Aggies suffer first home defeat of season

NM State (9-6, 2-3 CUSA) fell for the first time at home this season as Middle Tennessee (10-6, 4-1 CUSA) defeated the Aggies by a score of 59-55 inside the Pan American Center.

NM State was led individually by Jemel Jones, who finished with 16 points, and Cyr Malonga, who recorded 10 points. The Aggie bench outscored the Blue Raider reserves 19-12; however, MTSU posted 28 points in the paint to the Aggies 16.

The Blue Raiders got the first basket and then, like in the last contest, the Aggies found their stride and went on a 13-0 run to gain a cushion early on in the first half. During the scoring burst, the Aggies were fueled by dunks from Jemel Jones, Cyr Malonga and Julius Mims.

The Aggies would later push their lead to 20-4 with 11:06 left in the half for their largest lead of the half. From there, Middle Tennessee would slowly chip away at the Aggie lead until they were able to connect on a 3-point basket to knot up the score 29-29 at the half.

Coming out of the half, the Blue Raiders got off to a hot start with a quick 5-0 run that featured a 3-pointer from Kamari Lands. After starting the period 0-3 from the floor, Cyr Malonga brought the crowd to its feet with a two-handed dunk to leave the score at 36-33 with just under 17 minutes remaining.

A 5-0 run from the Blue Raiders later in the half extended the Aggies’ deficit to 13 points with 10:13 left on the clock. Then, a three from Julius Mims and another dunk from Malonga energized the Aggies and help open an extended 13-6 run that allowed the Aggies to pull back within six points. 

Eventually, a 3-pointer from Jayland Randall and a free throw from Kyrese Mullen made it a one-possession game with just 1:42 remaining in the game. While the Aggies had their opportunities, NM State was unable to pull any closer, falling by four points on its home floor.