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. 

                                     

Hot Stove Baseball

It’s been a disastrous off-season so far.  Shohei Ohtani went to the Angels.  Derek Jeter, still working for the Yankees, traded Giancarlo Stanton to them (or alternately, sabotaged them with a high-priced/injury prone player).  At least the Giants picked up Evan Longoria from the Rays for some spare parts.  This was a great deal . . . two years ago.  At this point in Evan’s career with five years left on his contract, I’m not entirely sure.  The change of scenery should boost his numbers for at least next season.  We’re still waiting to see where the free agent Royals will end up.  The Pirates may be about to disband.  Thank goodness.  After all, the Yankees still have some positions they need all-stars at.  I’ve had a great run with World Series winners for the last decade.  I’m afraid that may be coming to an end for the next.   

So, I’m listening to ESPN Radio in the morning during my vacation.  (I know what you’re thinking, “Why?”  Because I needed something to listen to while I’m exercising.)  There are these two idiots on in the morning.  (Who cares what their names are.  Everyone on ESPN Radio is basically just a mouthpiece for the people running the network.)  Monday, one of them started crying on the air as he read the resignation letter of the head of ESPN because of declining revenue . . . err . . . pill popping.  I’m sure this guy hasn’t been doing drugs all along, but as long as the network was making money, it was okay.  The crying host made sure to mention that this guy did so much for minorities.  Actually that was the only accomplishment he mentioned.  I’m sure minorities are ever so grateful for his support, which wasn’t detailed in any way.   It’s almost like it was just words, and I’m sure this wasn’t just virtue signaling to promote the Crier’s career.     

Two days later, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred was announced as the guest later in the show.  “Oh, good,” I thought, “Some offseason baseball talk.”  Ominously, the Crier said he was going to go after Manfred because of what’s been going on with the Marlins this winter (and to somehow bolster his flagging manhood).  Sure enough, the Crier started off the interview by calling Manfred a liar.  It just got more contentious from there.  The main problem with the questions was that he was asking the wrong person.  If you dummies had Derek Jeter on, he would have deserved the hard questions about blowing up the current franchise.  (Which has happened for the fourth time in the Marlins’ fairly short existence.)  Manfred doesn’t run the Marlins.  Yelling at him doesn’t do any good. 

The MLB is somehow complicit for allowing this ownership group to buy the team and thus allowing this to happen?  Given that the franchise is apparently pretty deep in debt, dumping salary is the smart move to right the ship economically.  Yes, the guys who own the team are rich, but they didn’t get rich pouring money into money-losing businesses.  Not every new ownership group is going to waste millions upon millions of dollars in bad player deals like the Dodgers’ owners did right after they bought the team.  Getting rid of the star players will probably decrease attendance, but the stars weren’t exactly packing them anyway.  Cutting expenses may help the bottom line more than worrying about revenue. 

Why should anybody in Miami support the team under these conditions, namely a betraying loser in a new taxpayer funded stadium?  They probably shouldn’t.  Actually, except for playoff runs, they haven’t been doing that for franchise’s entire existence.  It’s a bit of a vicious cycle in South Florida: put together a winner or the fans don’t show up, but then the team can’t afford to keep them together, because the fan support isn’t there for the rest of the season regardless.  Finally, Manfred had to take control of the conversation and basically say that this is what teams in small baseball markets have to do to compete, teardown and build up with prospects.  It’s worked for the Royals and the Astros recently; it’s a legitimate, winning strategy.     

The ESPN hosts were proud of themselves after the interview and were pretty sure that the MLB Commissioner wouldn’t be appearing on their show again.  Would these guys treat the NFL or NBA commissioners like this in an interview?  (Only if they wanted to get fired immediately.)  What hard-hitting question would they ask the NFL commissioner anyway?  “Why aren’t you forcing every player to take a knee!”  If Jeter had condescended to go on your little show, you wouldn’t have acted like this.  You couldn’t have asked the hard questions while kissing his ass at the same time.  Apparently the Marlins Man, who is a Marlins fan in spite of all the other teams’ games he goes to, did actually go after Jeter at a press conference.  The ESPN dimwits went after the Marlins Man for wasting Jeter’s precious time.  I don’t object to the misdirected questions (they were legit, but at the wrong person), but the confrontational manner of questioning was unacceptable, because you wouldn’t have done it this way to anyone else in sports.  It’s just the usual agenda of hating baseball taken to its logical conclusion at the four-letter network. 

These jokers didn’t even discuss possible rules changes with Manfred.  They mentioned that horrid “bonus batter” concept before the interview.  (Don’t do it.  Just don’t.)  Then the next ESPN Radio host came on and announced he was quitting.  What a network!  I did have one little, honest question that came up during the interview.  The Crier said that ESPN had bought Fox, and he said it twice, so I don’t think he was misspeaking.  I thought Fox didn’t sell their news and sports divisions to Disney.  Did the regional Fox Sports networks get sold to ESPN?  I don’t know.  This could be a poor development.  ESPN will run them right into the ground.  

NM State Aggies vs Western NM Mustangs Women’s Basketball 12-31-17

“We’re the fourteenth car in the parking lot, dude!”  Ron and I arrived at the Pan-Am Center early and the place looked kind of deserted.  I remember going to this game with this matchup with the Western New Mexico Mustangs on New Year’s Eve last year with a fear of being the only person there.  Certainly Friday’sgame had me legitimately worried.  There was an electronic sign at the entrance welcoming the Football team Saturday morning and saying “We’re proud of you.”  Given their very late arrival in Las Cruces from Tucson, this was the best the university could do.  Hopefully, there will be a proper ceremony at some point with the fans involved.  Once inside, Ron started counting individual fans.  Thankfully, at least enough eventually showed up for it to be a kind of lousy crowd, instead of embarrassing.  I might have thought they’d invite the Football team to the game to be honored, but this wasn’t the day for that. 

One of the fans there was Danny, who I’d met at the soccer matches this year.  I chatted with him for a minute.  He also follows Western NM sports.  “At least they’re consistent: they never win.”  Yeah, they were 0-12 for the season, 1-34 going back to last year.  This was just an exhibition game for them.  It didn’t count for their record.  They were seriously not expecting to win.  Ron was scouting their team while they were practicing.  One of their girls was shooting the lights out behind the arc.  She didn’t start and just made a couple of appearances in the game though.  He liked their energy, while the Aggie girls looked listless and lethargic.  The Mustangs were fairly short.  Their tallest player, who reminded me of Megan Hart on our Volleyball team, was injured and not suited up. 

Adam Young was there doing the radio.  He provided some more stats from the Friday game, namely that the team went 1 of 15 in shooting three’s.  Jasmine Cooper did have a career high in scoring though.  His talk with Coach Atkinson focused on praise for Tonishia Childress.  (I’d think Coop would have merited a little love after her performance.)  The Coach liked Tonishia’s enthusiasm during the game and in practice and would be starting her over, usual starter, Monique Mills.  Okay, no offense to Tonishia, but this seemed more like a shot at Mo than someone else earning the spot.  I’m sure I’ll never know what the problem is, but I do know that Mo can play well and I want her starting.  Unfortunately, there was no explanation for the poor team shooting by Adam or the coach.    

Pistol Pete and a full complement of Cheerleaders arrived on time for this game.  One of the girls was in a cast with a broken leg.  The guy I’ve called the “Aggie commercial voice” was doing the PA.  And we were all set for basketball.         

First Quarter

Brooke Salas looked good today.  She got a steal and an assist to Gia Pack.  She made a mid-court steal and a no-look, behind the back pass down court.  When the resulting layup missed, she got the rebound and the basket.  She got a block late in the quarter.  I also have a have a cryptic, scribbled note about an assist to Jeneva Toilolo.  It must have been good, because there’s a star by it.  This is the kind of leadership quality I’ve been looking for in Brooke.  Not just playing well, but making her teammates better as well.  Unfortunately, there was one troubling stat for her.  This would be the second game in a row for Brooke without a three, in spite of several attempts.        

Monique did come in eventually, along with her sister Dominique Mills.  I hadn’t seen them in a while before Friday.  I think they’d both had their hair highlighted.  At 22-6 Aggies, freshmen Pam Wilmore and Kaeli Atkinson came in.  26-13 Aggies after ten minutes.    

Second Quarter

The Mustangs were actually not playing badly.  They were pretty fundamental, but were giving up height and size at about every position, even with the Aggie bench on court.  One aspect of that size advantage was that the Aggies’ interior defense was almost impenetrable to the Mustangs.  They were having a hard time getting a shot off at all whenever the game was in a half-court set.  I also noticed that their coach remained seated during the game instead of working the sidelines. 

Baylee Robinson came in (I think her and Zaire Williams are competing for best hair), along with Aailyah Prince.  Prince (that’s just easier to type than Aaliyah) got a three on a bank and then another three on the next trip down.  Brooke, on the bench, ran down the line high-fiving everyone.  Kaeli got in on the act with her first college three.  Brooke was dancing afterward.  She loves it when the bench players score.  Zaire also got a couple of three’s this half, so hopefully she’s got her shooting touch back.  55-25 Aggies at the half.

Halftime

The entertainment was a game of musical chairs with a layup with some little kids.  They didn’t quite get the rules at first.  The littlest kid, maybe about four years old, had no chance of making a basket.  Pete came in to help him (or shoot the ball for him).  A little girl won with some clutch shooting.

The Aggies were shooting 68% for the half.  Both teams were shooting 43% on threes.  Like I said elsewhere, the Aggies need to defend the perimeter better.  The Aggies girls made a surprise entrance from the top of the stands.  The PA was momentarily scrambling to announce them.  One of the ball girls big-timed Prince when she wanted a ball.  It takes more than a couple of threes to get the ball girls’ respect.

Third Quarter

The Mustangs came out firing with four points.  Coop got a steal and a layup to break up the run.  Tonishia took a rebound coast-to-coast through traffic for a layup and took a hard foul.  Kaeli came in and got two steals and another three.  Her and Prince were joking with each other on court afterward.  There were a pair of breaks within 10 game-time seconds of each other.  The Aggie Cheerleaders had to run out to perform during both.  They were gassed afterward. 

Kaeli racked up an assist to Coop right after the timeout, but then the game took a dark turn.  Kaeli nearly got a steal, but ended up with a jump ball.  During the scuffle, Adam reported that the Mustang player said something.  It wasn’t much, but it set Kaeli off and almost started a fight.  Not that I doubt her toughness, but she looks like a sweet girl, so this development was a bit shocking.  Both girls got a technical.

Next up, Jeneva got a foul and was called for a technical on top of it.  The referees had some rules confusion.  The Mustangs ended up with four free throws, since the Aggies were now over the foul limit.  Brooke then got tripped on a fast break.  It was probably incidental contact, but didn’t occur at a good time.  Prince had words with the Mustang player.  Jade Botelho on the Mustangs went over to talk to the other girl to make sure it didn’t escalate.  Jade was having a great game offensively, but really having to work for it as Aissatou Fall, six inches taller and bigger, was put on her defensively.  The Mustang bench gave out a big cheer for Jenika Padilla when she put in a three, rooting for a freshman.    

Sara Lopez came on as the last Aggie to play.  She got some applause.  I was glad to see her in.  I’m just kind of pulling for her.  Strangely on the other team, there was another walk-on from El Paso, Takiyah Lopez.  She was a former Aggie from a couple of years ago.  It’s probably an interesting story how she ended up at Western New Mexico.  

Fourth Quarter

Pete came by.  I got a handshake.  Back at the game, Aissatou picked up a foul that she disagreed with.  She put the ball on the floor, instead of handing it to the ref and picked up a technical too.  She did come back into the game and got a field goal, which caused the bench to erupt for her.  Prince was still out playing.  She blocked an inbounds pass right into the ref.  He laughed it off.  Unfortunately after playing so well, Prince reverted back to playing in an out-of-control fashion, which resulted in a bunch of misses.

Sara was back out.  She fearlessly drove into the lane and picked up a foul.  Sara converted on the free throws.  She took a couple more shots, but they didn’t go in.  The bench was pulling for her.  Brooke was smiling while watching.  I think they’re friends.  The Aggie bench finished with a four-minute scoring drought, but the reserves did score 50 in the game.  Our final: Aggies 89, Mustangs 60.    

Well, it was a graceless 29-point win over a winless Division II team.  (They were up by 40 at one point.)  I guess we’ll take it.  Frankly this win makes the Friday game all the more befuddling.  Granted they were shooting against a shorter, less talented team, but shots were there today.  I feel like this game exposed the team more than enhanced it.  Those technicals by the bench players revealed a real lack of discipline.  Aaliyah Prince showed some promise finally, but then she fell right back into being pickup game showboater.  Finally, Monique Mills and the Coach need to kiss and make up.  I don’t know what happened between them, but you two need each other to have any success this year.  Get on the same page ladies.    

My player of the game is Jade Botelho on the Mustangs.  This career two-point average player put in 21 points today.  She didn’t seem to be enjoying it though.  The Aggies were putting the big bodies on her down low and she was giving up significant height and weight on them.  It was a battle in the lane for her all game.  Everyone I’m tempted to single out on the Aggies for a good game, had some significant issues with their play.  No prizes this time.  I’m also a bit bent about the ticket price.  I remember they announced at an earlier game that this was going to be a discounted ticket game, but it wasn’t. 

Coach Atkinson called a meeting out on the middle of the court after the game, which I haven’t seen before.  It didn’t seem like an especially angry talk, but I was too far away to know.  She was definitely unhappy with the three technicals in the post-game interview.  (Meanwhile, Adam just about ran out of breath reading off all of the individual player stats.)  Afterward, the girls dispersed.  Several went into the crowd to talk to friends.  The Mills sisters walked off chatting with each other.  Ron and I went off to face our pizza destiny at Papa Johns.  It was pricey, but oh so good.  The Garlic Knots were to die for.  Ron pronounced new Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie the most sweetest thing ever.  He reacted like I do to chili in my food.  I thought cookie was just okay sweet, but his display made me too embarrassed to get seconds.  Happy New Years everyone!      

Arizona Bowl-NM State vs Utah State 12-29-17

After getting back from the basketball massacre and getting lunch, I watched a bit of the Sun Bowl at home.  It was a Chamber of Commerce day in El Paso for the game between NC State and Arizona State.  The place looked full.  I didn’t really watch as came in late and NC State seemed well on their way to victory, though it was a high-scoring game.  There was a bigger event on the agenda. 

This was the big day for Aggie Football, their 57-year curse-breaking Arizona Bowl game against the Utah State Aggies.  Much of the radio pre-game was actually about the Aggies’ last bowl game in 1960 at the Sun Bowl against this same team.  That NMSU team was 11-0 for the season and led the nation in offense.  The Sun Bowl was also a premier bowl game then.  In the present day, Aggies fans had “taken over Tucson,” with crimson being seen everywhere in town.  The Stadium Network had Jaleel Scott’s one-hand touchdown catch earlier this season against Arizona State as their number two play of the year.     

The “happiest bowl fans in the country” had sold out the team’s allotment of tickets (something like 7,000) and reportedly filled three-quarters of the stadium.  Even with over 26,000 in attendance at their last home game (nearly a sellout with capacity at 28,800 at Aggie Memorial), the university was worried that the fans wouldn’t buy tickets to a bowl game, even a close one in Tucson.  They thought it would be too expensive for them.  Well, they sold out of their original 5,000 allotment inside of two weeks. 

Athletic Director Mario Moccia was estimating 10,000 NMSU fans, but in an interview with the Sunbelt Conference commissioner, he thought it was more like 15 to 20,000.  I heard a number afterward that 40,000 total tickets were sold.  Bowl and city officials must have been ecstatic.  Some of the proceeds of sales went to charity too.  

 

The day before, there was a group picture at work with people dressed in Aggie gear supporting the team.  The picture even got retweeted by football team.  I bought two Aggie football shirts recently, but I didn’t get in the picture, but I’m not bitter.  I had a co-worker in a real quandary.  He’d already had tickets to the Sun Bowl and wasn’t sure which game to go to.  He made the right choice and went to Tucson.  Another co-worker guaranteed an Aggie win, being a smart ass, since both teams are called the “Aggies.”  I’ve covered the Utah State Women’s Soccer team here and referred to them as “USA” and the “US Aggies.”  I refrain from that in the recap.  

First Quarter

Jack Nixon, the voice of Aggie Sports, finally pronounced the name of sponsor, Route 66 Casino, correctly for the kickoff.  However, the usual promotion for that opening kickoff was not in effect for this game, so Jack backtracked and simply thanked them for their support this year.  The Aggies took their opening drive downfield for a field goal, 3-0 NMSU.          

What happened next was the usual stomach-churning thing that proceeds an Aggie blowout loss.  Utah State took their first kickoff all the way for a touchdown, 7-3 Utah State.  I could hear the fans in attendance and the entire city groaning.  Jason Huntley was not taking any of that.  He took the ensuing kickoff right back down their throats for a touchdown, 10-7 NMSU.  I believe this was the turning point of the game, if not for the Aggie team, then at least for Aggie fans.  It was going to be very hard to tune away after that resounding answer. 

Utah State would have to earn their way downfield next time.  The Aggie defense had two penalties, but held.  The Aggies had to punt on their possession.  Utah State lined to punt on their next drive, but instead, faked it.  The fumble on the play, however, was genuine.  Unfortunately, the Aggies were intercepted right after.  Utah State drove down the field as the quarter ended.  Whew!  We saw a little of everything in 15 minutes. 

Second Quarter

The U-tags (as Jack was calling them) led off the quarter with a field goal to finish off their drive.  The score was tied at 10.  I left for work at that point.  The game was on in the break room there, though no one was watching at the time.  I ran into a couple of co-workers who said that the Aggies were now up 13-10 after a field goal.  I had to start working, but put the game on the radio next to me.  In the last minute of the half, Larry Rose III fumbled deep in Aggie territory.  The defense managed to hold them to a field goal.  13 all at the half. 

Third Quarter

A bunch of work from my vacation last week suddenly resurfaced and was placed in my arms.  This is why I hate taking vacation.  I got pretty busy working, but was still listening to the game on the radio.  Utah State missed a field goal.  The Aggies pulled off a fake punt of their own to get a first down.  Unfortunately there was another interception right after.  Terrill Hanks managed to grab a fumble deep in Aggie territory to keep them from capitalizing on the turnover.

 

Fourth Quarter

The Aggies still couldn’t move the ball on offense.  Punter Peyton Theisler had been getting a workout in this game.  It wasn’t entirely surprising that a bad punt happened, especially backed up in the endzone.  This was real bad.  Utah State got the ball on the NMSU 20.  A quick effort gave them a touchdown and a 20-13 lead.  I’m sure that on TV, “goat-cam” was in effort for Peyton.  After another ineffective Aggie drive, the U-tags had a drive that resulted in another missed field goal. 

Late in the game, I’d like to think that the Aggies, not only really wanted to win, but also wanted to pick up their teammate, not wanting to hang a loss on Peyton’s one bad punt.  After only having one first down in the second half, the Aggie offense finally picked up some steam.  Jaleel Scott came up with a big catch downfield, though he hobbled off afterward.  Larry Rose came up with a circus catch to keep the drive going.  Johnathan Boone saved the Aggies’ season with a fourth down conversion catch. 

This was all feeling a little familiar, like the Aggies’ final drive versus South Alabama.  Tyler Rogers then found Jaleel Scott in the endzone, who made an over-the-shoulder catch, but out-of-bounds.  Or was it?  The officials started looking at the play.  The pro-NMSU crowd started going crazy watching the replay, as it showed Jaleel dragging a foot behind him inbounds as he caught the ball.  Touchdown Aggies!  The score was tied 20-20.   

By this point, I had abandoned work and was watching in the break room.  The husband of a just-retired co-worker was already there watching.  His wife was saying goodbye to people.  He tried to talk her into staying for the end, but when it went to overtime, she convinced him to go.  I tried telling them the overtime rules aren’t timed and they should stick around, but to no avail.  My boss, working late, sat in to watch with me. 

Overtime

The Aggies won the toss and decided to go second.  The Aggie defense kept Utah State out of the endzone.  They set up for another kick and it sailed wide.  That was their kicker’s fourth missed kick of the game at the worst possible time.  I think it was mentioned he was like an all-conference kicker this year, but you can’t blame him.  He was kicking against destiny.  On the Aggies’ second play, Larry Rose III broke two tackles and galloped 21 yards into the endzone and right into legend.  57 years of bowl frustration ended for the Aggies.  26-20 Aggies in overtime.     

I was jumping up and down watching.  I didn’t even try to restrain myself.  The crowd didn’t either.  They stormed the field again.  A reporter on-field had a heck of a time trying to do interviews with the happy mass of fans and players there.  They couldn’t even find the hero, Larry Rose.  The TV studio guys were immensely proud of New Mexico State and their fans.  They heaped praised on Tyler Rogers’ clutch fourth quarter.  Checking on the team’s Twitter feed after the game, I saw Adam Young doing some interviews.  He found Larry Rose and asked him about being down in the fourth quarter.  “I told the guys, ‘We’ve been here before.  We know what to do.’”  That they did. 

It’s almost impossible to sum up this season for New Mexico State Football in a couple of paragraphs.  The story began in 2013 with the hiring of Coach Doug Martin.  From there, it was the recruiting and training and experience of this group of players that led to this moment.  There’s no real telling what’s going to happen next with the program going independent.  The team showed they can really play in the clutch, even having to carry their program’s history on their backs the whole time.  The fans really came out and supported them at the last home game and at this bowl game and had a good time doing so.  National recognition has followed, almost priceless good publicity for a nearly anonymous hard luck football team. 

This bowl win was a bit like a professional team winning a championship right before asking for a new stadium, but there are no guarantees in this situation.  I have to think if the team can do well and the fans show up for the next two years, there will be a conference invitation.  From there, the program’s future should be secured for another half-dozen years.  This football team may always have to prove itself to conferences, to opponents, to the media, and to the fans.  That was part of the coach’s motto of “Playing with a chip on our shoulders.”  We’ve all seen that that can be a winning strategy for New Mexico State Football.     

(Photo from Las Cruces Sun-News)

NM State Aggies vs UC Santa Barbara Gauchos Women’s Basketball 12-29-17

Today was the big day for Aggie Football and their bowl game in Arizona.  This basketball game was moved up a couple of hours to get it in before that game.  Since I had no way of going to the bowl game, I was looking forward to this Women’s Basketball game against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.  I didn’t know anything about their program, except that their baseball team is good.  I figured this team was probably good too and that the Aggie girls would need the fan support.

Unfortunately at the Pan-Am Center, the crowd was about what I expected for a noon game on a Friday, before the football game and before New Years’ weekend.  We’ll call it “light.”  The Old Man was surprisingly there.  I’d figured he would have been at the football game.  There was a teenage girl behind the Aggie bench that looked like Taylor Swift, probably not by accident.  There was an adorable little girl in pigtails wandering in the aisles.  Across the court was a high-school girls’ basketball team from out-of-town.  They were the biggest group in attendance.  Like that Lobo game earlier this month, the booster section was mostly empty. 

It was old-school primitive basketball today.  There was no radio.  (For the Aggies.  The Gauchos had a guy there broadcasting.)  No band.  No cheerleaders.  No Sundancers.  No giveaways.  (No crowd for that matter.)  The program didn’t have the full stats on it.  We still had the bad rap music going.  The regular PA and DJ Downs weren’t there for the announcing.  A guy who used to be my co-worker did the honors.  I don’t know if this was his first time, but he did a really good job (under what would prove to be very trying conditions).  I noticed that the girls’ and guys’ next games were mentioned in the announcements, but the football game was never brought up.  Another co-worker’s son was operating the mobile camera during the game.       

I could hear the UCSB team roaring the tunnel before they came out.  During their warmup, they practiced free throws, which I don’t think I’d before.  You could hear the Aggies coming out of the tunnel as well.  So they started off in good spirits.  “Do we have referees?”  That was a valid question from one of the booster ladies behind me with a couple of minutes before tipoff.  They did show up.  The crowd sang along with the Anthem.  The Aggie intro video played, but they kept the houselights on for it. 

First Quarter

I hate looking at the opposing team’s record on the program, but I always end up doing it.  “2-9!”  Okay, I think the Aggies have a good decent chance here.  When I saw 6’4” Drew Edelman on court for the Gauchos, I assumed they’d be passing her the ball under the basket all game.  She was a huge, hard to miss presence.  Not just big, but layered in muscles.  On the other hand, when your team starts off dropping three three’s in a row, why go away from that?  Using the phrase, “Making it rain,” would not be unwarranted.  In the first half, they were pouring them in with six different players contributing. 

The Aggies looked disorganized and were not shooting the ball well.  The only Aggie highlight for the quarter was Brooke Salas getting a great steal under the basket, literally snatching the ball away from a player, who was holding it with two hands.  The Aggies were keeping it fairly close until the last minute where the Gauchos got a basket, a turnover, a layup, and then a three.  It was 24-14 UCSB after ten minutes.

     

Second Quarter

The game went more up tempo, but that didn’t help the Aggies at all, since they still weren’t able to score.  They got in a few good plays.  Jasmine Cooper out rebounded Edelman for a rebound, got possession on the tie up, and got a basket coming out of it.  Coop, Zaire Williams, and Pam Wilmore all got blocks, which tells me that the girls were playing hard, regardless of the score.  At some point, the team went to a full court press and some trapping and mostly stayed with it for the rest of the game, but to no avail.  It was 50-18 Gauchos at the half.  The Aggies had three baskets for six points in the quarter.  The Gauchos had 11 three’s for the half.

      

Halftime

The Aggie fight song played at the half to a very reluctant cheer.  I did my best.  “I’ve never seen the girls play so bad,” said the booster lady.  Just a reminder, up until the start of this season, the fans hadn’t seen a home court loss since December of last year.  Pistol Pete and two cheerleaders showed up during the break.  This group must have missed the bus for Tucson and the big football game.  (Or didn’t know about the game time change.)  Pete took one look at the crowd and the scoreboard and headed for an exit.  (Just kidding.  Pete would never do that.)  The cheerleaders took a seat next to a lady in the crowd.  Pete wandered around, talking to the fans.  He said something to the high school girls basketball team that got them laughing.  Oh, Pete.  You charmer. 

Third Quarter

“I like this.  I’m a masochist,” said one of the boosters in passing.  I’m thinking several of the fans there were questioning their commitment to Women’s basketball, me included.  When a game gets this f-ed, there’s not much tension about the outcome, so you can at least enjoy little, individual plays.  The Aggies racked up another block as they seemed to have a height advantage (except for Edelman).  It was more of the same offensively, if not worse.  The Aggies’ first basket came with 6:40 on the clock. 

Coop did start a small run with a pair of baskets and drew a foul on the other end.  The Old Man, who had not stopped cheering during this debacle, shouted “We can do it!”  This got a laugh out of the crowd at least.  Monique Mills got a steal and then missed a layup at the other end.  Okay, at this point it was obvious nothing was going to fall in for the girls today.  Frustration mounted.  Jeneva Toilolo came back to the bench after her fourth foul complaining about guarding Edelman.  It was quiet enough during the game to where you could hear stuff like that at the bench.  It was 67-28 Gauchos after three.

Fourth Quarter

A third girl cheerleader and guy cheerleader showed up by this point.  One of the girls stood on the guy’s shoulders, and the group did one cheer for the crowd.  It was a little late for that.  Meanwhile, Pete was still working his way around to individually greet each fan.  (Actually, he avoided the booster area.  Probably a good idea today.)  He took pictures with the Gaucho fans, who were, of course, happy to see him. 

Almost to make this game worse, Brooke hit her wrist during a scrum in the lane.  She got a basket right after, but was still shaking it off.  I think she was okay.  With four minutes left, Tonishia Childress made the first three-pointer for the Aggies.  While the Gauchos cycled in much of their bench, the Aggies mostly kept their starters out.  Brooke got a block, a layup, and drew a foul on a play.  Coop took a beautiful inside pass under the basket, and ran around the defender for a reverse layup. 

Zaire Williams, having a scoreless day, got cued up for a technical late.  I didn’t see anything flagrant, but I can see where it wouldn’t have been surprising that it happened.  There were a bunch of fouls in this game, though it never felt like it was chippie.  Brooke got a block on another 6’4” player, Natalia Bruening, who’d come in for Edelman.  Bruening got the rebound, but Coop took a charge from her going to the basket (brave move).  While the officials were discussing it in a timeout, Brooke came over to the bench and said . . . err . . . a mild explicative.  She did it in a stoic matter-of-fact fashion, but it was a stunning display of emotion from her.  The booster ladies behind me were a bit shocked.  (Again, there wasn’t much crowd noise to drown out these probably nominal exchanges.) 

The crowd was getting on the officials for the foul-calling by this point.  Nobody wanted this game lengthened.  Coop came out.  She stood up at the bench and started yelling instructions to the players on court.  There may be some coach in her.  For the last ten seconds of the game, both teams stood motionless on court and waited for time to expire.  Our final: Gauchos 77, Aggies 47.  The team has already lost more home games this season than last, just halfway through. 

The Gauchos went back to their bench and thanked their three fans in the stands.  (That’s not a joke.)  The Aggie girls stuck around on court for autographs.  This would have been a good day to go see them and say something encouraging, but I think it was just for the Kid’s Club.  Coach Atkinson must have been glad there was no radio call so that she didn’t have to explain what happened in a post-game interview.  At the exit, a pleasant usher said to the fans, “We’ll get ‘em next time.”  (I’m surprised he knew what was going on in the game from where he was stationed.)  The masochist booster said jokingly, “I want my money back!”      

   

Sarah Porter was high-scorer for the Gauchos with 17 points on five three’s.  Seven different players accumulated 14 three’s for the team.  Most of those were in the first half and they cooled off in the second, but it hardly mattered.  Brooke Salas showed a lot of hustle out there with 18 points, but Jasmine Cooper is my Aggie player of the game.  For someone who is usually on court for their defense and a couple of points, Coop really came up big with 14.  She was also tireless on defense.  Judging by her smiles, I almost think she was having fun out there today.                  

How to analyze this game?  When the team got schooled by Arizona earlier this month, it was surprising, but they are a good program and it was on the road.  Here, I don’t really know how good the Gauchos are, but they couldn’t have been that much better than the Aggies.  They certainly got hot shooting.  I wouldn’t be surprised if this was their best shooting game this year.  Even an open three isn’t an easy shot, but judging by this game and the Lobo game, the Aggies need to defend behind the arc better. 

But for this game, clearly the Aggies couldn’t get it in the basket themselves.  It didn’t seem like the Gauchos were that great on defense.  I did not see a lack of effort from the team, but I can’t account for Zaire, Jeneva, and Monique all getting 0 points and Gia Pack only getting 8.  The missed shots were not all bad; they just didn’t fall in.  This is only speculation, but I wonder if they maybe caught something out in California and were getting over it.  Not everybody can be Michael Jordan and play well with the flu.  If it was more widespread, maybe this was why the bench wasn’t emptied in the fourth quarter.  If it’s not that, I’m clueless as to what happened.  The only good news today for the team was that Brooke is still contributing with a steady performance and that Jasmine is capable of putting up more offense when needed.        

NM State Men’s Basketball December 22-25, 2017

NM State Men’s Basketball

12-22-17

Aloha.  The Aggie Men were in Hawaii for an ESPN televised tournament for the week before Christmas.  Their first opponent was the Davidson Wildcats.  I’ll be honest, I’d never heard of them, but apparently everyone else has.  They had Steph Curry on their team at one point, so they’re probably pretty good.  Currently, they have an international crew with players from Iceland and Finland. 

Boy, my notes on the first half are awful.  The game started off pretty slow, so it was hard to start writing.  Sidy N’Dir hurt his knee about halfway through the first half, but came back in.  The Aggies were up 23-15 with five minutes left thanks to some stellar D.  Davidson went through a five-minute scoring drought that was broken up by a free throw.  The half finished on a last second layup by AJ Harris after a steal by Johnny McCants.  35-27 Aggies.

The Aggies continued to dominate to start the second half, going up by 12 early on.  McCants had a one-hand jam to add to his highlight reel.  Davidson finally started hitting for a comeback and brought it to a two-point Aggie lead, 47-45, with 12 minutes to go.  Timeout Aggies.  The Aggies came back with a couple of baskets and a steal by McCants.  Davidson stayed right with them and tied off of a block and turnover.  They took the lead with under ten minutes to go.

While Aggie Jemerrio Jones sat out with foul trouble, Davidson went on a 9-point run for a 56-49 lead.  Aggie three-point shooting kept them in it.  With about one minute left in the game, Zach Lofton got a steal and a layup to get the Aggies within one.  He then got a tip in for a one-point lead.  Davidson reclaimed the lead by one with a layup with 20 seconds left.  Jemerrio was back in and got a stick back to get the Aggies back up by one with five seconds.  He then got a tip to spoil the Davidson possession.  They managed a last second shot that missed.  Our final: Aggies 69, Davidson 68.  Everybody collapse in exhaustion.  If you’re an Aggie or Aggie fan, smile on the way down.        

NM State Men’s Basketball

12-23-17

At the Diamondhead Classic in Hawaii, NMSU’s next opponent in the tournament was #6 in the nation, the 10-0 unbeaten, Miami Hurricanes.  Jack Nixon reported that there were about 30 Aggie fans in attendance; many were invited by Coach Jans.  Watching video later, there was a respectable crowd there, given that the home team wasn’t playing.  I think I heard Jack say it was morning there, while it was night here.  This game was again nationally televised on ESPN.

Again, my first half notes are terrible.  It is so much easier to write out recaps of the four 10-minute quarters that the women play.  Both teams were cold shooting to start.  Miami came out rebounding well and worked a five-point lead.  Good Aggie defense closed it to two.  Johnathon Wilkins got a strip and a jam to tie.  The teams traded the lead a couple of times, before the Aggies went up 29-25 at the half.  AJ Harris blocked a three at the buzzer.

The Aggies came out firing in the second half with a couple of three’s.  The scoreboard operator in the arena was clearly partisan and tipped the score for Miami after the shots, but it was corrected.  Both teams got their offensives going this half.  Shunn Buchanan hit a three to put the Aggies up by seven with under ten minutes left.  The Aggies fans there were cheering.  The offensives had probably picked up by this point as several players on both teams were in deep foul trouble. 

Three minutes left in the game and Miami cut the lead to three as the Aggies went cold.  It was a one-point lead in the last two minutes.  The Aggies had a four-minute scoring drought that Jemerrio Jones finally broke up with a tip in.  Zach Lofton then stuck a three with 48 seconds left.  AJ Harris piled on with a steal and layup for a 59-53 lead with 40 seconds left.

Jack Nixon was now totally into it and believing.  Miami started fouling in the last 30 seconds.  Lofton made two free throws and snatched a rebound and finished with a jam in the closing seconds to essentially finish the game.  Our final: Aggies 63, Hurricanes 54.  This was NMSU’s first win over a top ten opponent since 1990.  Can this really be the same team that got walked all over by Texas Tech in an exhibition at the start of the season?  Coach Jans has really got these guys on the same page, playing as a team.  The Aggies out-rebounded a good rebounding team (+5), their defense got 14 points off of turnovers, and they scored 63 on the #2 defense in the nation.   

I made sure to tune into the local El Paso TV news that night.  (I also found out that I was lucky.  Much of the rest of Las Cruces was having a blackout during the game.)  This victory was their lead sports story and they were talking about it the next day too.  I was watching Stadium’s Rally show the next night and they did a whole segment on it.  In this case, the hosts were asking if there was a controversy.  Was Zach Lofton rubbing it in with that jam at the end?  They were up by 7 with less than 20 seconds left.  Watching the play, Miami didn’t even bother trying to run back to stop him and essentially gave him the basket.  The hosts thought it was okay.  Me too.  Never mind that.  It was just a thrill to hear Zach and Aggies discussed on a national program.  I hope that clip makes it back to the team.  They’re going to get Christmas Eve off tomorrow and a well-deserved rest before the finale on Christmas Day.   

NM State Men’s Basketball

12-25-17

This was a Christmas present: the Aggies playing for a tournament win.  I’m sure the guys weren’t complaining about spending the holiday in Hawaii.  Santa Claus still delivers out there you know.  This game was at 1:00 pm local.  There were two games before this, starting at 7:30 am, and another one afterward.  There’s a bunch of teams out there.  Today’s opponent was the USC Trojans.  They’re very big and have NBA prospects, but have had injuries and suspensions.  Jack Nixon mentioned that USC has been pleased to draw 6,300 to their home games.  That’s about what NMSU draws with a fraction of their area population.  The Aggies were out early this morning for a non-mandatory practice, so they were taking this game seriously.           

Sorry, again.  I was a bit distracted while I was listening the game, so I kept missing important information all the way through.  The Aggie fans in attendance were into it as their team went up 7-0 to start the first half.  As the game went up tempo, USC took the lead.  The Aggies went cold and the Trojans went on a 9-point run.  USC fans were now getting into it.  Timeout Aggies.  The Aggies finally scored to break up a 13-point run.  Several Aggie players got in foul trouble and a chippy incident under the basket lead to technicals for both teams.  The Aggies were still rebounding very well, especially offensively.

Johnny McCants got a block that led to a layup and brought the Aggies within two.  The crowd loved it.  Late in the half, Zach Lofton started finding his shot to the tune of three three-pointers.  McCants got another block, which led to Lofton’s fourth three.  He had 12 points, all on three’s.  We were tied at 34 at the half.

The Trojans came out firing three’s to start.  The Aggies kept up with them.  The crowd was loud for both sides.  Lofton got his fifth three.  Another Aggie block added another layup.  With 13 minutes left, Lofton hit his sixth three-pointer. Sidy N’Dir put one in right after for a 7-point lead.  McCants racked up another highlight as he went airborne to slam in an alley-oop.  61-55 Aggies with about seven minutes left.  He picked up a couple of fouls right after that. 

Trojan three-point shooting was keeping them in it.  Five minutes left, Eli Chuha got a put back.  68-64 Aggies with four minutes left.  McCants picked up his fourth foul.  Chuha got a steal and a tip in at the other end.  72-68 Aggies, under two minutes left.  USC got a block and tied the score with under a minute.  Benny Boatwright scored his 33rd point of the evening for the Trojans on a three-pointer to give them a three-point lead.  A couple of free throws iced the game with seconds left.  Your final: Trojans 77, Aggies 72.  You just can’t win all the close ones.

Benny Boatwright was the unsurprising tournament MVP.  USC was also perfect in shooting free throws.  Zach Lofton led the Aggies with 28.  The team shot 46%, got 21 points off turnovers, and out rebounded USC.  There wasn’t a huge down stat for the Aggies.  The Trojans simply shot the ball better at over 50%.  Coach Jans took the blame in the post-game, saying the staff didn’t give the players the best opportunity to win.  He gave players virtually nothing but praise.  Jans said there was no stopping Boatwright this game, no matter what they did.  And the Aggies still have another road game before the end of the year.  They’re probably pretty gassed after all these close, tough games.  

NM State Men’s Basketball

12-28-17

The road Death March continued for the Aggie Men’s team, though Hawaii and California aren’t the worst places to spend the holidays.  They start conference play next week with three road games, but at least they get to come home after this game versus the UC-Irvine Anteaters. 

I was busy at work during the game, so I’m not going to pretend to do any sort of in-depth recap.  (Also I’m writing this right before going to the Women’s game today.)  In the first half, the Aggies were a little off on a couple of plays, but still ran up a 13-point lead, mostly thanks to some aggressive defense.  At that point, they might have gotten a bit tired.  The Anteaters capitalized and came back.  With a last second three, they got it to 26-24 Aggies at the half. 

The second half just about repeated the pattern.  The Aggies went up by 11, but this time mostly on better shooting.  The Anteaters were not going away.  By the two-minute mark, it was again a two-point game.  Zach Lofton came up big with free throws and a critical steal late.  The Aggies had a 6-point lead with 30 seconds left.  That was chopped in half by a clutch three, but the Anteaters took too much time getting it.  AJ Harris then got a layup to basically ice the game.  Lofton had the opportunity to jam one at the end, like at the Miami game, but held up, chuckling.  I guess he’d heard the criticism.  65-60 Aggies was our final.  The Aggies were -10 in rebounds and shot poorly at the foul line, but only had six turnovers.  This game was a good “taking care of business” for the Aggies.