Aggies Put Clamps On ‘Dogs’ Shooters

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The team that leads the Western Athletic Conference in offense needed a big day on defense in order to advance.

New Mexico State, which averages 78 points a game, had to settle for slightly less than what it’s accustomed to scoring Thursday in the quarterfinals of the WAC tournament. But since the Aggies held Fresno State to 49 in a 65-49 win, the offense was able to take the day off.

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Their second victory over the Bulldogs in six days puts the second-seeded Aggies (24-9) in tonight’s semifinals against No. 6 Hawaii, a 72-70 upset winner over third-seeded Idaho.

“We didn’t lose our composure when the shots weren’t dropping, and our defense carried us,” coach Marvin Menzies said.

It was Menzies’ 100th career head coaching win, but it wasn’t pretty. Fresno State was a woeful 31 percent from the floor and made just 4 of 21 3-point attempts.

Credit New Mexico State with getting a hand up in the FSU shooters’ faces and contesting a lot of those shots. The defensive performance was part of a trend that has emerged during the second half of the season.

“We practice defense every day, and our defense is our offense,” said Aggies forward Tyrone Watson, who had 13 points in the win. “We’ve scouted our opponents well, and everyone understands what they’re supposed to do.”

Wendell McKines, who went just 3 of 15 from the floor, including 1-of-8 on 3-point attempts before finishing with 15 points, said at this point of the season, good teams find ways to win games.

“We’re playing with overall urgency,” said McKines, who had 13 rebounds to go with his 15 points, eight of which came from the foul line. “We’re holding ourselves accountable.”

The Aggies had three things in mind Thursday in looking to advance. First, they wanted to play good team defense, which they did. Second, they didn’t want Fresno State’s Kevin Olekaibe to have a big day at their expense. The sophomore guard from Las Vegas had his homecoming ruined with a 4-for-16 shooting performance and was 1-of-8 from beyond the 3-point arc. He finished with just 13 points, five below his average.

Finally, New Mexico State didn’t want to contribute to its own demise by being sloppy with the ball. The Aggies committed 11 turnovers overall, but had only five in the first half. They had a 25-19 lead at intermission.

“I thought we did a good job in all three,” Menzies said.

The Aggies had a scary moment down the stretch when Daniel Mullings went down hard after being intentionally fouled by Jonathan Wills, a former UNM Lobo, with just under a minute to play. Mullings, a freshman guard who finished with 11 points, had a sensational slam dunk two minutes before, flying down the middle of the lane and bringing the sparse crowd of 1,902 to its feet.

But Menzies didn’t think the hard foul, which caused Mullings to land on his shoulder, was intentional or in retribution for the huge dunk.

“I didn’t think (Wills) was trying to hurt (Mullings). … His shoulder’s a little bruised, maybe, but I think he’ll be OK.”

Menzies said Hawaii may be different from the opponent that the Aggies blitzed 115-73 in Las Cruces on Feb. 23. The Warriors (16-15) are without starting forward Zane Johnson, who averages 14 points a game and did not make the trip to Las Vegas after being diagnosed with mononucleosis.

“We scout deeper than their starting five,” Menzies said. “We’ll make adjustments if we have to.”
— This article appeared on page D7 of the Albuquerque Journal