Dec. 3, 2005
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) – Tyrone Nelson’s double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds and New Mexico State’s free throw shooting in the final six minutes carried the Aggies to a 67-61 win over New Mexico Saturday, giving first-year coach Reggie Theus his first Division I win.
New Mexico State (2-3) squandered a 13-point first-half lead but held on for the win by scoring 15 of its last 17 points from the free throw line. Nelson hit 11 of 13 free throws, including two with 20.2 seconds left that sealed the win.
New Mexico State hit 30 of 36 free throws.
New Mexico (4-2) trailed 32-19 with 2:20 left in the first half, but scored the final eight points – the last three on a 3-pointer by Jeff Hart with a second remaining. The Lobos’ rally continued through the first five minutes of the second half behind eight straight points from Mark Walters, who led the Lobos with 18 points.
But New Mexico struggled to get into an offensive flow all night and hit a season-low 33.9 percent of its shots.
Back-to-back 3s by Walters cut New Mexico State’s lead to 36-35 with 15:57 left and a field goal by Kris Collins gave the Lobos a 40-38 lead. There were seven ties before the Aggies took the lead for good on a pair of free throws by David Fisher with 3:52 remaining.
NMSU got its last field goal – a baseline jumper by Fisher – with 6:30 remaining, but the Aggies repeatedly hit free throws down the stretch.
New Mexico hurt its chances by missing three of four free throws in the final 1:09. That, coupled with a late turnover by center David Chiotti, an airball 3-point shot by Hart and a missed layup by Tony Danridge, contributed to the loss.
Theus, the former NBA All-Star, took over the New Mexico State program this year after two years as an assistant to Rick Pitino at Louisville.
Theus’ decision to bring Nelson back into the game with 2.2 seconds left in the first half seemed to contribute to the Lobos’ rally.
Nelson, who scored 13 points in the first half, promptly picked up his third foul on a charging call. That led to Hart’s 3 and a momentum shift to New Mexico heading into the second half.
Elijah Ingram added 17 points, including three 3-pointers, for NMSU.
Tony Danridge scored 12 for New Mexico.