NMSU rumbles past UNM for second straight Rio Grande Rivalry victory

LAS CRUCES — It wasn’t pretty. Which is exactly what New Mexico State coach Jason Hooten and a hostile 8,106 Aggies fans wanted.

NMSU’s Anthony Wrzescz scored 16 points and knocked down four 3-pointers to lead the Aggies to a physical 76-68 win over the UNM Lobos on Saturday night in the Pan American Center.

"I thought tonight looked like a New Mexico State, Jason Hooten defense tonight," Hooten said. "Those guys flew around. They played really, really tough."

Jemel Jones added 15 for NMSU as the Aggies have now won two in a row in the Rio Grande Rivalry, utilizing Hooten’s ball-pressure defense to make things uncomfortable on the Lobos down the stretch.

UNM never managed to put together back-to-back scores in the final 5:30 of the game, instead just shared buckets with an Aggies team that that appeared to grow tougher as the game went on.

“They kept us from generating the kind of shots we wanted on offense,” first-year UNM coach Eric Olen said after the game. “I thought their pressure affected us a little bit. I thought we missed some guys because we were maybe sped up a little bit at different times in the game.

"And then I felt like they just made the plays down the stretch. They hit some big shots. We made some mistakes defensively they made us pay for. Credit to them for playing well down the stretch.”

The Aggies improve to 3-0 on the season and 2-2 in the Rio Grande Rivalry under Hooten, who had a nearly entirely different team when he beat Richard Pitino’s Lobos in the Pit a year ago.

The Lobos, who do have an entirely new team from a season ago, fall to 3-1, suffering their first loss under Olen.

UNM forward Tomislav Buljan had a double-double (11 points, 13 rebounds), Uriah Tenette scored 13 off the bench, and senior point guard Deyton Albury led the Lobos with 18 points and six rebounds. Albury drew eight fouls in the game, but also fouled out himself with 1:04 left in the game and his team down 70-68.

The Lobos didn’t score again and, frankly, didn’t have a good offensive possession in the final minute.

“I have to go back and look,” Olen said when asked if he was pleased with the offensive possessions after Albury left the game. “I know we had a couple of looks that didn’t go and we had a couple of possessions that we certainly need to get better looks.”

It was a hot and cold shooting night for the Aggies throughout the game. After an 8-of-14 (57.1%) stretch to open, they slogged through an extended 5-of-24 stretch before Jones scored eight straight for a 44-43 Aggies lead with 12:52 left. From that point on, the Lobos seemed to lose whatever window they may have had to close out the Aggies.

“I thought we closed (out on) Jones a time or two where he got his first couple baskets,” Olen said about his team’s defensive lapses midway through the second half that allowed Jones to get rolling on offense. “He’s a really tough shot maker, and so once he saw it go through, you could feel his aggression pick up. So, some things that we can do better, but those guys (Jones and Wrzeszcz) also hit big shots.”

Tenette scored seven of the nine Lobo points in one stretch, including a corner 3 that tied the game at 52-52 with 9:07 left — keeping the Pan Am from getting rolling like it wanted to.

Both teams went on mini spurts down the stretch, but neither could shake the other until the final 64 seconds when the Aggies hit six free throws to close out the game.

NMSU finished the game hitting 41.1% from the field (23-of-56) and 76.9% from the free-throw line (20-of-26). The Aggies opened the game hitting 3-of-7 3-pointers then missed 13 in a row, taking the UNM bait of a defense focused on taking away paint touches and penetration, even if it meant allowing NMSU to shoot from the outside.

It was a defense that seemed to be working until Jones got rolling late.

But he wasn’t the only one. The Aggies got contributions up and down the roster with 10 players scoring, including its bench outscoring UNM’s bench 29-20.

"One of the best things about the win tonight was how many guys just came off the bench and played so well," Hooten said. "And I think that's just a tribute to the kind of kids that we have and the fact that they're waiting their turn over there."

UNM shot 41.8% from the floor (23-of-54) and 82% from the free-throw line (14-of-17).

The Lobos edged the Aggies on the boards, 36-35.

New court

The players on the court weren’t all that was new on Saturday night. The court in the Pan American Center is a temporary one as the usual one was having issues with pieces not fitting together properly and rising in spots. It is being fixed and will return.

Back from injury

Point guards Albury and Tenette were each back for Saturday’s game after missing Tuesday night’s win over UC Riverside in the Pit with what the team only described as “lower body” injuries.

NMSU forward Julius Mims, who missed Tuesday’s win over Division II New Mexico Highlands with a concussion suffered in the Nov. 4 win over D-II Adams State, also returned, finishing with eight points and eight rebounds.

You can reach Geoff at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.

NMSU defeats UNM for second straight Rio Grande Rivalry win

NMSU’s Anthony Wrzescz scored 16 points and knocked down four 3-pointers to lead the Aggies to a physical 76-68 win over the UNM Lobos on Saturday night in the Pan American Center.