For the second time in a week Dixie State pushed WAC-leading New Mexico State to the brink, but again the Trailblazers could not break through as the Aggies came away with the 75-64 home win on Wednesday night in the Pan American Center.
The loss dropped DSU to 12-14 overall, 5-8 in WAC play, while NM State improved to 21-4, 11-2 in league action.
After finding themselves in an early 12-7 hole, the Trailblazers managed to shoot themselves right out of it with three-straight 3-pointers to vault to a 16-12 lead midway through the first half.
Brock Gilbert knocked down his first shot off the bench to get the run going, which was followed a short time later by
Dancell Leter's second corner three of period. Then in transition,
Noa Gonsalves drilled a pull-up trey that forced the Aggies to call a timeout.
NM State took full advantage of the reset as the Aggies rattled off nine-straight points as part of a bigger 15-2 run to extend to a 27-18 advantage with just under four minutes to play in the period. Teddy Allen and Mario McKinney Jr. drilled consecutive 3-pointers early in the run, with McKinney Jr. converting an and-one on his make to spur on the Aggie rally.
Meanwhile, DSU's offense went ice cold after the Gonsalves three as the Blazers turned the ball over four times and misfired on seven of their next eight shots, with the lone make credited to DSU coming on a tip-in off the hand of an Aggie defender.
Hunter Schofield finally ended the Blazer drought with a bucket in the paint, and the senior would later convert a conventional three-point play to pull Dixie State to within six at 29-23 with 2:23 on the clock.
However NM State closed the half with an 8-2 spurt, with all eight points coming via the dunk, as the Aggies retreated to the locker room with a 37-25 lead at the halftime break.
Dixie State got off to a good second half start with an
Isaiah Pope 3-pointer that trimmed the deficit to single digits. The Aggies countered by scoring 10 of the game's next 14 points to extend to their biggest lead of the night at 47-32 following a Jabari Rice dunk with 12:49 remaining.
NM State continued to nurse its double-digit cushion until a
Frank Staine trey pulled DSU to within seven at 57-50 with just under five minutes to play.
Allen answered with a three of his own and another score to push the Aggie lead back to 12, but Staine and Schofield drilled back-to-back perimeter jumpers to make it a two-possession game at 62-56.
Then following a McCants free throw, Leter drove to the paint from the left wing and got his shot to go down and drew a foul. The junior forward would go on to convert the three-point play to cut the Aggie lead to 63-59 with 2:21 on the clock.
However that would be as close as the Blazers would come to pulling off the road upset as the Aggies held DSU to just five points the rest of the way and knocked down their free throws late to pull away for the win.
Schofield led three Blazers in double figures with 14 points, though he was held to just five after halftime. Meanwhile Staine scored nine of his 11 points in the second half to help key the Blazer rally, and Edmonds finished with a career-high 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting to go with a team-high six rebounds.
Dixie State shot 43.6 percent (24-of-55) from the floor, which included a 32.1 percent (9-of-28) clip from beyond the arc. DSU also went 7-of-12 (.583) at the foul line, and was outrebounded by a 38-25 count.
Allen, who came into the game as the WAC's leading scorer, posted a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while McCants added 17 and McKinney Jr. poured in 10. The Aggies connected on 44.4 percent (28-of-63) from the field, though the Aggies were just 4-of-23 (.174) from 3-point country.
Dixie State returns to the Burns Arena for its final homestand of the 2021-22 season, which starts this Saturday night with a WAC in-state showdown vs. Utah Valley beginning at 7 p.m.
