Boxscore LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- In a grueling battle that came down to the wire, the New Mexico State Aggies (14-12; 9-5 WAC) were able to edge past the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (17-11; 9-5 WAC) 64-60 in the Pan American Center in front of a crowd of 6,950.
?We have a problem scoring,? head coach Keith Richard said. ?We?re not a good offensive team. We gave them chances to make runs, and they did.?
The Bulldogs scored first on a dunk from senior forward
Michael Wilds at the 19:54 mark. The Aggies, however, put together a 7-0 run in response that would last until the 14:13 mark.
The game remained relatively close, but thanks to good defense near the end of the first half, the Bulldogs went on a 10-2 run to take a 27-19 lead into the halftime locker room.
New Mexico State played better offensively in the beginning of the second half and was able to tie the game at 30 with 15:16 left to play.
The scoring woes continued for the Bulldogs as the Aggies kept a 13-6 run for the next seven minutes to take the lead 43-36 with 9:46 on the clock.
The Bulldogs would go down by as many as nine points in the second half, but were able to pull themselves out of a hole near the end of the game and go ahead 58-57 with 1:38 left to play.
?It was another gritty performance,? Richard said. ?We needed a stop, and we were ahead near the end of the game. We?ve been there a lot this year, but it came down to offense.?
Junior forward
Paul Millsap commited a foul on a questionable call, however, and after complaining to the referee, he was given a technical foul that would put the Aggies at the free throw line four straight times.
?We shot 37 percent from the field and missed eight free throws, but we were quick to whine to the officials,? Richard said. ?That had a lot to do with our undoing. We didn?t do what we needed to do in the second half. We lost our composure at the end, and the kids didn?t handle the officials well at all.?
After connecting on three-of-four free throws, New Mexico State held off any Tech rally and finished the ball game with a win.
?Anytime you miss eight free throws, you?re usually not going to win the ballgame,? Richard said. ?I wish we?d played a little better offensively. We needed some firepower, and we have to score.?
Millsap finished with his 63rd career double-double with 14 points and rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Junior guard
Jerome Richardson also tacked on 14 points and grabbed four rebouds. Forward Tyrone Nelson led the scoring for the Aggies with 21 points and seven rebounds.
?The bottom line is, we played hard,? Richard said. ?We didn?t maintain composure. We didn?t play well offensively, but we haven?t all season.?
The Bulldogs return to action Monday, Feb. 27 to take on the Idaho Vandals in the Thomas Assembly Center. The game can be heard on KXKZ 107.5 FM or by clicking on the multimedia link at www.latechsports.com. There is also a link for a live feed to watch by clicking ?Live WAC Basketball.?
