The Aggies dressed in style for the Lou Henson Classic in their throwback uniforms, but they lost. Here's what led to NMSU's first home loss.
New Mexico State entered the Pan American Center in style.
It was the annual Lou Henson Classic against Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Jan. 10, and the Aggies celebrated by wearing throwback uniforms. NM State coach Jason Hooten even channeled his inner Henson by wearing a crimson suit with a gray and white tie.
However, the Aggies’ performance didn’t match the drip. NM State (9-6, 2-3 Conference USA) started fast, but eventually fell behind and lost to the Blue Raiders (10-6, 4-1) 59-55 at home.
Down 58-55, the Aggies had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds after MTSU’s Kamari Lands found himself out of bounds with the ball on the ground. The ball went to NM State guard Jayland Randall, who was 2-for-5 from 3-point range heading into his final moment. He couldn’t find a way to convert his sixth attempt, though, and one free throw from the Blue Raiders’ Jahvin Carter sealed the win for the visitors.
The Aggies have now lost their first home game of the season after entering Saturday 7-0 at the Pan American Center.
Here are three reasons behind NM State’s defeat:
Aggies couldn't sustain hot start
NM State started hot and took 13-2 and 19-4 leads inside the first nine minutes of the first half. But MTSU would storm back.
The Blue Raiders outscored the Aggies 25-10 after trailing 19-4 to tie the game at 29-29 at halftime. After making just one of its first 12 shots, MTSU then made 10 of its next 18 to end the first half.
The Aggies got cold while the Blue Raiders got hot. NM State went 9-for-14 from the field to start the game, but missed nine of its next 11 shots before the halftime buzzer.
Cold spell continues in second half
If the Aggies ended the first half cold, they reached arctic-level temperatures in the second half.
NM State made only one field goal in the first 10 minutes of the half on 10 attempts, and made zero 3-pointers. Forward Julius Mims broke the 3-point barrier shortly after the 10-minute mark, but the Aggies still had a hill to climb down 51-41 thanks to their poor shooting.
NM State went on a bit of a run after Mims’ 3-point shot and made three of its next four shots. However, the lid went back on the net. The Aggies made only two field goals inside the final seven minutes of the game and missed their final six shots.
MTSU missing its final five shots gave NM State a chance to either win the game or send it to overtime. However, it couldn’t take advantage.
Too many paint points allowed
NM State held a good 3-point shooting team to just a 21.1% mark from beyond the arc. It’s what happened inside the arc that played a part in its downfall.
The Blue Raiders scored 28 points in the paint, which made up nearly half their final total at 47.5%.
Most of MTSU’s offensive production came from two-pointers. If you remove the Blue Raiders’ subpar 3-point shooting mark from the equation, they ended with a 51.6% mark after going 16-for-31 on 2-pointers.
MTSU’s Torey Alston had the most efficient outing from inside the arc. He went 4-for-7 from 2-pointers and finished the game with a team-high 16 points.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Three reasons behind NMSU basketball's defeat to Middle Tennessee
Category: General Sports
