NM State Basketball December 16-20, 2017

NM State Men’s Basketball

12-16-17

The Aggie Men got a taste of the big time tonight playing in the United Center in Chicago versus Illinois.  This was the Lou Henson Classic, which is a tribute game to the coach that holds the wins record for both universities.  Lou’s actually in the hospital right now, but was said to be watching the game. 

The Aggies came into this game expecting it to be physical.  They went down 8-2 early, but flipped that around with a 9-point run for a 13-8 lead.  Halfway through the first half, the Aggies were up 20-10 with Zach Lofton coming up big.  They had a 15-ponit lead at one point.  It was 38-26 Aggies at the half.  Then the roller coaster went over the hill.  In the first minute of the second half, the Aggies racked up five fouls, putting themselves in the instant foul trouble.  Guess they got a bit too physical.  Illinois then reeled off 10 straight points to tie the game.  They went on to take a 7-point lead at about the 10-minute mark.  Jack Nixon, calling the game, was disgusted. 

The Aggies weren’t done yet.  Thanks to some stiff defense and three-point shooting, the Aggies caught up and took the lead with five minutes left.  From here, the lead went back and forth, with neither team able to pull away.  With 23 seconds left, after a Jemerrio Jones’ steal, AJ Harris got a basket and a foul shot for a three-point lead.  Eli Chua then converted on both shots of a one-and-one to ice the game.  74-69 Aggies.  Who would have thought that this team could win off of some clutch free throw shooting?  Zach Lofton finished with 23 points to lead the team.  The key stat for the Aggies was getting 21 points off of turnovers.  The small Aggie contingent on hand in Chicago was elated.  Jack thought this was one of the best Aggie wins he’d seen.  Maybe he’s forgotten some games or was just caught up in the moment, but that’s still very high praise from the long-time Aggie broadcaster.        

NM State and UTEP Women’s Basketball

12-17-17

Forgive me for talking about UTEP again, but I keep running into them on the radio and they’ve had some interesting games this season.  The Miner Women were playing the ECU Pirates in Myrtle Beach at an invitational.  (I’m assuming ECU is Eastern Carolina University.  I never heard it specified.)  I couldn’t believe this game was on, given that they were preempting NFL coverage on a Sunday.  Duke Keith was there solo, but very enthusiastic to be there.  It didn’t sound like there was much of a crowd there, but the girls on both teams were making a lot of noise to make up for it. 

I joined the game in progress with the Miners up by 12 at the half.  ECU managed to cut it to 3 in the third, but UTEP drew 17 foul shots to get the lead back up to 8.  Okay, I must have zoned out for a moment, because suddenly the Pirates were leading in the fourth quarter.  The Miner girls must have zoned out too.  (Actually, they ran into foul trouble on their big inside players.)  Katarina Zec, the hot-shooting, hot blonde on the Miners, did what she does best and buried a three late.  (She wasn’t in for most of the game leading Duke to speculate that she was injured.)  UTEP retook the lead on that, but ECU came back and tied it to force overtime.

The station came back from commercial real late.  They missed a couple of baskets that Duke had to quickly recap.  UTEP retook the lead again.  Their big woman (that sounds terrible, I need to come up with a better euphemism), Tamara Seda, fouled out late.  Amazingly, she was the only one, since I think at least two other girls had four fouls.  The Miners pulled away for the final time for a 93-79 win.  The Miners set a team record with 42 free throw attempts in the game.  (Keep in mind that there’s no one-and-one’s in the Women’s game this season.  They’re all two-shot fouls.)

I missed part of the Aggie Women’s pregame show, since the Miner game ran late.  They were in Malibu playing the Pepperdine Waves.  Adam Young described the campus as picturesque.  (I seem to recall that The Battle of the Network Stars used to film there.)  Their venue only seats 3,000+ and is more like a high school gym.  There were only a few hundred in attendance, which Adam chocked up to the many distractions in the seaside community.  One of fans in attendance was none other than Coach Mark Trakh.  Not only was he the former Aggie Women’s coach, but he also coached Pepperdine (and was quite successful there).  Coach Trakh sat behind the Aggie bench, showing some clear partisanship.  Brooke Salas on the Aggies was also reported to have family and friends present as she’s from the area. 

The first quarter featured some great defense by Monique Mills and the Aggies.  (Mo was all over it this game.)  The score was 9-0 Aggies before the Waves finally scored five minutes in on a free throw.  The quarter finished 17-13 Aggies.  Pepperdine’s three-point shooting was keeping them in it.  Brooke was lighting up the scoreboard like a Christmas tree with 10 points in 10 minutes.  The Aggies really poured it on the second, going up by 20 at one point.  Pepperdine’s coach got frustrated enough to draw a technical.  It was 47-33 Aggies at the half.  Brooke had 17 points, Gia Pack had 14, and Zaire Williams had 11 assists.

Coach Trakh came over and chatted with Adam during halftime.  He just sounded happy and enthusiastic, which was great.  He said he’d watched all the Aggies’ game this season.  I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s still giving some of his girls some coaching advice throughout this season.  Where does he get the time, given that he’s coaching USC at the moment?  How was he even there watching the game?  Perhaps coaches take an afternoon off every so often.  While he loved his stint at Pepperdine, where celebrities would occasionally come by to practice with them, Trakh wanted the Aggies to win by 40 today.  This is like the best ex-coach ever.  (Suck it, Weir!)                         

In the third, Brooke was still decking the halls with a pair of three’s to start the quarter.  It was 69-50 after 15 minutes.  Again, the Waves’ three-point shooting was the only thing keeping this from getting embarrassing.  In the fourth, Brooke wrapped the presents for a new career high in scoring at 32, including 5 of 7 three’s.  (Stop it!  I’m sorry I was listening to ESPN Radio this morning.  It must have rubbed off on me.)  She picked up her third foul about five minutes in and was taken out.  She may have played the whole game to that point.  Zaire got a double-double with 13 points and 16 assists.  The Aggie bench was cheering her on late as she was within one of the school record in assists, but she was taken out late.  Sara Lopez came in briefly.  I never heard Dominique Mills’ name called, so she may be injured, since she usually comes off the bench several times in a game.

Our final was Aggies 86, Waves 64.  This was a great bounce back win after that debacle against Arizona.  The team got its first road win of the season.  Coach Atkinson got her first road win as a head coach as well.  This game was complete domination, but a couple of stats stood out.  The team made 14 of 23 three-point attempts.  They were also finally positive in rebounds at +7, which made the coach happy.  I have to think that having Coach Trakh there in the stands got the best of out the girls.  Maybe they could put a cardboard cutout of him behind the bench at all of their remaining games.  I don’t think Brooke needed the extra motivation, but maybe she wanted to put on a good show for him.  I can’t say they’d beat anybody, but if Brooke, Gia, and Zaire can all score in the double digits, this team will be hard to beat.    

NM State Women’s Basketball

12-20-17

The Aggies continued their West Coast swing in Long Beach.  Tonight, they were playing the Northeastern Huskies as part of an invitational.  The Huskies from Boston and Illinois State, who played Long Beach before this game, both took in the sights after they arrived in town.  The Aggies stayed in California after their game with Pepperdine and took a trip to the Santa Monica Pier on their off day.  This game started about 20 minutes late due to the length of the previous game.  The game was at the Walter Pyramid.  It’s a true pyramid.  It only seats 5000, but is huge and can fit three basketball courts or five volleyball courts inside.

     

The first quarter started well with Monique Mills hitting a pair of three’s.  Her sister Dominique Mills was also back playing in this game.  The Huskies, known for their three-point shooting, were also knocking down three’s.  It was 19-19 after ten furious, fast-paced minutes.  Play slowed down in the second.  The Aggies went cold, missing 11-12 field goal attempts in a five-minute scoring drought.  Mo and Brooke Salas both sat out a good deal of the quarter with foul trouble.  The Huskies were up by as much as 7 and finished with a 30-25 lead.  A last second three-point shot by Gia Pack was waved off.

Brooke had 13 friends and family in attendance.  Just at the start of the third, she shared a laugh with her mom sitting on the sidelines.  Zaire Williams hit a couple of three’s to tie the score early.  Mo got a steal and wide open layup and then a couple of three’s.  The Aggies went up by 8, but the Huskies re-tied it late.  Brooke scored at the end of the quarter to give the Aggies a 50-49 lead.

In the fourth, Adam Young, calling the game, started getting on the officials over questionable and missed calls.  The game couldn’t have been tighter at this point.  The Aggies went cold shooting for three minutes, but the Huskies only had a one-point lead with one minute left.  The Aggies took a one-point lead with 45 seconds left on a Brooke finger roll shot.  The officials had to stop to confirm a possession at 30 seconds.  The Huskies missed an open shot.  Again, the officials had to stop and figure out possession after a rebound.  Mo converted on a free throw with 17 seconds left for a two-point Aggie lead.  The Huskies hit a three for a one-point lead with 6 seconds left.  The Aggies drew up a play for the last shot.  Brooke took the ball inside for another finger roll that just swirled out.  65-64 Huskies in a heartbreaker.

Adam was almost choked up in disbelief.  So was I.  Brooke is so stoic, I have no idea how what she was feeling at the end.  At least she had plenty of family support there for her.  It’s probably a good thing that they’d be playing tomorrow and not have any extended time to dwell on this game.  The scoring was great with Monique Mills with 18, Brooke Salas with 17, and Gia Pack with 15.  They were also good on turnovers with 19, but were -21 in rebounds.  So far, the team doesn’t seem to have a consistent answer for the rebound issue.  Honestly, this game depressed me for the rest of the evening.  I hope the girls got over it quicker, since they’d be back in action tomorrow afternoon.