Aggies win sixth straight over Miners
Lofton’s 18 points lead NMSU; rematch is Thursday in El Paso
LAS CRUCES — The northern end of Interstate 10 is where the action is these days in the men’s basketball rivalry between UTEP and New Mexico State.
The Aggies got 18 points from the Western Athletic Conference’s leading scorer, Zach Lofton, and New Mexico State beat the Miners 72-63 before a crowd of 6,069 at the Pan American Center on Saturday night.
It is the sixth straight win over UTEP for NMSU (4-1) and seventh straight over the Miners in Las Cruces. The Aggies lead the all-time series 111-103.
“History wise, I know a little bit (about the series),” said Lofton, a 6-foot-4 guard who scored 13 of his team-best 18 in the second half. “It’s a big deal to the fans, so it’s a big deal to me.”
The teams meet again Thursday in El Paso. “Hard-fought rivalry win,” NMSU first-year coach Chris Jans said. “We certainly knew it wasn’t gonna be easy.”
The Aggies got separation from the Miners (1-4) with a 17-3 run that covered five minutes early in the second half. But New Mexico State never shook UTEP until the very end.
The Miners erased an early six-point lead and tied the game at 20. Then NMSU rattled off nine in a row, including 3s from Lofton and Eli Chuha, before UTEP answered with the next nine.
At 34-all with 17 minutes remaining, New Mexico State scored another nine in a row, with Sidy N’Dir and Johnathon Wilkins burying 3s, and a threepoint play by Lofton.
Eventually, the lead swelled to 51-37 with 11:55 left. And while the Miners did eventually climb within six points a couple of times over the final five minutes, NMSU’s lead was secure.
The Aggies handily won the battle on the glass, 46-31, including a 10-2 edge in offensive rebounds. The Miners had only two scholarship players taller than 6-7 and often went with a five-guard lineup.
UTEP last weekend lost 7-1 senior center Matt Willms, the team’s second-leading scorer and top rebounder, to a spiral fracture in his right hand. He’ll be out 2-4 weeks.
“Without Willms, we had a huge advantage down low,” said Chuha, one of four Aggies with at least seven boards.
Oñate High product Johnny McCants was another. Off the bench, he pulled down seven boards and scored five points, including two dunks. The second of those brought nearly everyone in the Pan Am Center to their feet, as he drove the far baseline, went over a Miner defender and threw down a vicious two-handed dunk. He was also fouled.
“That dunk … you guys were excited by that, right?” Lofton said with a smile in the media room.
Paul Thomas and Evan Gilyard each had 14 points to pace the Miners.