Feb. 16, 2009
Box Score
LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- When Louisiana Tech junior Kyle Gibson fired his 25-foot shot with time expiring, over 6000 people in the Pan American Center stood breathless and watched.
With 0.0 on the clock, the basketball rattled around the rim and, unfortunately, bounced back out giving the New Mexico State Aggies a 65-63 win after an incredible late second half comeback by the Bulldogs.
Tech was down 58-42 with 4:44 to play in the ballgame and rather than folding the tent and going home, the Bulldogs showed tremendous character and purpose for the remainder of the game and outscored the Aggies 21-7 for the remainder of the night.
"We played with a real sense of urgency in those last minutes tonight," Tech head coach Kerry Rupp said. "It seemed like the first 30 minutes we were a step slow and our execution wasn't very good. And all of a sudden, we something clicked and we started to really fight it out. Now, we have to find a way to bottle that energy and play all 40 minutes like that. My hat's off to our kids; they never gave up."
Gibson and junior Jamel Guyton combined for 48 points between the two of them in the loss, while junior Magnum Rolle grabbed 11 rebounds.
Tech started the scoring with a three-pointer by Guyton to lead 3-0 on their first possession. After the Aggies had retaken the lead 5-3, Guyton connected on another three to give Tech a 6-5 lead with 14:07 to go in the first half of play. Guyton scored Tech's first six points of the game.
The Aggies responded with a three-pointer of their own before freshman Yonas Berhe made an 18-footer to give Tech a 9-8 lead with over 12 minutes to play in the first period. Junior Kyle Gibson soon extended that lead to 11-8 with a driving layup in the following minute of play.
After the Aggies took a 17-15 lead, Gibson deflected an errant Aggie pass and went the length of the court to lay the ball in to tie the game 17-17 with over seven minutes to play in the first half. Gibson would give the Bulldogs a 20-17 lead a possession later with a three-point basket of his own at the 6:26 mark.
NMSU responded with a 10-0 run over the next five minutes to lead 27-20 before Tech finally scored again with Guyton knocking down three free throws to put the Bulldogs back within four with 38 second to play in the half. The Aggies responded with a three before the end of the half, however, and took a 30-23 lead into the halftime locker room. Guyton had 11 points at the end of the first half alone.
"I thought Gibson and Guyton were tremendous tonight," Rupp said. "They attacked the basket tonight and got to the foul line. We have to have everybody on offensively. Everybody has to bring their "A" game. We're going to regroup, tighten up, and get this thing going."
Guyton's 27 led all scorers on the night, while Gibson finished with 21. Jahmar Young finished with 16 points to lead the Aggies.
Tech will take a WAC break Thursday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. to take on the Houston Baptist Huskies in the Thomas Assembly Center. The game will be broadcast live on KXKZ 107.5 FM with a live audio feed available at www.z1075fm.com.
A video feed can also be purchased for $4.99 by logging onto www.latechtv.com and clicking on the athletics link on the top right portion of the page. Fans can order the game starting one hour prior to tip off.
