UTEP Slips By NMSU, 79-78
LAS CRUCES (AP) — Stefon Jackson scored a career-high 36 points asUTEP beat New Mexico State 79-78 Saturday night.
Jackson, a junior, made 11 of his 20 shots from the field and was 13-of-16 from the free-throw line to better the 30-point performance he had against the Aggies on Nov. 27 in El Paso.
UTEP (5-2) led 40-37 at halftime behind Jackson’s 18 points and took the lead to stay in the second half at 48-46 on freshman Randy Culpepper’s 3-pointer with 13:14 to play.
New Mexico State (4-7) was paced by Hatila Passos’ career-high 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Fred Peete added 20 points for the Aggies, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the final margin.