IT’S AGGIES AGAIN
Lobos coach Weir admits, ‘We’re trying to catch them’ after 4th straight loss to NMSU
New Mexico State wins fourth straight over UNM
The average height of a Lobo basketball player is 6-foot-7.3 inches. That makes University of New Mexico men’s basketball team the second tallest team, by average height, in the country among 353 Division I programs.
But as far as basketball in the Land of Enchantment, they are now the little brothers in a rivalry that has been fought for more than a century.
On Saturday, in front of an announced Dream style Arena — the Pit crowd of 14,393, it was 5-foot-9 AJ Harris who scored 31 points and was 6-for-6 from 3-point range to lead the New Mexico State Aggies to a 98-94 win over the Lobos.
It is the fourth consecutive victory for NMSU in the series, marking the first time the Aggies have won four in a row in a quarter century (1993).
“Yeah. They are,” said Paul Weir, UNM’s second-year coach and former NMSU head coach, of the Aggies now controlling the rivalry. “I would say we’re trying to catch them. We’ve been trying to catch them since I got here. I think last year, they were a better team than us. I don’t think anybody would have argued differently (last season).
“I think going into this year, this was on us to prove that we’re the better team and we didn’t do that. And that’s on Paul Weir. That’s not on our seniors. That’s not on our newcomers. That’s not on anybody but Paul Weir. I have to (find) a way to improve. I have to find a way to get better.”
The Pit was rocking early, and a Vladimir Pinchuk bucket with 13:11 showing on the clock had the Lobos up 13-5.
That’s when things changed. Over a 4-minute, 11-second stretch after the Pinchuk basket, the Lobos went 0-for-2 from the field, committed four fouls and four turnovers and didn’t grab a rebound.
In the same stretch, the Aggies went 4-for-4 from the field, including two 3-pointers, hit two free throws, had two steals and rebounded both of UNM’s missed shots.
The result? A 12-0 scoring run, a 17-13 lead and all the momentum needed to control the rest of the game.
“At the end of the day, if you start to get down to the nitty gritty, I think they had one terrific player tonight, and I think he changed the dynamic of the game in a lot of ways,” said Weir, who recruited Harris to NMSU from Ohio State when both were still calling Las Cruces home. “The emotional stuff we talk about, I think as all those things play out. Independent of that are things that are still going to happen on the court. I thought AJ Harris — I mean, that was one of the best performances of an individual since I’ve been here. … He was the difference in the game.”
No matter how hard the Pit crowd tried to get the Lobos back into the game, Harris seemed to come up with a big 3-pointer or veteran play, at one point in the second half putting NMSU (3-1) up by 19 points.
The Lobos (2-1) did make a run at the end, cutting the lead to two points in the closing seconds on an Anthony Mathis basket. And then when Vance Jackson stole the ball, the miraculous comeback appeared inevitable.
Instead, Mathis lost the ball to a C.J. Bobbitt steal. A pair of free throws at the other end sealed the game with 1.2 seconds remaining.
“It’s way more fun to win and learn from your mistakes than lose and have to grow that way,” said NMSU coach Chris Jans, who is 3-0 vs. UNM. “Certainly we didn’t do a very good job of managing the game down the stretch. I got to help them better. (The Lobos) wouldn’t go away. Credit to them, they kept fighting. They made shots. We couldn’t get any stops.”
Former San Jose State guard Terrell Brown added 20 points for NMSU, which hit 12-of-23 3-pointers, out-rebounded the taller Lobos 31-22 and had 17 second-chance points off 10 offensive rebounds. NMSU also shot 56.6 percent from the field.
UNM had three players score 20 or more: Jackson (27), Mathis (22) and Corey Manigault (22).
NOTES: Jans is now 6-0 in rivalry games to start his career, 3-0 each vs. UNM and 3-0 vs. UTEP. He has earned $10,000 in contract bonuses so far this year for two wins -- $5,000 for the Nov. 9 win over UTEP and $5,000 for Saturday’s win over UNM . ... Harris’ 31 points were a career high, topping his previous high of 20 points . ... UNM had three players score 20 or more points. The last time that happened? Just nine games ago on Feb. 20, 2018, in a 119-114 win at Wyoming (Sam Logwood 24, Troy Simons 24, Makuach Maluach 20). ... UNM’s 59.6 shooting percentage is the best in a loss since Jan. 15, 2005, when shooting 69.2 from the floor in a loss at Air Force. The Aggies added New Mexico State graduate and former Los Angeles Laker assistant coach Casey Owens to its staff on Saturday as director of operations. His son, Tennessee Owens, is an Aggies redshirt.