NM State rolls past FIU to finish Conference play

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- March seems to be just what the Aggies needed. After breaking their road game woes against Jax State, the Aggies were set to end their regular season play in Las Cruces and attempt to end it off on a good note. NM State (13-18, 7-9 CUSA) cruised by FIU (10-21, 5-11 CUSA) to secure its final regular season victory 77-70. 

Christian Cook led the Aggies in scoring, finishing out with 26 points going 5-11 from beyond the arc. Kasoi Ezeagu recorded his second consecutive double-double, putting up 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds versus the Panthers. Femi Odukale finished the contest flirting with a triple-double with six points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Jaylin Jackson-Posey posted another double-digit scoring game adding 10 points and six rebounds.  

FIRST HALF

• Both sides opened the game ice cold from the field – shooting a combined 0-9 from the field across the first 2:50. While the teams weren't exactly shooting the lights out, the game did experience a brief delay due to lighting issues. Out of the pause, the Aggies' Jaylin Jackson-Posey tallied the game's first made basket of the game – giving NM State a 3-1 lead.
• The length of the Panthers bothered the Aggies in the early goings as a large majority of NM State's shots were contested during the initial five minutes of action. This included four that were turned away by FIU defenders.
• The stingy defense eventually let up a bit as the teams combined to shoot, 6-9 from the 12:32 mark to the 10:26 mark. This stretch included four baskets on five attempts from the Aggies to help the home side build a 17-13 advantage.
• Later, a 16-2 Aggie scoring run blew the doors open and pushed NM State to a healthy 16-point lead with 2:49 remaining. This included a pair of monster dunks from Femi Odukale and Kaosi Ezeagu while the stretch was bookended by two 3-pointers Christian Cook who went 4-of-7 from beyond the arc after tallying four made triples in the previous outing.
• In total, the Aggies were 7-of-17 from deep range while FIU shot only 15% from distance (2-13). The Aggies were also dominant on the glass – winning the rebound battle in the first half 25 to 14. The big first half was also assisted by the Aggies' ability to take care of the ball as NM State committed just two turnovers during the opening 20 minutes of action.

SECOND HALF

• Following a turnover on the opening possession of the game, the Aggies got back to the flow they found in the first half. With just over 13 minutes remaining in the period, back-to-back threes from Tanahj Pettway and Jordan Rawls would push NM State to a comfortable 66-40 lead, its largest of the contest.
• This would spark something in the Panthers to get it going, as they would score 10 unanswered points kicked off by consecutive jumpers from the star guard Arturo Dean. Over the remainder of the contest, the Aggies had a hard time finding the bottom of the net as FIU would continue to wither down the lead. The Panthers would end up outscoring the Aggies 20-9 over the final 8:44 of action, but they would run out of time as NM State walked away with the victory 77-70.

NUMBERS OF NOTE

• Kaosi Ezeagu finished with his second consecutive double-double for the first time in his career. He finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds today, following a 10 point and 12 rebounds performance against Jax State last week.
• Femi Odukale hit his career high in rebounds (12) and had his season high in assists with eight which is one shy of his career high. He also matched the season high of rebounds grabbed by an Aggie in a game.
• Christian Cook had another impressive outing for the Aggies, hitting five threes and finishing one point shy of his season scoring high with 26 points. He has finished with the three top-scoring performances for the Aggies this year (27 versus Liberty, 26 versus FIU and Northern Colorado). He also tied his season high of three-pointers in a game with five.
• The Aggies finished with their highest rebound and assists total on the year. This was their second highest rebound game of the year (42) only behind when they grabbed 49 rebounds against Sul Ross. They also matched their highest assist total of the season, finishing with 20 total. 
• NM State totaled out with its highest amount of field goal attempts in a game this season (69). This led to their second highest scoring contest, only behind its overtime battle with Liberty where they scored 79 points.