New Mexico State (5-3) at Texas-El Paso (1-4) (ET)
Sports Network | December 11, 2011
GAME NOTES: The Miners of Texas-El Paso search for just their second win of 2011-12 as they entertain the New Mexico State Aggies in the second part of the I-10 rivalry.
Since defeating UC Riverside at home back on November 13 the Miners have dropped three straight decisions. The team has had plenty of time to dwell on the most recent loss, a 64-59 defeat at the hands of Oregon back on November 29. Coming back from the long layoff, UTEP is now set to play four games in a span of just eight days.
As for the Aggies, they opened the season with four straight wins, but since then the team has stumbled in three of four outings. Last weekend NMSU was defeated by Southern Miss on the road in a 74-66 final, the second consecutive loss for the program.
The Aggies are ahead in the all-time series by just a couple of games at 102-100 according to UTEP records. New Mexico State won the first meeting this season, 89-73, at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces last month as Wendell McKines registered a huge double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds for the hosts.
In the second half of the meeting against Southern Miss, the Aggies not only shot 60.0 percent from the floor, they also held the Golden Eagles to just eight total field goals, but that still wasn't enough to battle back from a double-digit deficit at the break. Christian Kabongo kicked the offense into gear for the visitors with a game-high 21 points, although he shot just 6- of-17 from the floor along the way. McKines added 15 points and Hernst Laroche 12 points as he sank all five of his field goal attempts, including a pair from three-point range. McKines leads the team in both scoring and rebounding after eight games with 18.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest. He is also the most successful three-point shooter for the squad at the moment with 13- of-31 (.419) shooting out on the perimeter. Kabongo (16.1 ppg) and Hernst Laroche (10.3 ppg) have combined to clear 6.5 rpg and have issued 59 of the unit's 107 assists thus far as well.
After being tied at the break at 23-23, the Miners actually connected on 59.3 percent from the floor, but still it wasn't enough to gain momentum and get the visitors a much-needed win against Oregon. Coming off the bench, Michael Perez accounted for a team-best and career-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, while John Bohannon came up a rebound shy of a double-double with his 13 points on 6-of-9 from the field. The 18 points for Perez were actually three more than he had scored in the first four games of the season combined. Perez is now shooting a respectable 45.2 percent from the floor, but just 2-of-13 behind the three-point line for a team that is shooting a collective 30.0 percent from the outside as it scores a meager 56.6 ppg. Julian Washburn, with his 9.2 ppg, is the one who comes the closest to scoring in double figures on a regular basis for the Miners.
The Miners have revenge as an incentive to get them going today, but without solid scoring threats that can keep NMSU off balance, this is another meeting that should go in favor of the Aggies.
GAME NOTES: The Miners of Texas-El Paso search for just their second win of 2011-12 as they entertain the New Mexico State Aggies in the second part of the I-10 rivalry.
FACTS & STATS: Site: Don Haskins Center (12,000) -- El Paso, Texas. Television: None. Home Record: NMSU 1-1, UTEP 1-2. Away Record: NMSU 2-1, UTEP 0-2. Neutral Record: NMSU 2-1, UTEP 0-0. Conference Record: NMSU 0-0, UTEP 0-0. Series Record: New Mexico State leads, 102-100.
Sunday, December 11th, 5:00 p.m. (et)
New Mexico State 77, Texas-El Paso 65
