New Mexico State 83, San Jose State 81
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Jonathan Gibson scored 19 points, including the winning basket with two seconds left to lift New Mexico State past San Jose State 83-81 on Saturday night.
DeVonte Thomas’ putback with 7.3 seconds left tied the score at 81. Gibson dribbled into the right corner and took his game-winner under pressure from DaShawn Wright.Hatila Passos scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half as New Mexico State survived a fierce Spartans comeback to win its third road game in 10 tries. Justin Hawkins added 10 for the Aggies (12-12, 6-3 Western Athletic Conference).
Tim Pierce scored 18 points to lead the Spartans (10-11, 2-6), who came back from an 18-point deficit to take a late lead. Chris Oakes had 13 points and 12 rebounds while Jamon Hill added a season high 17 points as San Jose State had five players reach double figures. Wright had 14 points and C.J. Webster had 12.
Comebacks are nothing new for the Spartans, especially this season.
San Jose State came back from a 17-point deficit to beat South Dakota State Dec. 30 after rallying from an 18-point deficit to beat Portland State two days earlier.
The Spartans also recovered from 11-point deficits to beat Appalachian State and Nevada.
San Jose State shot a sizzling 76.2 percent from the field through the first 16 minutes of the second half and held a 69-67 lead before the Aggies slowed the onslaught and regained the lead.
San Jose State fell behind early at 28-10, and then again by 39-21 in the final two minutes of the first half against the Aggies. The Spartans scored the final seven points of the half to close within 39-28 by halftime.
