NMSU Men’s Basketball Continues to Impress

Despite coming up short in the closing seconds against USC last night, the NMSU men's basketball team had a very successful trip to Hawaii for the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. The Aggies won two out of their three games, including a big 63-54 win over 6th ranked Miami in the tournament semifinals.

"It’s a defining program win," head coach Chris Jans said after the win over Miami. "We don’t get many opportunities like this to play a highly-ranked team on a neutral court. When you have those opportunities, you must take full advantage of it. Couldn’t be more proud for a group of a guys than I am right now. We kept battling. Miami was punching back and fortunately they weren’t able to surpass us and we held onto the lead."

In the championship game, NMSU and USC traded leads in the final minutes before the Trojans' Bennie Boatwright drilled a 3 with 4.2 seconds left for the game-winning shot.

Despite the loss to the Trojans, the Aggies are 11-3 as they prepare for the WAC regular season. New head coach Chris Jans has been a great addition and he has NMSU playing as confident as they have looked in years. New addition Zach Lofton has been huge for them, and the Aggies have been impressive for much of their non-conference schedule. NMSU is a legit mid-major power, and they have a chance to not only win the WAC but also games in the NCAA Tournament.