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NM State (15-15, 8-12 CUSA) closed out the regular season with a hard-fought 79-76 victory over Kennesaw State (18-13, 10-10 CUSA) Saturday afternoon inside the Pan American Center.
The Aggies came out with strong energy to begin the contest, opening the game on a 6-0 run highlighted by an early layup from Julius Mims and a pair of free throws from Gabe Pickens. NMSU continued to control the tempo throughout much of the first half, building its largest lead of the period at seven points before the Owls began to chip away midway through the frame.
Kennesaw State briefly took the lead during the middle portion of the half, but the Aggies answered with key buckets down the stretch. A three-pointer from Jemel Jones sparked a late push before Jae’Coby Osborne added a basket in the closing seconds to send NM State into halftime with a 37-33 advantage.
The second half featured multiple momentum swings as both teams battled for control. NMSU pushed its lead back to seven early in the period after a transition layup from Mims, but Kennesaw State responded with an 8-0 surge that helped the Owls grab a 53-46 lead with just over 13 minutes remaining.
The Aggies refused to back down and began chipping away at the deficit behind strong play from Jayland Randall and Pickens. Randall converted a pair of free throws before pulling up for a jumper during a 10-4 Aggie run that trimmed the margin to a single possession. Moments later, Anthony Wrzeszcz buried a three-pointer to give NM State a 61-59 lead with just over seven minutes left to play.
From there, the Aggies continued to make timely plays down the stretch. A pair of Pickens baskets pushed the lead to six points before Jones added two clutch free throws in the final two minutes to help maintain the advantage.
Pickens’ 11 point, eight assist performance proved to be one of the sophomores best yet this season for the Aggies. This marks just his second game this season scoring in double figures and his seventh time finishing with five or more assists in a game this season, and with eight, he was one shy of his season high of nine.
After Kennesaw State cut the deficit to one in the closing minute, Jones answered again at the line before Randall calmly sank two free throws with five seconds remaining to seal the 79-76 victory.
Jones led all scorers with 19 points while also pulling down a career-high 12 rebounds to pace the Aggies. Randall added 16 points, while Pickens and Mims each chipped in 11 as NM State placed four players in double figures.
Jones finished with a career-high 12 rebounds to record his first career double-double at the Division 1 level. This marks his 27th game of the season scoring in double figures for the Aggies.
Between the previous contest against Jax State and tonight against Kennesaw State, Jayland Randall has been perfect from the free-throw line, as he has now made 17 consecutive free throws just from with no misses.
The Aggies finished with four scorers in double figures and nine total players that recorded points on the night.
With the win, the Aggies secure the 10th seed in the CUSA Tournament and will take on Jax State on Tuesday, March 10 in Huntsville, Alabama with hopes to keep their season alive.
