Hot shooting Aggies squeeze past Dixie State, 77-69

(Courtesy: NMSU Athletics)

ST. GEORGE, Utah - Things were a little more difficult than the NM State men's basketball team may have bargained for - especially down the stretch - but in the end the Aggies got the job done.

Teddy Allen turned in a fourth-straight game of 20 or more points by springing for a team-high 20, Jabari Rice added a 11-point, 10-rebound double-double and Clayton Henry added 12 more markers on a 4-of-5 clip from downtown as NM State hit the 20-win mark for the first time since 2019-20 by eking out a 77-69 win at Dixie State.

Johnny McCants was the fourth NM State player to hit double-digits, finishing with 13 to help his squad become the first WAC team in 2021-22 to hit the 20-win mark.

KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Surviving 18 turnovers, NM State used some hot shooting from all areas in order to get the job done. The Aggies drilled 51.9-percent (28-of-54) of their field goals as well as 53.3-percent (8-of-15) of their tries from long range.
• The Aggies' three-point field goal percentage was the team's best of the 2021-22 campaign and was fueled by Henry's outburst. All 12 of the senior's points came from long distance and he finished with a 4-of-5 showing from that distance to help the Aggies get the win.
• NM State reached the 20-win mark before any other WAC team and was one of three teams who hit the 20-win mark Thursday night.
• Rice's double-double was his second of the season and his second in the Aggies' last four contests.
• Allen pushed his streak of 20+ point games to five with Thursday night's performance.
• The Aggies have now reached or exceeded the 20-win mark for the 34th season and for the fourth time in Chris Jans'  five-year tenure as the Aggies' bench boss.
• NM State maintained its one-game lead for the top spot in the WAC standings with Thursday night's win.
• The Aggies moved to 7-1 (.875) in true road games this season. NM State's winning percentage in true road games this season is the fifth-best among all NCAA Division I men's basketball teams.

COMING UP NEXT
• The Aggies' two-game swing in the Beehive State wraps up Saturday afternoon in Orem, Utah, as NM State takes on Utah Valley inside the UCCU Center. The first matchup between the Aggies and Wolverines since the 2021 WAC Tournament Semifinals is set to tip off at 2:00 p.m. MT.