New Mexico State fires coach in wake of hazing allegations

New Mexico State fired basketball coach Greg Heiar on Tuesday in the wake of hazing allegations within the team that shut down the program for the rest of the season.

Chancellor Dan Arvizu announced the firing of the firstyear head coach and said “hazing has no place on our campus, and those found responsible will be held accountable for their actions.”

On Sunday, Arvizu shut down the program for the season after reviewing a campus police report in which an Aggies player said three teammates ganged up on him and attacked him. The report, which redacted the names of the players, included allegations of false imprisonment, harassment and criminal sexual contact.

Heiar, 47, spent time in his career as an assistant for former NMSU head coach Chris Jans, who left after last season to coach Mississippi State. Last season, Heiar was at Northwest Florida State, where he helped the Raiders win the junior college national title.

The Aggies were riddled with problems from the start of their season. It started unraveling when some basketball players were involved in a fight with New Mexico students at an Aggies football game in October.

A month later, the night before New Mexico State basketball was scheduled to play at New Mexico in Albuquerque, forward Mike Peake went to the apartment complex of one of the students involved in the fight. Security cameras at the apartment complex shows the student pulling a gun, then Peake brandishing own gun and shooting the student, inflicting fatal wounds.

Peake, who was taken to the hospital with leg wounds, has been suspended from the team but not charged with a crime while authorities in Albuquerque investigate.

• On the court Tuesday, Devin Carter scored 25 points and host No. 24 Providence beat No. 18 Creighton 94-86 in two overtimes . ... Judah Mintz scored 20 points and host Syracuse knocked off No. 23 N.C. State 7572.