Box Score

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The University of Hawai`i men's basketball team's losing skid continued with a 88-64 loss to New Mexico State Monday night at the Pan American Center. The Rainbow Warriors dropped to 9-16 overall and 2-10 in the Western Athletic Conference with their seventh straight loss.

 

UH moved into a tie for eighth-place in the WAC. The Aggies (16-9, 9-3 WAC), meanwhile, moved into sole possession of second place in the WAC.

 

In the first meeting between the teams in Honolulu last month, UH led for the majority of the game before falling on a last-second shot. This time around New Mexico State led from wire-to-wire. The Rainbow Warriors kept up for a good portion of the first half against the high-octane Aggies. But the New Mexico State eventually created distance with a 15-point lead at the break, and poured it on in the second half.

 

The Aggies' pressure defense forced 18 UH turnovers and they scored 28 points off those turnovers. NMSU, the top 3-point shooting team in the league, also buried 11 shots from beyond the arc.

 

Jahmar Young, Jonathan Gibson and Troy Gillenwater each scored 18 points to pace New Mexico State. Roderick Flemings led UH with 25 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and 10^th of his career. The 25 points tied a season-high. Adhar Mayen finished with 11 points, while Brandon Adams added 10.

 

UH trailed 42-27 at halftime and it could have been more if not for the efforts of Flemings who scored 16 points by the break, including a string of 10 straight points for the 'Bows during one stretch. Flemings shot 5-of-10 from the floor, while the rest of the team went just 4-of-17.

 

Any thoughts of a UH comeback were squashed when NMSU scored the first nine points to start the second half to build its lead to 51-27. The 'Bows remained winless on the road (0-7) this year and have also yet to win at New Mexico State in five all-time visits.

 

UH now returns back to the islands to host their final three home games of the season, beginning with a non-conference contest against Cal Poly on Saturday, Feb. 20. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. and will follow the UH-Louisiana Tech women's basketball game at 5:00 p.m.