NMSU basketball completes season sweep of UTEP Friday night

UTEP and New Mexico State met for the second time this season on the hardwood Friday night at the Pan American Center, and the game went about as expected based on the recent performance of the two teams.

NMSU left with a 79-70 victory to sweep the season series against UTEP. The Aggies have now won 11 consecutive games while the Miners have lost nine in a row. UTEP’s last win came the week before Thanksgiving.

The Aggies managed to lead comfortable most of the game, save for a few UTEP rallies.

Jemerrio Jones once again posted a double-double, coming off the bench to score 17 points and record 11 boards. Meanwhile, guard Ian Baker was able to pour in a game-high 24 points behind 6-10 shooting from beyond the arc.

UTEP was paced by Dominic Artis, who scored 20 points while adding six boards and five assists.

The Miners don’t have a lot of time to prepare for their next game. They begin conference play at UTSA on Jan. 1 – a tight turnaround that head coach Tim Floyd said was unusual in his postgame comments.

NMSU will also turn its attention to conference play next. The Aggies are at UMKC on Jan. 5.