NMSU let their basketball do the talking in first game since deadly shooting involving forward Mike Peake

EL PASO, Texas -- On Friday the Aggies defeated San Diego 90-77 in their first game since a deadly shooting involving forward Mike Peake last Saturday morning.

The Aggies went on an 11-0 run early, seemingly putting the events of the past week behind them. NMSU took a 16 point lead into the half.

San Diego found a way to get the score within 2 possessions but the Aggies managed to close it out.

The win is the first for the team over a Division 1 school this season.

Four NMSU players ended the night in double digits including Xavier Pinson who had 25 points including 6, 3 pointers.

Head Coach Greg Heiar who hasn't spoken publicly since the shooting told Adam Young on the Varsity Network after the game, that it was an ultimate team effort.

"I was really glad to see how the team responded obviously we had an extremely difficult week and you know I'm just really proud of how they just rallied," Heiar said. "I was really nervous going into this game because you never know how a team is going to respond, but they all responded and we played like a team."

Via an online Q&A Monday, NMSU announced that they would return to the court for the Las Vegas Invitational after their game with UNM was cancelled due to the deadly shooting involving Peake early Saturday morning.

During a press conference on Wednesday, NMSU Athletic Director Mario Moccia said they chose to play in Vegas as a way not to punish the majority of the players who didn't break any rules while they were in Albuquerque.

The online Q&A did say multiple other players did break curfew the night of the shooting but weren't involved in the altercation.

Moccia said during the press conference that those players had been disciplined but couldn't say which players broke curfew and what action was taken against them. He also said Heiar would make the final decision on if any players were suspended.

It appeared during the stream of the San Diego game that all players other than Peake were present and available to play, which would mean no players were suspended for breaking curfew the night of the shooting.

The Aggies will play in the title game of the Las Vegas International Saturday before returning home for the Battle of I-10 on Wednesday.