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NM State men beat Seattle U in battle for first place in WAC

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SEATTLE - Anyone who knows anything about the 2021-22 edition of the NM State men's basketball team probably knows their fair share about the deadly guard combo of Teddy Allen and Jabari Rice.

 What may go unnoticed, though, especially in the Aggies' backcourt-oriented offensive style are the big fellas down low.

 Big fellas like Big Philly who may figure more prominently in opposing scouting reports from here on out.

 With sole possession of first place in the Western Athletic Conference at stake, NM State turned inward to the play of its resident Philadelphian, redshirt sophomore forward Will McNair Jr., who answered the bell with a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double to help the Aggies claim sole possession of the league's top spot with a 68-55 triumph at Seattle U Monday night.

 McNair Jr., was one of three Aggies who finished with 10 or more points as NM State held the Redhawks, who began the day tied with the Aggies atop the league standings, to their lowest point total of the 2021-22 campaign while also handing them just their second home loss of the season.

 FIRST HALF
• The Redhawks led just one time, when Darrion Trammell sliced through the Aggies' defense on back-to-back possessions to put the hosts ahead 16-14 with 10:37 left in the frame.
• Following the second crafty layup by Trammell, NM State went on an 10-0 run over the next 4:54 wrest to control of the game away from Seattle U. Teddy Allen was the instigator of that NM State scoring surge, scoring or assisting on all but one of the five buckets the Aggies put in to go back up by eight, 24-16, with 5:18 left.
• McNair Jr., picked up a rebound off of his own missed shot with 5:18 and dropped in a layup before Clayton Henry got hit with a technical foul. That was the jump start the Redhawks needed to go on an equalizing 12-4 run largely on the strength of Trammell's offensive abilities. The hosts' high-scoring guard fired in seven points for Seattle U on its surge, tying the tilt at 28-all with a nifty layup as 45 seconds showed on the clock.
• Ten seconds after Trammell tied things for the last time, Donnie Tillman connected on a straightaway three-pointer to send the Aggies to the locker room with a 31-28 lead.
• Nineteen of the Redhawks' 28 first-half points came off the mitts of Trammell while Allen poured in 10 of NM State's 31. McNair Jr., was well on his way to double-double territory once the halftime horn sounded, too, as he had six points and 10 rebounds at that particular juncture.

 SECOND HALF
• Trying to put the game away in the infancy of the deciding frame, NM State began the final 20 minutes of action by going on a 10-3 run. Allen did his thing, dropping in two mid-range jobs while McNair Jr., added three points of his own on a layup and a free throw make which pushed the visitors' edge to 41-31 with 16:41 left.
• The Redhawks didn't fade, though, as they answered NM State's run with one of their own. Seattle U netted the next nine points of the game, capping that run with Kobe Williamson's uncontested layup at the 13:51 mark which whittled the Aggies' lead down to one, 41-40.
• With the Aggies' lead in danger of slipping away, Jabari Rice came to the rescue on offense. The Houston, Texas, product laced a pair of crucial three-pointers on consecutive NM State possessions which pushed the visitors' advantage back up to five, 47-42, with 12:33 to go.
• Johnny McCants flushed home a tow-handed power dunk over Williamson before Allen twisted his way to the tin for a fast-break layup which made the score 51-42 in favor of the visitors with 10:15 to go.
• Still, the Redhawks wouldn't go away. With 4:34 left, Brandton Chatfield split a pair of free throws which pulled Seattle U within four, 56-52. A second flop warning on the Redhawks with the ball in NM State's hands after that free throw make, though, resulted in a technical foul. Allen stepped to the stripe and swished the freebie with 4:13 to go.
• Minutes later, Henry made arguably the most important pass of the game when he flung the ball out to a wide-open McCants on the wing for a crucial three-pointer which put the Aggies' lead back to eight, 60-52, with 2:24 left.
• After bruising and abusing the Redhawks down low all game, McNair Jr., reached deep into his bag and unleashed a well-timed - if unexpected - one-legged, fade-away jumper which went smoothly through the twine and made it a seven-point NM State edge (62-55) with 1:39 left.
• NM State ended the game on an 8-0 run and allowed the Redhawks to sink just one field goal in the game's last six minutes.

 KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Allen, who was named the WAC Player of the Week earlier Monday for the fourth time in 2021-22, finished with 19 points, a trio of rebounds and a game-high five assists in the victory. Though he saw his streak of 20+ point games come to an end after eight in a row, the Phoenix, Ariz., product came up big time and time again and even assisted on Rice's layup with 58 seconds ago to put the Redhawks away.
• McNair Jr. picked a great time to turn in one of the most dominant performances of his career. The Philadelphia, Pa., product posted his second double-double of the season and his first in a WAC contest to help lead the Aggies to victory. McNair Jr., added a trio of blocked shots as well as two big-time assists in the second half.
• Rice racked up 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting while Tillman (seven) and McKinney Jr. (four points, five rebounds) chipped in massively off the bench to make sure the Aggies remained in line for the regular-season crown.
• Trammell got his in the first half, and finished with a game-high 24 points, but over the course of the final 20 minutes he found it substantially more difficult to put the orange thing in the orange thing. That had a little something to do with the defense of Rice who frustrated one of the league's premier scorers into a five-point second half on a 1-of-7 clip from the field.
• Cameron Tyson, the other half of the Redhawks' usually potent one-two offensive punch had a difficult time trying to solve NM State's defense. Coming in averaging a shade of over 15 points per game, Tyson finished with just three points on a 1-of-12 shooting clip.
• Collectively, Seattle U put in just 22.6-percent (7-of-31) of its tries from long distance and 31.3-percent (20-of-64) of its total shots.
• NM State owned the Redhawks on the glass, posting a 50-36 (+14) rebounding margin. The 50 rebounds were the Aggies' second-most of the year and the first 50-rebound performance since amassing 51 in a non-conference win over Northern New Mexico back on Dec. 21, 2021.
• With Monday night's win, NM State owns a one-game lead over Seattle U for the top spot in the WAC standings with three regular season games remaining. Sam Houston is a game-and-a-half back of NM State in third place on the latest edition of the WAC listing.

 COMING UP NEXT
• The final road trip of the Aggies' regular-season docket is set for later this week as they make a journey northwest to The Windy City for a Saturday afternoon showdown at WAC foe Chicago State. Tip-off inside the Jones Convocation Center is set for 1:00 p.m. MT.


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