NM State Men’s Basketball January 27-30, 2018

1-27-18

I was typing up the Women’s game this evening while listening to this game between the Aggie Men and the UMKC Roos.  I wasn’t paying the closest attention, in other words.  During the pre-game, Jack Nixon conducted an impromptu interview with a former Aggie football player now in the military who was in attendance.  Jack mentioned that Johnny McCants was starting tonight with a couple of starters hurting.  The Roos only had eight players available for the game.  Several Aggie fans were in Kansas City for the game, along with some friends of Coach Jans from Wichita St, his former school.  The arena there was historic as it hosted many early NCAA tournaments.  

First Half

McCants started the game with a jam.  On the change of possession, there was a long review on a possible shot clock violation by the Roos, “This very important possession 53 seconds into the game,” drawled Jack.  McCants put in another jam.  The Aggies were leading early 15-6 with under 10 minutes left, before the Roos went on a six-point run.  McCants got another jam to make it 17-12.  Next year, this kid is going to be an offensive force.  Right now, he’s mostly in for defense.  Zach Lofton’s first points came on consecutive shots with two minutes left to make it 27-15.  Jemerrio Jones got a layup, 29-15 Aggies.  Zach got a steal, a basket, and a free throw.  It was 32-15 with under a minute, after a 13-point Aggie run.  However, it was 32-20 at half after a three and a layup by the Roos.

Second Half

The next 20 minutes weren’t hugely interesting.  12 minutes in, after the Aggies built up a huge lead, the Roos went on a run for five points.  Timeout Aggies.  From there, the Aggies dominated and started putting in the reserves.  Aussie Gabe Hadley hit a three to make it 58-34.  Joe Garza came in to the delight of the fans back in Las Cruces.  Zach hit an open three to make it 61-40, which really ended it.  73-48 Aggies was the final.  The Aggies shot 40% and were +15 in rebounds.  Zach Lofton led the team with 19 and the team is now 6-0 in the WAC.

1-30-18

Tonight’s game was a non-conference match versus the Northern New Mexico Eagles.  The Aggies played the Eagles in Rio Rancho the last two years.  Jack Nixon interviewed the Eagles’ coach Ryan Cordova.  He was glad to be in Las Cruces to do some recruiting here and in El Paso.  It’s also a “money” game for them, as NMSU pays them to play them (not a lot though).  Athletic Director Mario Moccia planned for this game to be at home this year, since there’s a new coach here (again).  NMSU likes visiting other parts of the state to increase the university’s prestige in New Mexico.  They’re hoping to visit Hobbs someday for a game.  Jack also talked to Aggie Baseball coach, Brian Green.  He drew some parallels with football team, where a few years in, everything came together.  The baseball team’s lost some great players to the draft, but Coach Green has parleyed that into another nationally ranked recruiting class.  I’m eager for baseball to start. 

First Half

Zach Lofton was out for this game because of a couple of bad knees.  Coach said he could have played if absolutely necessary, but not for this game.  The Eagles went up early 8-4 about four minutes in.  After a media timeout, the Aggies came back to outscore the Eagles 10-2, but the score was just 14-11 Aggies with 11 minutes left.  Jack sounded disappointed.  Here’s Johnny McCants to boost everyone’s spirits with a jam, 21-17 with seven minutes left.  A couple of minutes later, it was 21 all.  The Aggies might have been trying to figure things out without their leading scorer, Lofton.  McCants got the crowd back into it with one-hand jam with three minutes left as the Aggies started to pull away, 30-21.  Before the end of the half, all three Las Cruces players were out on court, McCants, Joe Garza, and Kevin Moore (on the Eagles).  Garza hit a three at the buzzer.  Jack and the crowd went wild, 39-21 Aggies.

Second half

I started watching the President’s State of the Union address during halftime and during the second half, but with subtitles so I could still listen to the game.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t multitasking well and missed writing several highlights.  Aggie fans were having a good time anyway as the team piled on, 56-30 with 11 minutes left.  At 60-35 and five minutes left, the crowd was grumbling over bad call.  Jack lightly chastised them.  But soon enough, they were cheering as an Eagle missed two free throws, meaning free Chik-fil-a for the fans.  Jack got in a “Hello Neumann,” as Elijah Neumann of the Eagles entered the game and took a shot.  The final was 71-45 Aggies. Jemerrio Jones led the way with 14 points and 16 rebounds.  Coach Jans was not happy in the post-game, specifically over the team’s 24 turnovers.  Well, this game was better than letting the Aggies go cold for a week waiting for the next game on Saturday.

UTEP Women’s Basketball January 26-28, 2018

I listened to the UTEP Miner Women play on Friday (1-26-18) and Sunday (1-28-18).  I admit that I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to either game while they were on.  It occurred to me that what I really wanted was to be watching these games so I could see more of Katarina Zec.  I’d run into Coach Kevin Baker’s show earlier in the week on the radio, which I did enjoy listening to.  He seems like a really nice, upbeat fellow, which contrasts with the usual coaching duties of yelling at the players and the refs.  There was also an interview with an assistant coach (didn’t get her name), who had an amazing pedigree in education.

I was working Friday night and was pretty busy.  The ladies were in Houston playing Rice, a good team in C-USA.  It sounded like a really good crowd there.  A reportedly good-size contingent of UTEP fans were in attendance.  Scoring was low to begin with.  Katarina got most of her scoring early, but cooled off later.  The rest of the team wasn’t doing well either.  Tamara Seda was big presence on defense and UTEP went down big when she was out for foul trouble.  It was 29-15 Rice at the half.  The Miners had overcome 15-point deficits twice this season, but it wasn’t to be today with the final, 56-42 Rice.

Sunday, I had the NHL All-Star game on TV, but had the Miners on the radio.  I hadn’t seen that All-Star game in a few years, since it’s been on cable.  I didn’t realize they’d radically changed the format.  I guess I didn’t like it, since I kept flipping channels.  The Pro Bowl was on at the same time.  That was poor scheduling on the NHL’s part, though the Pro Bowl is even less interesting.  I ended up mostly watching a Mexican sports/soccer highlight/talk show with Ivette Hernandez, who made the show highly engaging. 

The Miners were playing the North Texas Mean Green in Denton.  (No matter how dissatisfied I get with the El Paso Chihuahuas’ name, I’m always comforted by the much worse team names out there.)  They were playing in arena nicknamed “The Super Pit.”  Duke Keith, calling the game, was downright offended by the name, I guess in comparison to “The Pit” in Albuquerque (which they’ve attempted to rename into something corporate, but it’s not going to stick). 

Katarina again scored early.  That was apparently all I wrote down, other than the 34-29 UTEP halftime score.  Ivette is very distracting.  Actually, though the game was fairly close, it just wasn’t very interesting as neither team was scoring much.  The fourth quarter took this to an extreme.  It was 44-41 at the start of the quarter.  Katarina made a three, which was the only field goal for the Miners for 10 minutes!  That’s right, they only made one shot from the field in this quarter.  They flat out didn’t score at all for the last two minutes.  The only good news was that the Mean Green weren’t much better.  The final was 50-48 Miners.  That’s 13 combined points for the quarter. 

With the score that close, regardless of the offensive futility, it was pretty dramatic at end.  The Mean Green (I’m grimacing typing that) had nine seconds with the last shot and were only down one point, but missed.  They fouled Jordan Alexander on the rebound with less than a second left.  She missed the first free throw, but made the second.  For the last play, the Greenies heaved the ball at mid-court and hit the rim.  Game over. 

Wait!  Nobody touched the ball afterward.  Should the clock still have time on it?  Who has possession?  Finally, the refs ruled that hitting the rim started the possession and ended that game.  Whew.  Coach Baker, after meeting with a multitude of friends and fans there, said in the post-game interview that Jordan was supposed to miss that second free throw, because the other team touching it would have ended the game.  So, six points in the quarter and one of them was an accident.  Well, this game turned out to be interesting after all.         

NM State Aggies vs UMKC Roos Women’s Basketball 1-27-18

I’ve had sleep issues all week, mostly in terms of badly oversleeping.  Saturday morning I had to make sure to get up for this noon game and even set my alarm.  I didn’t need it, but I really didn’t want to get up this morning either and have been dragging my rear all day.  So, in spite of a great game, I was totally under-reacting there and while writing this.  It’s just me; it wasn’t them.

Ron was having multiple family problems and had to cancel on Friday.  For my part, I was gritting my teeth going, because I was missing the Detroit International Auto Show and the 24 Hours of Daytona coverage on TV.  I watch these events every year and enjoy them.  Why couldn’t this have been the usual 2:00 game?  And why were both shows on at the same time?  Why don’t I have Tivo?  #First World Problems.  One of my favorite streamers on Twitch, Winter, a Starcraft player, talked about going to the auto show this week with his girlfriend, who works for a car company.  I had a whole new reason to be jealous of him (though he was paying for the day trip with some exhaustion during his nocturnal stream).            

I must be tired; I’m rambling.  There weren’t any posters up front when I got to the Pan-Am Center.  I had five different people at work who wanted their own Aggie Men’s Basketball Caricature poster after seeing mine.  Oh, well.  For lunch, I got a Pete’s Combo.  I hadn’t eaten at the Concessions in probably two months.  I forgot why I stopped, so it was time to go back.  The bun wasn’t fresh, as usual, but it wasn’t badly stale.  At least the dog is pretty meaty and flavorful.  That raspberry tea soda is really good.  I’m glad I tried that a while back.   

The crowd looked fairly good for the game.  The Old Man was back, though he wasn’t cheering as much as usual in this game.  The Cheerleaders were going around selling something.  They all avoided me, so I didn’t find out what.  Just as well, I was juggling my drink and meal at the time I sat down.  (If that one Goth-y cheerleader or the redheaded one had come by, I probably would have bought anything from them, but they wasn’t even there today.)  Pistol Pete was by the tunnel entertaining a young girl’s team.  They would come out on court to be with the Aggies during player introductions.  They were also seated behind the visiting team and hopefully gave them the business.  The regular, deep-voiced PA was there, Ed Carnathan.  I finally got his name from a newspaper article.  He’s also a pro-wrestler, as I found out from an Internet search. 

I did a double-take when Coach Atkinson came out.  She was clad in a black leather jacket and, I think, skin-tight crimson leather pants.  It was a bold fashion choice.  She filled it out nicely, but it seemed un-coach-ly.  On the other side, there was a good-looking blonde assistant coach for the UMKC Roos.  She was in a more traditional high heels and dress outfit.  (Yes, I’m still fascinated by assistant coaches.)  A young girl came out to sing the Anthem and did a good job.  Let’s start the game.         

First Quarter

I’d read that Gia Pack had a great game last week against Utah Valley (which I didn’t cover, since I was at the concurrent Aggie Men’s game and it wasn’t on the radio anyway).  She picked up right where she left off.  Gia started all the scoring with two quick baskets and a three.  Jasmine Cooper got in a bucket from down low.  Brooke Salas then put in a three.  It was 12-0 Aggies after about four minutes of play.  Timeout UMKC.  I was really impressed with the assists that the Aggies got on those baskets, great passing.  They were also pressing really hard on defense. 

The Roos got their first basket on a three, five minutes in.  Meanwhile, Brooke fell on a pretty blonde Sundancer sitting behind the goal as she went for a layup.  The blonde was smiling afterward, so I guess there was no harm done.  That’s the most interaction between the team and the spirit squads I’ve ever seen.  Monique Mills came into the game sporting a new hairstyle.  It probably wasn’t the best choice, but she’s pretty enough to pull it off.  You could at least more easily tell the difference between her and her identical twin sister, Dominique.  (Have they tried switching uniforms yet to confuse the coach?)  Mo still seems to be lacking the confidence she had earlier in the season though.  She’s either passing up shots or not making them.  If I knew what to say to help, I’d do so, since I know she can play. 

After the start of the game, a large group of 4-H members started streaming in.  They took up more than a full section.  It was 4-H Day at the arena, since NMSU was hosting a retreat for the group.  A couple of different promotional videos were shown during the game, though they didn’t say what the 4-H stood for.  (Or maybe I should have paid better attention.)  Most of the club members were from around the state and out-of-town, so initially, they were a bit uninvolved in the game.  It was 25-11 Aggies after 10 minutes.         

Second Quarter

Little basketballs got tossed into the crowd between quarters.  Part of me really wanted one, but there were a bunch of little kids around me who wanted them more and probably deserved them.  One came my way and I decided to just dodge it and let someone behind me get.  The 4-H section got really excited about the giveaway.

This wasn’t a good quarter for the Aggies.  The only highlight I have listed was Brooke making a flying block about three minutes in.  Jeneva Toilolo got a basket after the rebound, but gave a hard foul and put the other girl into the goal, much like what happened to her a couple of weeks ago (1-13-18).  I think it was Aries Washinton who was injured.  The air went out of the building until she was able to get up and go to the sidelines.  She came back in later, though Kristen Moore shot the free throw for her.  It was hard to read Jeneva’s reaction to the event.   

The Aggies didn’t score for several minutes, while the Roos got back into the game.  The crowd was taken out of it.  One memorable turnover had Gia making a no-look pass into the lane right to a Roo player.  Brooke finally broke the drought with a three with under a minute left.  The Aggies were still well ahead at the half, 32-23, but Coach Atkinson slammed her hand into the press desk at the buzzer.  She was furious.  My God, everyone in the Pan-Am Center could hear her yelling at the team all the way from the locker room during halftime.  Just kidding, but I’m glad I wasn’t anywhere near that team meeting.     

Halftime

On court, a group of Aggie Women’s Basketball alumni were honored.  Afterward, a kid hip-hop dance troop performed to the delight of the crowd.  While I was in the bathroom, a member of the band was there and another fan asked him about their new Aggie hockey sweaters.  The fan said what I was thinking, “They should be selling those to the public.”  I had a large water-based Vitamin C drink right before going to the game and that large raspberry drink while there.  I ended up in the bathroom three times over the course of two hours.  Back at my seat, I could see Pistol Pete talking with the kids of the alumni on the sidelines.  He’s not just a mascot; he’s an ambassador.     

Third Quarter

Coach Atkinson stalked back out on court, still angry.  The team seemed fairly loose though.  The Mills sisters were smiling as they chatted.  The crowd stayed fairly quiet as neither team dominated during the first several minutes.  About four minutes left, Zaire Williams hit an open three that ignited the crowd and the team, as Brooke scored right after.  Brooke picked up a foul on the other end under the basket right after that.  The Roo girl let off a scream at her.  Brooke just stood there nonplussed and looked at her with an expression that said, “What?”  During the break, the 4-H officers were introduced on court.  They were all women and several had truly spectacular hair.  Is cosmetology part of 4-H?  One of the girls even had a punkish, short, slightly orange cut that looked good.             

Back to the action, Jasmine soon after went down under the Roo basket, grabbing her knee.  The contact didn’t seem that bad, but she was in some clear pain.  Once again, the building went quiet.  Coop couldn’t walk off court, but was able to walk it off on the sidelines.  Her teammates’ reactions were a bit odd.  They ignored Coop’s situation and were laughing about something.  For the players in any sport, sometimes it seems like they treat injuries as contagious or totally deny what they just saw.  Later, an errant Roo pass later went down the tunnel to the locker rooms.  A Roo player had to run down the hallway to get it before play resumed, just like at a schoolyard.  Brooke took a half court shot a second after the buzzer.  It hit the rim.  The Aggies increased their lead 50-36. 

Fourth Quarter

I was sitting in the section behind the Aggie bench, where I usually sit when I’m by myself.  (Ron prefers mid-court on the other side.)  I was right in front of the loudest female Aggie fan in the building.  She’d been behind me before, but she was really into it today.  It turned out that the team needed that this afternoon.  Being where I was, I could see the reserves.  There was a player there I couldn’t identify.  She wasn’t suited up and wasn’t on the roster, but she wasn’t a coach or assistant.  Who is the mystery woman? 

Aaliyah Prince started this quarter.  She’d come in near the end of the third.  Prince was the only other reserve player who came into the game.  The Roos started the fourth with a six-point run.  Timeout Aggies.  During the extended TV break, the Roadrunner Review band broke out a Dixieland version of the Aggie fight song and sang during part of it.  The crowd applauded the performance. 

Coop came back into the game, but the Roos kept scoring.  They were on a 12-point run with their bench into before Zaire connected with Coop under the basket with six minutes left, 52-48 Aggies.  Brooke then won a tugging match for a rebound on the other end.  By this point, the crowd was back into it.  Coop went to the line for free throws.  I could swear I heard the Roo bench heckling her.  If it wasn’t them, I don’t know who was doing it. 

Three minutes left, Brooke got a steal at mid-court off Aries Washington and was fouled going to the basket.  It was 57-41 after the free throws.  Zaire found Tonishia Childress going down court for a layup.  The crowd was fully engaged.  Then came what may have been the pivotal point in the game.  Kristen Moore, the Roos’ second highest scorer behind Washington, fouled out with two minutes left.  I say this because the Roos had closed the gap.  Right after foul, India Johnson stole an inbounds pass for a layup to make it 61-58 Aggies.

Zaire was fouled and converted on both free throws, 63-58 Aggies.  One minute left and both sides were in the bonus, fouling like crazy.  Gia got knocked down twice on one defensive possession and there wasn’t a call, putting the crowd into an uproar.  Jasmine blocked a three.  Gia was fouled and hit both free throws.  Coop was knocked down after the second free throw in a scuffle.  She complained to the refs, who had took a lengthy delay to review the footage.  Taruz’s Sandstorm, a great high-energy dance number, played during the break.  The camera found a member of the band dancing and kept it on him working it.  The crowd loved it. 

By this point, even the 4-H people were enjoying the game regardless of their usual team affiliation (a bunch of them may have been Lobo fans from the northern end of the state).  With 10 seconds left, the Roos got a layup and took a timeout.  The band shouted, “It just doesn’t matter!”  It was true.  The Aggies’ foul shooting had iced game before that.  Our final: Aggies 70, Roos 62.

I have two stats of the game.  Stat #1: 26.  That was the number of points scored by the Roos in the fourth quarter.  That beat out the Aggies’ 25 in the first.  Aries Washington was the top scorer for the Roos with 22, with 16 in the second half, mostly in the fourth quarter.  I have to think that if Kristen Moore had stayed in, this might have been a different game as she also came up big in the fourth.  Congrats to the team for not losing heart after that blowout first quarter.  They also made a good adjustment in denying the Aggies easy backdoor passes under the basket.  The Aggies kept looking for it and if they had kept getting it, this would have been decided a lot sooner.

Stat #2: 14.  That was the number of free throw points by the Aggies in the fourth quarter.  They had zero free throw points in the first three quarters.  I’m not sure what their percentage was, but it was clutch when it counted.  14 of the Aggies’ 20 points in the quarter were free throws.  That was the difference in the game.  Brooke Salas led with 24 points in addition to doing everything else.  Gia Pack had 17, but those 6 free throws in the fourth were huge.  Jasmine Cooper played tough and Zaire Williams had some great assists.  I can see where the coach got frustrated with the team for letting the Roos back into the game twice, but they showed some real resilience in closing it out.    

I wish I’d been better rested before this game so I could have gotten into it more.  I only barely had enough energy to take notes and keep up the scorecard, not get emotionally involved.  It was an odd game where the Aggies seemed to always have it in hand, but suddenly you saw the scoreboard and the Roos were breathing right down their necks.  Regardless, the Aggies are 5-1 in conference and first in the WAC.  The whole 4-H club went down for pictures with the team afterward in small groups. 

I saw lovely Megan Hart and possibly Tatyana Battle from the volleyball team looking at the display plaques around the concourse.  I had a Frozen Tornado from PQ Treats afterward and tried one of their green teas.  The ice cream was great.  The tea was very strong, but not bad.  No napping happened when I got home.  I was writing this.  I know that noon isn’t early, but I think I would have enjoyed today more, if this had been an afternoon game.   

The Real Downton Abbey

No, this isn't an expose.  These are images from last year's Highclere Castle calendar.  A co-worker brought this back for me after her trip there.  Her and her husband did have tea and crumpets in the library (but it was a rather rushed affair).  I inserted some of these pictures into my Endless Night Fantasy Core adventure. Azimuth House was based on Highclere up to a point.  I never could find a good map of the real layout, so I made up a bunch of stuff and downsized it.  That's probably a good thing.  I would have never finished the adventure if I'd had to fill up all those rooms in the real castle.      

The Music Room laid out for a formal dinner

Entrance Hall

The Double Library

The Saloon with Christmas Decorations

Valentine's Day Decorations on Main Staircase

NM State Aggies vs Utah Valley Wolverines Men’s Basketball 1-20-18

On the one hand, I was pretty disappointed.  I had tickets to this game and hospitality suite and I wasn’t able to get anyone else to go with me.  Ron cancelled Friday evening.  This was a bad time to find a replacement for a Saturday afternoon event.  Four other people I asked had plans or the really lame excuse of being afraid of catching the flu.  (Thanks for that last one, Dad.  Thank goodness you can’t catch the flu going to the grocery store.)  On the other hand, right after walking into the main concourse, I was able to pick up this cool caricature poster.  They were giving these out at Thursday’s game along with autographs.  I felt pretty fortunate they had leftovers for Saturday, especially given that everyone I showed this to wanted one.  I couldn’t find any after the game to get for them.

Barbara Hubbard Room

If I wasn’t over the disappointment with the poster, I got another highlight soon after I entered the Hub.  (Do I need say that I got these tickets from work?)  A rather handsome fellow introduced himself to me as Rob Baarts while I was standing in line for food.  “I know you,” I said, “You’re the new soccer coach.”  I got a few minutes with him and spent my time praising the girls for their community outreach.  I also couldn’t help gushing over Aileen Galicia.  He liked my comment about her having an “a sweet little angel face,” but “absolutely ferocious on the field.”  I put in a good word for goalie, Dmitri Fong as well.  Hopefully, somebody else there talked about the team with him, but at least one person did.  When Baarts was formally introduced to the room, he asked how many of them had gone to an Aggie Soccer game.  About half the room raised their hands.

It was a full house, standing room only, at the Hub.  Last time (12-3-17), it was about half full.  I saw Chuck, who got me the tickets, and his wife.  (Later in the bathroom, I ran in to the company officer who gave him the tickets and got say “Thanks,” to him.)  One of our senior officers was also there.  I’d worn my Arizona Bowl t-shirt and she liked it.  Athletic Director Mario Moccia was there working the room.  He was wearing an Arizona Bowl tie.  He’d come there from the Aggie Football Rally downtown and was beaming.  More on that later. 

The meal was pasta salad, rolled tacos, nachos, and cookies.  I normally hate cold pasta (it should be served hot) and rolled tacos (they taste better unrolled), but these were actually really good.  I’m still shocked that they apparently weren’t serving soft drinks, just alcohol, tea, and water.  I attempted to look around the packed walls again at the pictures of all of the acts that had been at the Pan-Am Center.  I was only able to note Kenny Loggins, Sting, Olivia Newton-John, and a production of Cats.  I saw a Sting concert here in the late 80’s.  I think my parents saw Olivia in the 70’s when I was a child.  (I was probably left at home with my beautiful Hawaiian babysitter.)

Associate Head Coach Lou Gudino gave the room a briefing on today’s opponent, the Utah Valley Wolverines.  This team, like the Aggies, was 4-0 in conference, and they were riding an 8-game winning streak.  While Grand Canyon was the pre-season favorite in the WAC, the Aggies have seen the Wolverines as another one of their prime competitors.  They were not taking them lightly.  The coach didn’t single out any of their players, but said they expected a fast-paced, high-scoring game.  With Aggies’ road success and this big matchup, little wonder the room was full of buzzing fans.

I really wanted to try the Pan-Am hamburger today.  While I didn’t stuff myself at the Hub, it was still too soon for more food, so no review this time, again.  I remembered a forlorn-looking kettle corn vendor in the main concourse from last time.  This time, she had cinnamon-roasted almonds, so I gave her a sale.  (I love those things.) 

I think I saw Kayla Green with probably some of the softball team along the way to my seat.  It was a great crowd.  I could tell it was going to be good pulling into the parking lot an hour before the game.  The lower bowl was nearly full, so it was likely well over 6,000.  They were also in a very enthusiastic mood.  The Student Section was full, which is paramount to getting a college crowd going.  Football Coach Doug Martin and his assistant coach/wife were again seated a couple of rows below me.  My boss (actually it’s complicated) came in to my section during the first half, but I didn’t get to say hello until after the game.  On court, I got a look at the Wolverines.  They had some very big, tall players.

The Roadrunner Review band members were all wearing Aggie hockey-style sweaters.  That’s a conceptually-interesting idea.  I think UTEP actually does have a hockey team, or I was imagining hearing about them.  In any case, me and likely much of the crowd were lusting after their apparel.  An announcement was made that the Aggie Women’s Basketball team was leading the Wolverines in Utah at the half.  A little eighth-grader girl with a tremendous voice came out and made the Anthem her own.  If American Idol was still around, she’d be trying out for it. 

The intro video for the players was changed for this week.  “After 37 days on the road,” it started and then showed highlights of the Aggies’ victories over Illinois (12-16-17), Davidson (12-22-17), Miami (12-23-17), and Grand Canyon (1-11-18).  And it ended with, “There’s no place like home,” and the crowd going crazy.  Even the Utah Valley players stopped to watch the video.  Okay, I was a wee disappointed in the guys as they were introduced.  They mostly all big-timed Pistol Pete out on court.  Shame, fellows.     

        

First Half

The Aggies came out hot.  Admittedly, a couple of their shots were lucky, but sometimes the rim loves you.  It was 16-5 Aggies after just five minutes.  The Wolverines had some good players.  Jake Toolson had a great fake out move for a basket before the first media timeout to make it 18-9 Aggies.  Some fans in costume were brought out for a “hamburger-making” contest to the amusement of the crowd.  I’m intrigued by the blonde girl that’s an assistant for the team.  She was in a skirt and little suede boots.  She looked really out-of-place, but not unwelcome, on a basketball court.   

Let’s get the crowd going.  At nine minutes left, Zach Lofton fed Eli Chuha for a jam, 24-12 Aggies.  Five minutes left, 6’11” Isaac Neilson of the Wolverines wasn’t letting that happen again as he stole an alley-oop mid-air to go along with an earlier block.  But the Aggies did get a fast break layup right after that.  Another bad pass by the Aggies became a turnover and a three-pointer for Utah Valley, 29-21 Aggies.  Coach Chris Jans immediately called a timeout to chew them out.  Three minutes left, the crowd reacted badly to a foul called on AJ Harris.  You didn’t want to get the crowd involved (though the pizza giveaway during the timeout might have also accomplished that).  With 30 seconds left, the fans rose and screamed and botched the Wolverines’ possession.  Jack Nixon credited the crowd with the turnover.  It was 39-29 Aggies at the half.   

Halftime and Aggie Downtown Football Rally

I also got this poster up front.  Too cool.  You could see the Football team queuing up before the end of the half to come out on court.  Possibly to the chagrin of the food vendors, the crowd mostly all stayed in their seats.  The team received thunderous applause as they came out with the Arizona Bowl trophy.  Strange that both times I’ve been to a Men’s Basketball game this season, I’ve seen the Football team honored.  A bowl official from Tucson thanked Las Cruces for making their game so successful this year.  Coach Martin told the fans to come out for the season opener, “This isn’t the end; it’s just the beginning!”

The video boards were showing scenes from the Downtown Rally from this morning.  It looked like a tremendous crowd there.  I’d wanted to go, but mentally insisted that I go with somebody.  That was an even harder sell than this game.  (I woke up late anyway, but I really did want to go.)  On the local TV news at night, I saw two different reports on the rally.  It did look like a good crowd.  In a player interview, he was amazed about the fan support a month after the game.  He hoped this was something that could bring the community together.  You know, this bowl win has been an event that everyone in town is proud of and happy about.  There was even a quick comment from Aggie Baseball Coach Brian Green at the ballpark.  Even more surprising, Daniel Johnson, star of the 2016 team, was there and was asked about the football team.  They introduced him as the Minor League Player of the Year?  (Not sure about that, but it wouldn’t entirely surprise me.)  If me and other Aggie baseball fans knew he was here, we would have come out to the ballpark to watch practice and get his autograph.        

Back to the basketball game, the biggest difference stat displayed had the Aggies shooting 50% to Utah Valley’s 40%.  Down below my seat, I saw Dalton Herrington from football team getting pictures with Mario’s girls.  He walked up through the crowd by my section and got some handshakes from the crowd.  Unfortunately, he was too far away for me to jump out and accost him.  “Dude!  Why don’t I see a ring on your finger?  Don’t tell me you aren’t engaged to Jordan Ablalos?  Do you really think you’ll find a better girl than her!  Why didn’t you bring her out on court and propose to her right here and make a public event out of it like Carlos Correa did at the World Series?  You could have made national news for the university and it would have been so romantic!  You idiot!”  Maybe it was better I didn’t talk to him.      

Second Half

Things started off well for the fans.  Akolda Manyang missed two free throws thus activating the Chik-a-fila free sandwich promotion.  Chalk up another one for the screaming fans.  They’d also cheer for good play, like a minute later when AJ got a steal and a layup, 46-31 Aggies.  Sidy N’Dir then dropped a three to make it 49-31.  Timeout Utah Valley as the crowd was standing and cheering.  And just to rub it in a little more, the PA announced that the Aggie Women had just won their game against Utah Valley, 82-72. 

Let me also mention that the Aggies’ interior defense and rebounding were excellent, especially against these big and tall Wolverine players.  14 minutes left, Zach hit another three.  He veritably skipped back up court with a big smile.  He was on fire.  Chuha put in a layup right after.  The crowd kept going nuts.  A fan next to me, seeing me with my scorecard, asked, “You getting all of this?”  (Apparently I wasn’t.  I had a mistake in there somewhere.  I thought I was doing such a good job.)  The defensive highlights continued.  Johnny McCants got a massive block.  Timeout.  The Student Section started a wave that went around the arena for a couple of minutes.  Chuha stole an inbounds pass and got a block on the much taller Manyang.  Jack pronounced that the Aggies were “Kicking them sideways.” 

With seven minutes left, the Aggies got called for their seventh foul.  They’d picked up a couple early.  What was strange was that the Wolverines had not been called for any this half (seven in the first).  This disparity wasn’t hurting the Aggies at all.  AJ put in another three.  The Cheerleaders were out of t-shirts to toss into the crowd for the three-pointer promotion.  A minute later, the Aggies collected their ninth foul.  Still none for Utah Valley.  Regardless of the 71-48 score, the crowd and the coach complained to the refs.  Probably a coincidence, the Wolverines got called for their first, moments later.

Five minutes left in the game, Zach hit his seventh three.  He didn’t even react to it.  He just stood and stared for a moment.  Zach had amazed even himself.  With three minutes, Sidy got a layup to activate a free wings deal at Hooters.  (Or it happened on the last Aggie points of the game.  The deal was announced twice.)  Timeout.  A blindfolded fan was out on court, trying to find a large picture of marketing guy, DJ Downs, with the help of the crowd.  The crowd wasn’t entirely helpful as everyone was just yelling.  DJ finally had to direct the guy to his picture as time expired. 

At 83-55 Aggies, the NMSU bench got emptied.  The starters were individually taken off to rounds of applause.  Jack reported that local fan-favorite Joe Garza had some food poisoning earlier and wasn’t able to play (without puking on the court).  Aussie Gabe Hadley stuck in a late three for the final Aggie points.  Neilson on the Wolverines put in a two-handed jam for their last points.  This happened in front of the Student Section who took particular, jeering offense to it.                

Our final: Aggies 86, Wolverines 59.  The Aggies were making it rain with 15 three’s.  Zach Lofton scored nearly all of his 24 points on three’s.  Kenneth Ogbe led the Wolverines with 13.  To give you an idea of the Aggies’ defense, he no points in second half.  The best thing you can say about a team today is that they played the whole 40 minutes.  At some point, we were probably all expecting a cold streak, a lack of focus, or exhaustion to tighten up the score, but it never happened.  The coach has to be happy with that kind of effort.  The Aggies are now alone at the top of the WAC.   

They were not handing out Chik-a-fila coupons after the game at the exits.  I wonder if the free sandwich offer meant that you had to go there tonight to get it.  I apparently wasn’t paying good attention to the promotion.  After waiting maybe 20 minutes for traffic to clear out (that was the part of this trip I was dreading, and for some reason they blocked one of the exits), I decided to go to Schlotzsky’s instead and got one of their pizzas.  It’s about the best pizza you can get . . . from a sandwich shop.  I just wanted a change of pace.  It was okay.

At home, the UTEP Men’s Basketball team was playing a rare local TV game on the road at San Antonio.  Though they had a big lead in the first half, they ended up losing to UTSA 65-61.  Miner fans watching their local TV sports news had to be gritting their teeth later.  On the station I was watching, they recapped the Miner loss and then showed the Aggie rally, the Aggie Men’s Basketball victory, and then the Aggie Women winning.  Talk about riding a hot streak.  I’m feeling pretty fortunate too.  I don’t know if I can ask for Men’s tickets again though.  I’m feeling guilty that other people at work aren’t being given a chance to get them and it’s too hard to coordinate going with other people for some reason.  But, I’ve certainly enjoyed going to these two games. 

NM State Men’s and Women’s Basketball and UTEP Women’s Basketball 1-18-18

It’s another basketball triple-header tonight!  Or me having three games on over the Internet and being unable to follow any of them well.  We’ll take these one at a time.

I’d heard this afternoon on KROD’s Sportstalk that there’d be a UTEP Women’s game tonight.  I wanted to watch the video for the game to get a glimpse of Katarina Zec.  Doesn’t she look cute with the glasses there?  Unfortunately, the stream was premium content to watch.  Fudge.  I just checked out Statcast periodically.  Behind a great second half comeback, the Miners prevailed over Florida-Atlantic, 75-70.

The Aggie Men were finally back at home.  They were loving it to start off.  After nine minutes, they were leading 12-2 over Seattle U, who were held scoreless for six minutes.  The Redhawks got it going later and it was 37-22 Aggies at the half.  “Here’s Johnny!” exclaimed Jack Nixon over the radio call, as Johnny McCants put in a one-hand jam.  Unfortunately, Aggie shooting cooled in the second half.  It was 49-43 Aggies after about 10 minutes.  No problem, a couple of three’s and a layup got it back to an 11-point lead.  75-62 Aggies was the final.  Zach Lofton led with 15 points, Eli Chuha had 14, and Jemerrio Jones put up 10 (a good comeback for him).  Coach Jans was pleased with the attendance and the student section’s enthusiasm.  I’m looking forward to seeing them this weekend.

Thank you WAC Digital Network for the video of the Aggie Women playing Seattle U on the road.  The game was in a small gym with a likewise crowd.  The first thing I saw in the game was Gia Pack going down with an apparent ankle injury in the second quarter.  Luckily, she came back in later.  I was also encouraged to see Jeneva Toilolo back playing after her injury last week.  Discouragingly, Brooke Salas was not shooting well.  Still, the Aggies were hanging with the Redhawks, 29-22 Seattle U at the half.  Hey, they’re having a toothbrush giveaway for their next game.  (I’m not making that up.)

The second half did not go well for the Aggies.  By the fourth quarter, they were down 16.  Aaliyah Prince and Baylee Robinson were in the game as Coach Atkinson may have thrown in the towel.  (Prince did get 7 points.)  69-59 Redhawks was the final.  Brooke led the Aggies with 18 points, but was 5 of 18 shooting.  She also got a double-double with 11 rebounds.  Gia had 15 and Monique Mills had 9.  Jacinta Beckley for Seattle U had 25 points to lead everyone.  In the postgame, the Redhawks’ coach did say that they’d focused on stifling Brooke’s shots.  It worked.  The other Aggies girls have to pick it up when Brooke isn’t getting the shots because everyone else is going to be doing this for the rest of the season.

NM State Men’s Basketball 1-13-18

I got back from watching the Women play and having a swell dinner, but I suddenly got very tired when I got home.  I think I was fighting off something and ended up taking a nap.  I went completely out for an hour and a half and missed the start of the pregame.  Still exhausted, I managed to sit up to listen to the game.  I was glad I did.  Once again, the Aggie Men put on a pretty good show. 

This game versus the CSU-Bakersfield Roadrunners was the Aggies’ eighth road game in a row.  Granted some of those were in Hawaii, but still that’s a long time to not have your home fans cheering for you.  For much of the first half, the guys played out-of-focus on offense.  After 10 minutes, it was 12-6 Roadrunners.  At least the Aggie defense was holding.  After nearly 20 minutes of futility, the Aggies were finally able to connect on a couple of three’s late.  At the half, Zach Lofton put in a layup to give the Aggies a slim 26-25 lead.  He had 13 of those 26 points.  On the radio, Jack Nixon got a bit chippie with the Bakersfield staff for giving him incorrect stats for the half.    

To start the second half, Moataz Aly on the Roadrunners got his third goaltending call of the game, one offensive, two defensive.  You really have to be trying to get one during a game, much less three.  The Aggies’ long-range shooting finally zeroed in, which kicked off a run.  An AJ Harris layup and free throw capped an 11-point drive that the Roadrunners never recovered from.  It was 46-35 Aggies with seven minutes left.

As the frustration for Bakersfield mounted, the game got more physical, but the Aggies gave it right back.  There were double technicals issued to Johnny McCants and a Roadrunner player, along with another double technical to Zach and Moatz Ali later.  With three minutes left, the Roadrunners went on a short four-point run to make it 55-44.  From here, the Aggies went to a “control” offensive and bled the clock, while pressing hard on defense.  The Roadrunners began intentional fouling, which may have kept the crowd around.  They have the same Chik-fil-a promotion we have where if an opposing player misses two free throws, everyone gets a free sandwich.  In spite of the screaming crowd, the fouled Aggies did disappoint them.  No free sandwiches tonight, Bakersfield.

Our final was Aggies 66, Roadrunners 53.  The Aggies went 7-1 on their road trip.  That’s impressive.  Watching the local sports news later, I saw that the section behind the Aggie bench looked full of Aggie fans.  That’s impressive too.  Zach Lofton had 28 to lead the team.  Eli Chuha had 16, 14 in the second half, which really made a difference.  I’ve got tickets to the guys’ next Saturday home game, so I’m excited.      

NM State Aggies vs CSU-Bakersfield Roadrunners Women’s Basketball 1-13-18

I checked out the team Twitter feed before this game versus the CSU-Bakersfield Roadrunners.  Coach Atkinson tweeted a “Welcome back” to the Roadrunner Review band after the Thursday game.  It was good to have them performing.  It meant that the arena staff wasn’t playing that crappy rap music.  The Sundancers, the Cheerleaders, and the regular PA were also back.  The Old Man wasn’t there again.  I wonder if he’s okay. 

Ron was with me for the game.  A nice lady at the courtesy table was making paper airplanes for people for the halftime competition.  Ron got one and tried it out in the concourse.  It was a TV game, so no radio again.  Ron was threatening to go talk to Adam Young about simulcasting these games.  I’d already missed listening to a UTEP Women’s game on the radio this morning.  I don’t have their schedule, but I’d kept tuning in, figuring they’d be playing.  I’d missed them while watching Bring It On on a Mexican station.  Eliza Dushku seems like the unlikeliest cheerleader, but she really works it.  I was also hungry and puzzling over the concession prices at the closed Pan-Am grill.  $4 for a hamburger is pretty reasonable, but the drinks start at $5.  What? 

I chatted with fellow Aggie fan, Danny, in another section.  I told him that the university had hired a new soccer coach.  I’d surprised him, since he hadn’t known Coach Delgado had been fired.  When you beat UTEP and UNM in the same season that should be a job-saver.  Danny mentioned that he’d heard in the morning that a Grambling Women’s player had gotten a quadruple-double.  That’s points, rebounds, assists, and steals.  Very impressive.  He’d seen the Aggies practicing earlier and thought they looked good.  The Roadrunners were out on court practicing in very cool-looking blue and yellow camo tops.  Ron’s analysis from watching them was that they were going to give the Aggies trouble.  Their coach looked like he was about 7’ tall.  If only you could teach size. 

Pistol Pete was out shooting baskets before the Aggies warmed up.  It looked like a pretty good crowd forming.  I saw one guy with a Ramen Noodle package print sweater around his shoulders.  Weird.  There were a bunch of kids there for a halftime show.  The Cheerleaders and the Sundancers went out on court to perform together.  A couple of the girls from the different squads were fraternizing.  (I’m still sure they all hate each other.  Different groups of the spirit squads never get along, as I learned from Bring It On.) 

You could hear the Aggies roaring the tunnel right before the lights went out and they ran out on court.  Bakersfield came back out.  Some regular Aggie fans waved at them.  A couple of the girls waved back.  No idea what that was about.  They did some synchronized drills without the ball and practiced free throws.  Right before the Anthem, Brooke Salas was presented with a game ball for making her 1,000th point last Saturday.             

First Quarter

Seconds after the tipoff, the game was blown dead for a problem with shot clock.  Oops.  When play resumed, it was a tight defensive affair.  The Aggies were in a full-court press.  Still, their shooting was cold and the Aggies seemed to be being out-rebounded, as it was 13-5 Bakersfield with under five minutes left. 

The crowd was into it from the beginning.  By that I mean, they were getting all over the refs for non-calls against the Aggies.  Jasmine Cooper had the play of the game.  She grabbed a rebound in the lane and made a no-look, over her shoulder pass to Tonishia Childress behind the arc, who dropped in a three.  They should have played Sweet Georgia Brown over PA after that one.  Gia Pack wasn’t having a good afternoon shooting and came out early.  Monique Mills came in and was playing with Tonishia.  The pair seemed to work pretty well together on court.  (But frankly, I’d rather have Gia shooting the lights out.)  It was 15-13 Roadrunners after ten minutes. 

Second Quarter

Dance Cam!  A camera caught a senior lady grooving it to Michael Jackson’s Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough.  The crowd loved it.  Even the referees were smiling.  Unfortunately, the music kept playing when play restarted.  Bakersfield got a quick, cheap three while everyone else was a bit distracted.  The Aggies were subbing players fairly constantly.  Pam Wilmore came in for a stretch about five minutes in.  She out-rebounded two taller players in the lane and then got her own rebound after a miss.  The Aggies still weren’t hitting and went down by as much as 11.  The Aggies’ high-pressure defense was at least keeping it close, but they seemed to be giving up a lot of rebounds.  It was 32-25 Roadrunners at the half.       

Halftime

I keep saying the Aggies “seemed” to be being out-rebounded.  The halftime stats actually showed them about equal.  Where the Aggies were deficient was in turnovers.  Meanwhile, the little kids, the Pistoleros, came out on court dribbling.  Balls, that is, not spittle.  I didn’t count, but there were a whole bunch of them. 

After their performance, it was time for the paper airplane contest.  Prizes were put out on the hardwood and bedlam ensued as the fans were directed to bomb the court.  Yeah, it was a big mess.  The guy cheerleaders were pressed into helping with the cleanup, while the girls reapplied their makeup.  (No offense, just teasing a little, though I’m pretty sure that’s what happened.)  A little kid won the grand prize of a portable grill.  He could just barely carry it off.  Ron said his plane flew too well and ended up on the other side of the court.

     

Third Quarter

To start off, usually sure-handed Zaire Williams got her pocket picked on back-to-back possessions bringing the ball down court.  I think it was Dalis Jones doing the steals.  She had Zee’s number and other Aggies had to go on point.  The Aggies did pick up their defense.  Tonishia got a steal and went coast-to-coast.  She missed the layup in traffic, but Gia was right behind her to pick up the trash and basket it. 

Whatever the stats said, the Aggies still seemed to be getting out-rebounded.  About five minutes in, the Roadrunners got two rebounds on one possession.  Coop, on the bench, was standing and screaming at her teammates after that one.  But Bakersfield came up with no points.  Brooke got a block in the paint to end it.  The crowd really got into it as Brooke got another block on the next possession.  Both defenses were tight enough that nobody was scoring for a few minutes.

I didn’t see it happen, but Jeneva Toilolo went down hard by a goal.  I was following the action back up court, when the refs blew everything dead, then I saw her lying on the floor.  Ron, who wasn’t even in his seat at the time, saw her dive head-first into the post.  She was down for several minutes, in clear pain, as doctors and staff were attending to her.  The crowd alternated between being quieted and angry that there wasn’t even a foul called.  They were asking for the refs to take another look on video.  Finally Jen got up and was led off court behind the bench with her face covered.  She was eventually sitting up on the table, watching the game with a towel over her head the whole time. 

This certainly amped up the intensity with the crowd and probably the team.  It was 36-34 Roadrunners with four minutes left.  Mo tied it with a pair of free throws.  With a minute left, Tonishia put in another three to send the Aggies into fourth with the lead, 41-38.  The crowd was going nuts.   

Fourth Quarter

Ron made the observation that everyone except Brooke had come off at some point.  She did play the whole game.  Ron thought she played the whole game last Saturday too.  Six minutes left, it was 47-40 Aggies.  Brooke was scoring again.  The Aggies’ interior defense was fierce with her and Coop.

At five minutes left came one of the strangest exchanges I’ve seen in a basketball game.  The Aggies got called for five fouls on one possession by the Roadrunners.  You read that right.  Needless to say, the Aggies went over the foul limit for the quarter.  None of the fouls were hard, though they were all under the basket.  By the fifth foul, the crowd was getting all over the officials.  Here’s the punchline: the Roadrunners only came away with four points.

Unfortunately right after that, Bakersfield got a steal and a layup to close the score to 47-46 Aggies.  Brooke had a chance to break the play up, but her and Coop were already in deep foul trouble.  With three minutes left, Bakersfield got another layup for a 48-47 lead.  Two minutes left, Brooke hit a three, 50-48 Aggies.

Give up for everybody in the arena.  Both teams and the crowd were all into it.  One minute, Mo accidently threw the ball away at mid-court.  Moments later, she came up with a steal, a layup, and a free throw, 53-48.  30 seconds left and Bakersfield started intentionally fouling.  Aja Williams, one of the Roadrunners’ high-scorers, fouled out.  Amazingly, the Aggies didn’t commit another foul after those five straight fouls.  The Roadrunners were then called for a technical that sent Coop to the line.  The .500 free throw shooter, dropped both in to ice the game.  Our final: Aggies 56, Roadrunners 48.

Whew!  That was a game!  Ron and I were really happy with the show and the outcome.  The stats put up before the end of the game were not in the Aggies’ favor.  They were 21 to 15 in turnovers and 36 to 41 in rebounds.  The Aggies weren’t lucky to win, but were certainly fortunate that their defense kept those mistakes from turning into opposition points.  This win was also costly as Jeneva walked off the court with her head still covered and her arm in a sling. 

I’ll give the game ball to the team, as there were several big contributors.  Brooke Salas led with 18 points.  Tonishia Childress was next with 11.  Jasmine Cooper and Monique Mills had 9 and 8 respectively.  The defensive effort was what really stood out for the team.  If Gia Pack can get back on track shooting, I like the Aggies’ chances from here on out.

The sound of a multitude of bouncing balls by little kids in the concourse followed us out.  On tap for dinner was an excellent meal at Arby’s, though even with a free sandwich coupon, it was pricey.  Admittedly the best part was their salted caramel chocolate chip cookie.  Those are worth the trip.  I was yawning all the way through dessert from exhaustion.  I may have nearly caught something that afternoon, but thankfully got over it later.  I hope we get another good crowd for the next home game.  I think it helped the girls in some small fashion pull this one out.                       

NM State Men’s and Women’s Basketball and UTEP Women’s Basketball

1-11-18

UTEP Women’s Basketball

Okay, I’ve written about enough UTEP Miner Women’s games that I’m going to have to start tagging them.  I keep running into their games on the radio on KROD.  I don’t have a schedule for them.  I don’t even know what station the Miner Men play on.  Today, I caught the girls playing a matinee in El Paso.  It was another Basket and Education Day, like the one the Aggies played against Arizona (12-14-17).  Ouch!  I didn’t want to remember that game again.  When I tuned in, it was halftime.  I could tell there was a big crowd of kids there without even being told.  A basketball/acrobatic troop was performing and the kids were going crazy.  I’m kind of sorry I wasn’t watching.

The Miners were playing the Charlotte 49’ers.  That doesn’t sound right.  I don’t think I’ve heard of them before.  Why would an east coast basketball team be called the “49’ers?”  The Miners went down by 15 early, but made a comeback in the second.  They took the lead in the third.  It got close in the fourth, but the Miners pulled away 67-58 in the end.  Tamara Seda had a good game in the process.

Interviewing the coach afterward, he thanked the kids, who had to leave before the end, for helping them in their comeback.  Steve Kaplowitz did the game and Sportstalk an hour later on remote, so he was a busy fellow.  His co-host, Tracy Miller, had an interesting comment that she’d done some officiating.  The experience had given her a respect for them that she didn’t have as a player (especially ref’ing men’s games). 

NM State Women’s Basketball

Later at work, the good news was that the Aggie Women were playing on TV on Aggievision.  The bad news was that I was busy and could barely watch.  Also, the Aggie Men were playing an hour after the Women started.  Both teams were playing Grand Canyon University.  This was a tight game.  It was 31-30 Aggies at the half.  Brooke Salas had 10 at that point.  Jasmine Cooper had 8.  Gia Pack had gotten a technical foul, but I didn’t see the incident.  The first year coach of GCU was a really good-looking woman.  The camera kept focusing on her, so the director agreed with me.  She was a former WNBA player. 

Honestly, I only got to really sit down and watch the end.  With under a minute, Brooke sank a bucket to give the Aggies a three-point lead, 61-58.  As Zaire Williams was reported to have said later before the possession, “Get Brooke the ball.”  On the defensive end, the Aggies had fouls to give and disrupted the Lopes (smart play), who ended up losing the ball out-of-bounds.  Brooke was fouled and got a free throw.  GCU got a quick basket on their end.  On the inbound, Zaire took a poke in the eye, but made two free throws to ice the game.  64-60 Aggies final.

Brooke finished with 16 points.  She high-fived that kid that’s always around Aggie sports as she left the court.  Coop finished with 11, which is super-encouraging.  Tonishia Childress had a pair of three’s.  Monique Mills had 0 points.  That’s not a good thing.  I’m really concerned about her psyche now.  And Tamara William was there supporting the team.    

   

NM State Men’s Basketball

I picked up the Aggie Men playing at GCU at the half.  It was 37-37.  The Lopes are considered to be the Aggies main competition for the WAC this season.  Again, I was busy and not able to pay close attention.  With under 10 minutes, the Aggies went on a 9-point run.  Later, the Aggies’ had a possession where they had six seconds on the shot clock, but had to go the entire length of the court.  I’m not sure how that happened, but the result was AJ Harris going coast-to-coast for a layup.  Johnny McCants snagged an offensive rebound and a jam to put the Aggies up by 11 with under two minutes. 

With under a minute left, I finally remembered that GCU puts all of their sports games up live on Youtube.  So, I did watch the very end as the Aggies won 70-59.  The Aggies had 18 costly turnovers, but were +25 in rebounds.  This was a big win in a hostile environment.  The Lopes really stuff the place for their home games.  

NM State Aggies vs Chicago State Cougars Women’s Basketball 1-6-18

(You have get a Men's program to get this roster picture.)

 

Welcome to early Groundhog Day.  A lot of this post is going to mirror last years’ matchup between the Aggies and the Chicago State Cougars (1-7-17).  Starting off, the crowd was about the same.  Ron was with me, and I showed him the program that had official attendance for last week’s game (12-31-17) at over 700.  He found that very unlikely.  I also questioned the similar number for the previous Friday game (12-29-17).  Whatever.  I’d guess this crowd was about 800 then, which was the same as last year.  The students are still gone and the NFL playoffs were on.

I picked up a very cool Arizona Bowl poster in the concourse, so I was glad I came.  We got there way too early.  Nobody was even warming up on court.  Adam Young looked rather forlorn over at the broadcaster’s table.  I was rather forlorn after he announced that there wouldn’t be any more Women’s Basketball radio broadcasts until March.  The Band wasn’t there.  There wasn’t even the usual complement of ball girls.  The Old Man wasn’t in attendance.  I hope he’s okay.  However, there was a full group of Cheerleaders and Pistol Pete.  Old Pete was chatting up one of the lady refs before the game.  Oh, Pete.  You charmer.  

Last year’s game had the Aggies scoring 100 and winning by 37.  Chicago State had only brought six players and one of them got hurt in the first quarter.  This time at least, there were 10 listed on the program, but Ron only counted eight warming up.  During the game, Adam mentioned one of the Cougars also played on their volleyball team.  I missed the name then, but at home I was able to check my volleyball programs and saw it was Alexandria Cliff.  Hmm.  Funny thing, I didn’t go to that game, so I don’t know how I got a program.  I wonder if she’s always played both sports, or was pressed into duty from one sport to the other. 

I once again noticed the very tall and beautiful assistant coach with the team.  Last year, I’d hoped her and likewise gorgeous Aggie assistant coach, Blanche Alverson (whom Coach Trakh took with him to USC), might suit up and come into the game.  (The game was out-of-hand anyway.  Why not?)  Also like last year, the Aggie Men were playing Chicago State in Chicago at the same time.  It was 42-34 Aggies at halftime.  Jack Nixon interviewed former Aggie, Shawn Herrington.  He’s gone back to work after getting shot and paralyzed last year.   

Adam made no effort to build up the opposition.  The Cougars’ were winless this season and had a 51-game losing streak.  I didn’t hear anything in the Women’s pre-game show about Chicago State’s financial problems, but I’m assuming it’s still an issue.  Coach Atkinson said they were going to being sensitive and respectful to Chicago State in her interview.  Coach Trakh was similarly gracious in his comments about them.  I’m not sure how that actually influenced any decision-making in the game though.  Their players and coaches have to hate opponents saying things like that and even more hate not being able to really compete. 

                                             

First Quarter

Tonishia Childress was again starting instead of Monique Mills.  Actually after introductions, the house lights didn’t come until right before the tipoff.  Adam was having flashbacks to that volleyball game last year (9-8-17) where they were out for 20 minutes.  I wasn’t there, but was listening over the radio and I almost felt like I was.  (Nice job broadcasting, Adam.)  If that had happened again, I doubt both teams would have been out on the floor doing the Electric Slide like the volleyball girls did. 

The Aggie Men were pouring it on in Chicago.  In Las Cruces, Chicago State was more than holding its own.  Freshman Tyeshia Bowers, the Cougars’ best scorer went down early with an apparent twisted ankle, just like last year when one of their players was injured early.  The Aggies looked disorganized at times.  The worst example came when Monique came in and a set pass flew right behind her as she was running to another spot.  Later back at the bench, Mo looked like a player that had lost her confidence.  This seems like a coaching issue.

Early on, the Aggies seemed to be making an effort to feed Brooke Salas the ball.  She was 22 points away from 1,000.  She scored six in the first.  Gia Pack gave her a great pass on a fast break for one of those baskets.  The biggest cheer from crowd came from Zaire Williams making a flying block.  Adam pointed out she was the shortest player on the court at the time.  It was a tight affair after 10 minutes, 17-15 Aggies.

Second Quarter

The Men were up by 25 in their game.  Bowers was back out for the Cougars.  She was running hard down court on her first play, so she was okay or had a very high tolerance for pain.  Baylee Robinson came in for the Aggies.  I get the impression that the coach really wants to get her more playing time.  She’s a big presence in the lane and is already a junior, being a transfer player. 

The Cougars were making shots and the Aggies were again not getting theirs to fall in, much like the UC- Santa Barbara game.  At 25-18 Cougars, their bench went crazy.  Timeout Aggies.  The Cougars managed to increase their lead to 10.  Monique came back in and hit a three.  That was good to see.  The Aggie defense stayed tough and forced a shot clock violation on one possession.  Brooke got a steal, but tripped and hit the floor hard.  We all got worried.  She was okay, but that probably left a mark.  She came out before the end of the quarter and looked gassed.  It was 32-17 Chicago State at the half.  It was good the Aggies had closed the gap, but the Cougars had to be feeling this could be the day their losing streak might end.

Halftime

Just after this game reached halftime, PA Kevin (the new guy that was a former co-worker of mine) announced that the Men had won in Chicago, 97-60.  I really hadn’t been following the game, but the outcome didn’t surprise me as I’d gotten updates.  I only caught that Joe Garza had scored six in the postgame.  Coach Jans sounded a lot more relaxed in the interview than I’d heard him in previous interviews. 

The halftime entertainment was a game of “bungie-basketball.”  They’d picked a couple for the event.  The guy basically dragged his girl down the court to score.  She had remarkably good humor about it, since she was likely getting the prize cooler either way.

  

Third Quarter

Oddly given what happened next, it was almost two minutes before either team scored.  Brooke put up an airball from ten feet.  Adam was quite shocked and sure that the ball was actually partly blocked, but unacknowledged by the ref.  Then the flood gates opened. 

It started with Zaire getting a great assist to Brooke in transition.  Timeout.  The Cheerleaders got abused again on back-to-back timeouts, as a media timeout came up right after.  Then Brooke popped a three.  Monique got a block and a three.  She was looking more energetic later on the sidelines.  Brooke dropped another three.  She was all smiles with her teammates.  It was great to see her happy.  The crowd was loving it as the Aggies had erased the deficit. 

After back-to-back changes of possession at midcourt, Brooke put up another bucket.  She was up to 20.  At the last second of the quarter, she dropped another.  That was #1,000 for her.  They made an announcement going into the break, which got the crowd into it.  Oddly last year, Brianna Freeman also scored her one-thousandth point for the program in this matchup.  That was in her senior year.  Brooke is a junior.  Her two points also gave the Aggies a one-point lead, 50-49. 

Fourth Quarter

There was no stopping her now.  Brooke opened up with a steal and two more points.  Then a rebound and a foul and two more points.  Gia made a no-look pass to a wide-open Brooke under the basket.  There were two more.  The crowd roared.  Ron was smiling in satisfaction.  The Aggies started pulling away. 

The Cougars were making little mistakes on court.  I’m going to say it was likely because they were tired, since they couldn’t properly substitute.  I can’t fault their effort or skill or even their mindset.  Like I wrote last year, this is a good team, but in bad circumstances.  With the lead, the Aggies turned up the defense.  They went to a full-court press, which confused the Cougars.  They called a time out to escape it once.  They couldn’t make it across the timeline the next time for a turnover.  Finally, they broke the trap next time and managed to get it to Bowers for an uncontested layup. 

Meanwhile, Brooke got another rebound and two more points.  She followed that with a steal and an assist to Tonishia.  Bowers fouled out after an heroic effort today.  I think I heard her getting a round of applause from the crowd.  (I was applauding her.)  Ines Mata Boix for the Cougars also came out before the end.  She may have been injured on the arm, rather than fouling out.  She was definitely looked in pain on the bench.  She put in a good effort too.  The last minute got sloppy and up tempo, but it didn’t affect the outcome.  74-59 Aggies was our final.  Unlike last year, this was a much tighter game.  The Aggies subs weren’t in playing out the fourth quarter this time.

I realize this post sounded like a homily praising the greatness of Brooke Salas.  Well today, she was the team, doing it all over the court.  She scored more than twice as many points as anyone else (33 points).  She was getting rebounds, steals, and assists.  Brooke, you played well and had fun out there.  You can do both.  I was encouraged to see her passing the ball.  If we look back on this game after the season, perhaps we’ll say this is when Brooke became the leader for the team and made her teammates better in the process.  Maybe.  Not that Brooke was going to sneak up on anybody in the conference, but after this game, she’ll have a bull’s-eye on her.  If I was in charge of any of those opponents, I’d double-team the blonde for the whole game and dare the other girls to beat me.  This is why Brooke needs to look for every opportunity to help them score. 

I felt genuinely bad for Chicago State.  Their 52-game losing streak is undeserved based on the players they have.  If I’d seen them win, I would have felt good for them.  (And really worried about the rest of the Aggies’ season.  Coach Atkinson should be mentally thanking Brooke for pulling their rears and her job out of the fire today.)  I have to praise Tyeshia Bowers’ 27-point effort today.  I thought she was done in the first quarter, but you could feel her determination out on court for the rest of the game.  The key stat for the day seemed to 25 turnovers for Chicago State.  They can work on that, but I don’t know what they can do about their lack of players.  

Athletic Director Mario Moccia and his famous little daughter, Twitterless Gemma, came in late and sat behind the Chicago State bench (?).  That Twitterless Gemma nickname gets a chuckle out of me every time.  Ah, daddy-daughter time at the ball game.  I’m guessing he wanted to talk to the Cougars’ long-time coach, Angela Jackson, after the game.  I’m sure he congratulated Brooke too.   

After the game, Ron and I went to Subway to use a gift card I’d gotten for Christmas.  I bit into my meatball and was shocked.  The bread was fresh!  I hadn’t had fresh bread at Subway since the 90’s.  This is a potential game-changer for my fast-food consumption.  Was this a fluke or a franchise mandate?  Well, good game, Aggie victory, and a good meal.  It was a good Saturday.