NMSU loses third straight following 82-70 loss to Pepperdine
TEMPE, Arizona - The Aggies (3-3, 0-0) aimed to rebound from back-to-back losses to Dayton (74-53) and UNLV (72-65) as they faced Pepperdine (2-5, 0-0) in the opening round of the Arizona Tip-Off.
However, a strong offensive performance from the Waves handed NM State an 82-70 defeat, extending the Aggies’ losing streak to three games.
Pepperdine set the tone early, jumping to a quick 5-0 lead behind free throws from Stefan Todorovic and a three-pointer by Dovydas Butka.
The Aggies responded with a gritty three-point play from graduate forward Peter Filipovity to get on the board, but a 16-7 Waves run pushed the deficit to 21-9 midway through the first half.
NM State battled back, cutting the lead to seven after a three-point play from Nate Tshimanga made it 31-24.
However, Pepperdine closed the half strong with an 11-5 burst, taking a 42-29 advantage into the break.
In the second half, Filipovity’s free throw opened the scoring, but Pepperdine quickly extended their lead to 57-40 with just over 12 minutes to play.
NM State responded with a 19-9 run, highlighted by a Robert Carpenter three-pointer, cutting the deficit to seven.
However, the Waves held firm down the stretch to secure the win.
Filipovity led the Aggies with a strong performance, but the Waves’ balanced attack proved too much.
NM State will look to bounce back tomorrow in the Arizona Tip-Off third-place game against Bowling Green at 12 p.m. MT.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
· Peter Filipovity led the Aggies with a team-high 15 points and 11 rebounds, securing his second consecutive double-double for the Crimson & White.
· Nate Tshimanga recorded 10 rebounds on the evening, his third double-digit rebounding effort of the season. Impressively, he has reached double figures on the boards in every game where he’s played 15 or more minutes.
· The Aggies suffered on the evening when shooting the ball from beyond the arc. They finished the contest shooting a season-low 14% (4-28) from three-point range.
