Men's Basketball Game Recaps

The Aggie men's basketball team was defeated by USC 73-60. The Aggies trailed the Trojans 34-24 at halftime and were down by 17 at 31-14 with 4:26 remaining in the first half but ended the half on a 10-3 run to close the gap to 10 points. The Aggies cut the lead to five points in the second half but turnovers and tough defense by the Trojans were too much for the Aggies to overcome.

The Aggies were 20-63 (31.7%) shooting and 7-20 (35%) from behind the three point line. The Aggies shot 18 free throws hitting 13 of them (72.2%). The Aggies were out rebounded 50-35 and were outscored 40-12 in the paint. Jahmar Young led the Aggies with 16 points and seven rebounds, Troy Gillenwater had 15 points and five rebounds for the Aggies. Jonathan Gibson had a quiet 11 points finishing just 3-13 from the field and hitting no three pointers.

The Aggies fall to 1-1 on the season and will resume play on Friday against Pepperdine.

The Aggie men's basketball opened the 2008-2009 regular season with a 79-52 victory over the UC-Riverside Highlanders. Jahmar Young scored a game high 18 points, Troy Gillenwater added 17 points and Jonathan Gibson had 15 points, including a buzzer-beating three pointer to put the Aggies up by 15 heading into halftime. The Aggies held UC-Riverside to just 25 percent shooting in the second half and cruised to the 27 point victory. The Aggies led by 35 points at 72-37 with 8:16 remaining in the game.

The Aggies were outrebounded by one 33-32 and shot 22 free throws to Riverside's eight. The Aggies shot 63.6% from the free throw line. The Aggies finished the game 7-20 from behind the three point line while UC-Riverside was 5-17.

The Aggies head to Los Angeles on Tuesday to face Southern Cal.

Written by: NMSU Athletic Dept.

FRESNO, CA - The New Mexico State men’s basketball team recorded a come from behind victory at Fresno State, 69-64, Saturday, March 1 in Fresno, Calif. Senior guard/forward Justin Hawkins had a team-high 14 points.

The Aggies were 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the last 30 seconds of the game with senior center Hatila Passos and freshman guard Jahmar Young hitting vital free throws. For the first time this season, the Aggies earned a win after trailing at half.

Sophomore guard Jonathan Gibson added 12 points while both senior guard Fred Peete and freshman forward Herb Pope supplied 11.

Written by: NMSU Athletic Dept.

HONOLULU, HI - New Mexico State senior center Hatila Passos recorded a career-high 25 points at Hawai’i, Thursday, Jan. 31. The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil native had a stellar performance off the bench but the Aggies fell to the Rainbow Warriors 94-71.

Passos had a near double-double with nine rebounds to go along with a 9-for-12 shooting performance.

The Aggies had two other players in double-digits with freshman Herb Pope tallying a career-high 16 points while senior guard/forward Justin Hawkins added 11.

Head coach Marvin Menzies credited Hawai’i with a strong performance. He also said that Aggie miscues were a major factor in the game.

“They (Hawai’i) really played well,” he said. “Turnovers were the story of the game. The points off of turnovers gave them the momentum they needed. We just didn’t have it.”

Written by: Jason Groves/Sun-News Reporter

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - For the 6,689 listed in attendance, it was hard to tell which team was fighting for its life in fifth place and which was in second place in the Western Athletic Conference.

Nevada defeated New Mexico State University 87-78 on Thursday at the Pan American Center, beating the Aggies for the fifth time in the last six meetings.

"We didn't start out like we wanted to and they got on a run and that was the difference in the game," NMSU senior forward Justin Hawkins said. "From the opening tip, we didn't play the way we wanted to play as far as tempo."

Neither team could find the mark early, but the Wolf Pack woke up long enough for a 19-5 run in the first half and were never truly threatened, cruising past an Aggies team that lost a golden opportunity to score a big conference win at home. The Wolf Pack shot a blistering 64 percent in the second half to seal the win.