Written by: Jason Groves/Sun-News Reporter
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - With the Western Athletic Conference opener two days away, the New Mexico State University men's basketball team needs wins. The Aggies broke a two-game slide and picked up their sixth win of the season with a 86-58 victory against overmatched Alcorn State on New Years Eve at the Pan American Center.
The Aggies open WAC play on Wednesday at Idaho before hosting Fresno State on Saturday.
"We kind of segmented our season into different parts and going into the WAC, we are starting over again," Aggies senior forward Trei Steward said. "We didn't play so well in the beginning of the year and as of now, we have to continue on the right track and keep fighting for wins because that is the only way we are going to get to postseason play."
Steward could see an increased role should suspended senior center Hatila Passos miss the rest of the season. Passos and junior guard Paris Carter will not travel with the team to Idaho. Both players were suspended indefinitely on Dec. 15 for a violation of team rules. NMSU head coach Marvin Menzies said he would know more next week as the university reopens on Jan. 2 and fall semester grades become official on Jan. 15.
"I don't see my role changing a whole lot, I just know I have to come off the bench and get more minutes and have to pick up some of the things that Hatch dropped off," Steward said. "Hopefully we haven't lost Hatch. I hope the best for his situation."
The Aggies outscored Alcorn State 32-9 in the last 10:53 of the first half for a 50-27 halftime lead.
"When we came out and the game was tight, I knew that Alcorn State was going to come out and battle," Menzies said. "When the game was close and the guys broke it open, it just kind of snowballed from there and we kind of took over. We just really played good team ball."
The Braves hit four of their first six shots and tied the game at 18-18 on a Troy Jackson 3-pointer with 10:53 left in the first half. NMSU sophomore guard Jonathan Gibson knocked down a pair of 3s and senior guard Fred Peete scored 11 of his 16 first-half points during the run.
"Basically this game showed that we have chemistry one through five and there wasn't any slack off from the people that were coming off the bench," Peete said.
Peete also had five of the Aggies' 17 assists.
NMSU freshman forward Wendell McKines scored all 12 of his points in the first half, highlighted by a dunk in transition off one of Alcorn State's 15 first-half turnovers. Jahmar Young pushed the ball in transition and fed McKines in transition. McKines was fouled as he dunked with his right hand. McKines knocked down one of the Aggies' 16 first half free throw attempts for a 41-24 lead with 2:08 until halftime.
Alcorn State committed 21 turnovers on Monday and the Aggies converted, scoring 26 points off of those turnovers.
"We focused more on our defense this game, we knew coming out that we were going to be able to get our offense going," said Peete, who led the Aggies with 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting. "We got a bunch of fast break buckets because of our defense."
As a result of those easy looks, the Aggies continued to shoot the ball well. NMSU entered the game shooting 48 percent from the floor and they shot 50.8 percent from the floor on Monday.
The Aggies opened the second half on a 17-8 run, capped on one of Gibson's three 3-pointers. Justin Hawkins scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half. Gibson finished with 13 points as five NMSU players finished in double figures. Las Cruces High School product Gordo Castillo hit consecutive 3s in the second half. The second came from a Hawkins' feed to the corner, which Castillo drained to put NMSU up 81-43 with 6:55 left to play.
Young got his first start of the season in his first game at the Pan American Center. Young finished with 12 points in his third game as an Aggie after gaining eligibility clearance prior to the Aggies' 83-69 loss at the University of New Mexico on Dec. 19.
"It was great to play here," Young said. "It was great to wear a white uniform. I love Las Cruces so it was good to play at home."
Menzies said that he wanted to build on the Aggies' 70-65 loss to Louisville on Dec. 22, but there is no time to relax and enjoy the holiday. The Aggies left Las Cruces at 6 a.m. Tuesday.
"This was a great win because you end on a good note, but I'm just so focused on playing conference that there is absolutely no time to enjoy this win," Menzies said.
Jason Groves can be reached at jgroves@lcsun-news.com
