Welcome to our new web site!

To give our readers a chance to experience all that our new website has to offer, we have made all content freely avaiable, through October 1, 2018.

During this time, print and digital subscribers will not need to log in to view our stories or e-editions.

Aggies beat Seattle U in first-place WAC showdown

Posted

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Billed as a battle for first place in the Western Athletic Conference standings, Saturday's showdown between NM State and Seattle U turned out to be a fairly one-sided skirmish.

Teddy Allen turned in a 33-point, 11-rebound double-double, Johnny McCants added a 12-point, 12-rebound and NM State hammered Seattle U, 79-64, to take over the top spot in the WAC standings.

Yuat Alok added 11 more markers for NM State who hiked its record to 19-3 and 9-1 in league action by using its superior size and shooting to complete their summit to the top of the conference rankings.

FIRST HALF
• Intent on showing their fans - and the league - who should sit atop the conference standings, NM State used a steady dose of Yuat Alok to get things started. The Aggies' towering forward pumped in eight of his team's first 10 points - all from close range - to lead the hosts on a 10-2 run over the first 3:40 of action.
• Though the Aggies never trailed, they did see the Redhawks try to obtain the lead. Seattle U closed to within four points by taking off on a 10-6 run culminating with a Kobe Williamson three-pointer which cut the Aggies' lead down to 16-12 with 10:46 to go in the frame.
• Hoping to put the game away, the Aggies drilled the Redhawks with an 11-2 run over a span of 3:14 to hike their lead to double-digits. Four Aggies put in points through the run including Mike Peake who made matters 27-14 with a well-executed pump fake move to get free for a layup with 7:00 left in the frame.
• NM State's lead dipped down to single-digits a few more times throughout the half, but a 5-2 spurt to end the frame put the hosts' edge at 40-28 when the halftime horn sounded.
• Some strong shooting allowed NM State to get the jump on the Redhawks from the get-go. NM State converted 55.6-percent (15-of-27) of its tries from the field while holding Seattle U to a clip of 33.3-percent (12-fo-36) from the field.
• Allen and McCants neared double-double territory in the opening half along with the latter putting up eight points and six rebounds. The former contributed 12 points and seven rebounds to NM State's cause.

SECOND HALF
• Continuing his mastery of the Redhawks' Allen didn't let up for a second once the final 20 minutes got going. Consecutive three-pointer from Allen and Alok wrapped up an 8-3 NM State run through the first 3:14 of the frame and hiked the hosts' lead to 16, 48-32.
• A three-pointer on the wing by Peake made NM State's edge grow to its largest of the game, 61-42, with 10:37 left.
• Seattle U, though, had one final push left. Down 68-54 after Allen drained a one-handed runner with 5:39 left, the Redhawks used a 7-0 run to make it a single-digit game. Darrion Trammell - the Preseason WAC Player of the Year - started the surge with a pair of free throw makes and concluded it with a fast-break layup which cut the Aggies' lead to 68-61.
• Fortunately, the Aggies had Allen on their side. The Phoenix, Ariz., product continued to add to his scoring total while putting an end to the Redhawks' run by splashing a wing triple that pushed the hosts' lead back to double-digits, 72-61, with 3:45 left.
• Allen and Jabari Rice accounted for all 10 of the Aggies' point during their 10-3 run to end the game.

KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Allen put on another dazzling performance for the Pan American Center faithful, spring for 21 of his game-high 33 points through the final 20 minutes of action. Those 21 points were just 15 fewer than the 36 Seattle U came up with through that stanza.
• Allen and McCants became the second NM State duo to turn in double-doubles in a game this season. Against Grand Canyon back on Saturday, Jan. 29, both Allen and Rice submitted double-double performances.
• Trammell did all he could to keep the Redhawks atop the league standings by going for a team-high 26 points on 8-of-16 shooting. The other parts of the Redhawks' primary scoring tandem, though, struggled to get going.
• Needing 23 points to reach an even 1,000 for his career, Rice didn't get to quadruple digits but did embrace his role as the Aggies' lead facilitator. The Houston, Texas, product dished out a game-high seven assists (one more than Seattle U finished with) to go along with six points and four rebounds.
• Riley Grigsby did finish with 10 points two days after doing scoreless in the Redhawks' loss to Grand Canyon, but Cameron Tyson couldn't find his groove. Saddled with some early foul trouble, the Redhawks' leading scorer on the year finished with just four points on a 2-of-7 clip from the field.
• One of the Aggies' keys to victory was crashing the glass - especially in the second half. NM State owned a 27-17 (+10) edge in rebounding through the final 20 minutes to wrap things up with a 44-33 (+11) advantage in that department overall.
• NM State now owns a one-game lead over Seattle U for the top spot in the WAC standings after Saturday's win. The Aggies also extended their winning streak to four games while claiming their 31st-consecutive WAC home triumph.

COMING UP NEXT
• With their longest WAC home stand of the season in the books, NM State hits the road for five of its next six engagements. The first of those showdowns away from the Land of Enchantment is scheduled for Thursday night in St. George, Utah, when the Aggies tangle with league adversary Dixie State inside Burns Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.


X