah — While the first 90 percent of their game Saturday night might not have been much to the New Mexico State Aggies’ liking, the last four minutes were certainly splendid enough.

Against a Utah Valley squad intent on handing the Aggies their first Western Athletic Conference loss, New Mexico State trailed for most of the contest before overcoming the Wolverines in the final minute for a 74-69 victory.

“They made it tough on us for like 36 minutes. That last four minutes, we just had to clamp down and find a way,” said Aggies’ senior guard Ian Baker, who finished with 24 points. “It was hard for us to get good looks.”

Baker played a critical role in more ways than one offensively down the stretch as New Mexico State (20-2, 7-0) got its 18th straight win, the second longest active streak in the nation behind No. 3 Gonzaga’s 22 straight.

With his team down by five, and the Aggies having connected on a 3-pointer only once in the previous 20 minutes, Baker hit a bomb from the top of the key with 7:25 on the clock.

He was fouled on the play, made a free throw for a four-point play and that was followed by a another 3 by teammate Braxton Huggins as NMSU went up 59-57.

Utah Valley (10-11, 2-4) bounced back, however, and still led 69-65 with 2 minutes to go.

Baker immediately answered a Wolverines bucket, as noted by Utah

Valley coach Mark Pope afterward, by cruising full-court for a basket and free throw when he was fouled again.

The Aggies finally took the lead for good when Baker twice found Eli Chuha flashing to the hoop for consecutive layups — once with 1:03 on the clock for a 70-69 advantage and the second with 11 seconds on the clock to move the spread to three.

“He’s a tremendous player. He’s the best point guard I’ve ever coached,” said New Mexico State coach Paul Weir of Baker.

“He shows it pretty much night in and night out.”

Chuha scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the visitors, while Huggins finished with 11 points.

The Wolverines had four players in double figures and were led by Brandon Rudolph’s 18 points. But even when Utah Valley scored 11 straight points, for a 38-29 lead, warning signs were there for the home team.

Utah Valley had enormous difficulty keeping the Aggies off the offensive boards.

At the end of the game, New Mexico State had gathered 16 offensive rebounds as part of a 44-25 overall advantage in that category. Chuha himself had six put-back opportunities as the Aggies had 20 secondchance points.

“We just could not solve our issues on the glass. Against a team like this, it’s hard to win that way,” Pope said. “For the first time in the history of basketball, I drew up a hangman at halftime and spelled out the word ‘Rebound.’

“It’s a point of emphasis for any team playing New Mexico State,” he added. “It’s not like we didn’t address it.”