NMSU falls to Air Force in OT
The New Mexico State Aggies dropped a heartbreaking 66-64 overtime decision to the Air Force FalconsSaturdayafternoon at Clune Arena.
The Aggies (4-2) held a 64-63 lead with 26 seconds to play when a bad pass gave the ball back to the Falcons (4-2).
Air Force ran the clock down for guard Trevor Lyons driving layup with 8.3 seconds to play for a 65-64 advantage.
After a timeout, the Aggies moved the ball quickly up floor, but a charging foul on a drive by junior Ian Baker with two seconds left gave the ball back to Air Force.
Fouling to get possession back, the Aggies sent Lyons to the line. He hit one of the two free throws, but NM State didn’t get a shot away after getting the ball back with 1.3 seconds to play.+
“This is a disappointing loss,” said NM State head coach Marvin Menzies. “I was hopeful that we would execute better, especially in the overtime situation. We had some great opportunities late. We just had too many breakdowns in regulation and put them at the line when we had the game all but won. But it’s not one guys fault. We had too many turnovers.”
The Aggies turned the ball over to the Falcons a season-high 19 times. Air Force gave it away seven times, the fewest of any NM State opponent this season. Air Force then scored 13 points off the Aggie turnovers, while NM State collected seven.
“That’s the story of the game right there,” said Menzies. “You can win on the road with 19 turnovers.”
The Aggies trailed from the get go until the late in the second half.
After starting the game an hour late because the heating system in Clune Arena broke down overnight and made conditions frigid inside, the Aggies then fell behind the Falcons by as many as 12 points in the first half.
But NM State came back with an 8-0 run over the last four minutes of the half and extended it to a 12-0 run to tie the game early in the second at 30-all.
But Air Force again took advantage of Aggie turnovers to grab the lead and hold on to it until late.
NM State had a chance to win in regulation, when Jalyn Pennie was flagrant fouled with two seconds left, trailing 59-58. Pennie tied the game by hitting one of two shots, but got the ball as well.
However the buzzer shot was errant and sent the game to overtime.
The loss spoiled another strong performance from Aggie forward Pascal Siakam. The sophomore from Douala, Cameroon led all scorers with 26 points and notched his fifth double-double of the season with 12 rebounds. He also posted a career-high six blocked shots while playing 43 of the game’s 45 minutes. Baker tallied 17 points with eight boards and four assists.
Air Force got 17 points from Lyons, with 16 points and seven rebounds from Hayden Graham.
The turnovers negated the Aggies domination on the glass, outrebounding the Falcons 46-29, and outshooting Air Force 44 percent to 37 percent from the floor.
The Aggies are back in action onWednesdaynight at the Pan American Center when they host UTEP in the first game of the I-25 Rivalry. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
