Elliott’s Efforts Not Enough; Aggies Fall to FIU

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico – NM State (10-9, 3-6 CUSA) once again battled back to erase a big deficit; however, FIU (10-10, 3-6 CUSA) managed to close out the game on a 6-0 run to hand the Aggies an 81-78 loss inside the Pan American Center on Saturday afternoon.

NM State quickly found success as Elijah Elliott found Julius Mims for an alley-oop dunk on the game’s opening possession. Later, a 7-0 Aggie run, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Elliott gave the Aggies a five-point advantage less than three minutes into the contest. The visiting Panthers responded with five unanswered points before Anthony Wrzeszcz drained a triple to push the Crimson and White ahead 14-11 at the 14:03 mark.

NM State would hold onto the lead for just three more minutes as a 13-1 scoring run from FIU propelled the Panthers to a lead that it would hold onto until the 3:49 mark of the second half. Late in the period, Jayland Randall tallied five straight points amid a 7-0 Aggie run that trimmed the deficit to three points with 3:50 remaining in the half. Although a FIU 3-pointer that came off a turnover would send the Aggies into the locker room trailing 40-31.

After a 3-pointer from Jemel Jones to start the scoring in the second half, FIU would take command and build its lead to as much as 13 points, as the Aggies allowed 14 points over the first six minutes of the second period. The Aggies eventually cut the lead to single digits as a pair of threes from Jemel Jones came as part of a 10-3 NM State run, bringing the score to 56-48 with 13:12 left in the game.

Following the 12-minute media timeout, NM State was able to find success from beyond the arc as Elijah Elliott drained two triples, while Anthony Wrzeszcz connected on another to bring the Aggies within seven points. Elliott then took over the game offensively for the Aggies as he scored 18 of the team’s next 20 points and lifted the Aggies to their first lead of the second half after draining his fourth 3-pointer of the period. Elliott’s efforts would ultimately give the Aggies a three-point advantage entering the final two minutes of the game.

Down the stretch, the Aggies struggled to get shots to fall, and a 6-0 run from the Panthers at the end of the game cemented an 81-78 defeat for the Crimson and White.

NUMBERS OF NOTE    

• With the loss, the Aggies fall to 7-3 at home after opening the year undefeated through seven games.
• Senior Elijah Elliott logged a season-high 26 points, including scoring 21 points in the second half. On the night, he finished with five made threes to mark the second time this season that he made five or more threes. This marked the second-most points by an Aggie in a single game this season, only behind a 28-point effort from Jemel Jones on Jan. 22.
• Julius Mims hauled in 13 rebounds to record his sixth double-digit rebound game of the season. This also marks his fourth double-digit rebound game in the last seven contests.
• Jemel Jones turned in 15 points to record his 17th double-digit scoring effort of the season, as he has reached double figures in all but one game this season.
• With 55 rebounds, the Aggies posted their highest rebound total against a Division I opponent this year.
   

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