NMSU gets road win over the Big Ten’s Illinois Fighting Illini
The New Mexico State Aggies continue to ride a wave of momentum.
Saturday night in Chicago, Illinois, the Aggies got a huge win against Big Ten opponent the University of Illinois.
Final score was 74-69.
The Aggies controlled much of the first half going into halftime with a 38-26 lead.
But the Illini would battle back in the 2nd half and tie the game at 39 with under 15 minutes to play in the game.
From that point on the game turned into shootout.
With the game tied at 69, the Aggies would take a three point lead with 30 seconds to go after Illinois turned the ball over on an inbound pass.
NMSU’s AJ Harris would draw a foul after getting the basket on a layup.
He’d hit his free point shot to but the Aggies up by 3.
With NMSU up 72-69, the Illini had a chance to tie the game, but Illinois’ Trent Frazier would miss on his 3-point attempt.
NMSU’s Zach Lofton led the way in scoring for the Aggies with 23 points.
Leron Black led the way for the Illini with 17 points.
With the Win, NMSU improves to 9-2 on the season.
The Aggies return to Las Cruces before flying off to Hawaii for the Diamond Head Classic tournament.
NMSU will face Davidson in the opening round Friday at 9 p.m. (MT).
