Troy Gillenwater finished with 13 points and seven rebounds as the Aggies dropped their second consecutive game losing 71-57 to UMass at the Hall of Fame Tipoff in Springfield, Mass on Saturday night.

The Aggies trailed 44-23 at halftime behind hot shooting by UMass and ice cold shooting by the Aggies. UMass hit 65.4 percent of their shots in the first half while the Aggies hit just 30.4 percent. Hamidu Rahman paced the Aggies with 10 points in the first half but did not score the rest of the game. UMass jumped out to a 6-1 lead and by the under 12 minute media timeout the Aggies trailed 20-7. UMass would go outscore the Aggies 7-2 and at the under eight minute media timeout the Aggies trailed 27-9. The Aggies would fall behind even further trailing 35-13 with 5:27 left. The Aggies would cut the deficit to 14 points down 37-23 with 3:02 left but the Aggies would not score the remainder of the half and trailed 44-23 at the break.  Continue Reading This Post >>

The Aggie men's basketball team trailed by nine at halftime and was blown out in the final 10 minutes the second half falling 83-57 in Tucson on Thursday night. The highly anticipated battle between Aggie forward Troy Gillenwater and Arizona forward Derrick Williams did not disappoint as Troy Gillenwater scored 25 points and grabbed six rebounds while Derrick Williams finished with 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

The Aggies grabbed an early 9-7 lead after a three pointer by Gordo Castillo who scored all five of his points in the first six and a half minutes. The first media timeout came at the 13:25 mark and Arizona head coach subbed out his entire starting lineup and the newcomers sparked the Wildcats to a 12-0 run giving Arizona a 21-9 lead. The Aggies would fall behind by 14 points after a jumper by Arizona's Jesse Perry gave the Wildcats a 28-14 lead with 4:54 left in the half.

The Aggies would go on a 10-2 run to trim the deficit to just six points but a fast break layup by Derrick Williams followed by a Williams free throw gave the Wildcats a nine point lead with 1:56 left. The two teams would trade jumpers in the final 90 seconds as the Aggies would head to the locker room down 35-26 at the half.  Continue Reading This Post >>

The Aggies had six players in double figures on Monday night as they cruised to a 95-62 victory over Western New Mexico in the home opener. The Aggies received their championship rings and raised their WAC and NCAA banners prior to the game and then made quick work of the visiting Mustangs.

The Aggies got 21 points from Troy Gillenwater and 17 points and six rebounds from freshman Christian Kabongo in the rout. The Aggies led by 17 points in the first half and outscored the Mustangs by 16 in the second half en route to the 33 point victory.

Troy Gillenwater scored the Aggies first 10 points and the Aggie defense held WNMU to just four points through the first eight minutes as the Aggies built a 17-4 lead. The Mustangs would trim the Aggies' lead down to seven points with seven and a half minutes left in the first half but an 15-5 run over the next four minutes would build the Aggies' lead up to 17 points.

The Aggies' lead would swell to 21 points after a jumper by Hernst Laroche with 2:21 left in the half but the Mustangs would trim the lead to 17 points at halftime.  Continue Reading This Post >>

The New Mexico State men's basketball team got career highs from Troy Gillenwater and Hernst Laroche as the Aggies cruised to a 92-76 season opening victory over Louisiana on Friday night. Gillenwater scored 30 points hitting five twos, five threes and five free throws. Laroche had a near perfect night from the field hitting 6-of-6 from the field including 4-of-4 from three point distance. His lone miss came from the free throw line finishing 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Hamidu Rahman added 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds and finished 6-of-9 from the free throw line.

The Ragin' Cajuns jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead just over two minutes into the game but the Aggies would take an 8-7 lead on the first of Troy Gillenwater's five three pointers. The Aggies would score five more unanswered points to cap an 11-0 run taking a 13-7 lead with 14:06 left in the half. The Cajuns would trim the Aggies' lead to just two points at 16-14 with 11:29 left in the half but the Aggies would go on a quick 8-3 run to push their lead back out to seven points at 24-17.

Louisiana would cut the lead back down to two points at 24-22 with 6:56 left in the half but the Aggies would go on a 15-8 run over the next four and a half minutes to take an 11 point lead with just over two minutes left in the half. The Cajuns would close the half outscoring the Aggies 6-3 to send the teams to halftime with the Aggies leading 42-34.  Continue Reading This Post >>

The New Mexico State men's basketball team defeated in-state foe Eastern New Mexico in an exhibition game on Monday night. The Aggies routed the Greyhounds 98-72 pulling away late in the first half.

The Aggies were led in scoring by junior Troy Gillenwater who finished with 18 points, five rebounds and four blocks in just 22 minutes of action. Aaron Edwards led the Greyhounds with 22 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes of play.

The Greyhounds held a slim lead through the first six and a half minutes of action but the Aggies took a 12-11 lead on a layup by Tyrone Watson and did not relinquish the lead the rest of the game.

The Greyhounds trailed by just one point with 9:53 remaining in the first half but the Aggies would go on a quick 7-0 run to take a 22-14 lead with 8:10 remaining. The Aggies' run was fueled by a three pointer by Gordo Castillo, one of three he would hit on the night. Following Castillo's three pointer, Tyrone Watson would get a layup on an assist from Castillo who would then cap the scoring with a jumper after a pair of blocks on the defensive end by freshman Renaldo Dixon and junior Abdoulaye N'doye.

The Aggies would stretch the lead to 11 points as they led 34-23 with exactly four minutes left in the first half. The Greyhounds would cut the lead down to seven points at 36-29 with 2:56 left in the half but the Aggies would close the half on a 12-2 run to take a 48-31 into the break.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Video courtesy of Jet7Basket.com

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

OTTAWA, ONTARIO - The New Mexico State men’s basketball team concluded its preseason foreign tour in Canada with a 65-53 win over Carleton University in an exhibition game. The Aggies finished the tour 5-1.

Senior guard Gordo Castillo scored a team-high 16 points while junior guard Hernst Laroche had 13. Junior center Hamidu Rahman recorded 12 points, all in the second half, and freshman guard Christian Kabongo finished with 11.

The Aggies posted a 37-25 advantage at halftime. Kabongo led all scorers with 11 points and both Laroche and Castillo added nine in the first 20 minutes of action. NM State finished its trip against a Ravens program that has won six of the last eight national championships.

The contest scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 14, at Carleton has been cancelled. The Aggies return to the court in October when official practice begins for the 2010-11 season.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

TROIS-RIVIERES, QUEBEC -The New Mexico State men’s basketball team returned to the court and surpassed the century mark with a 102-74 win over the Kia All-Stars in Trois-Rivieres (Three Rivers) during its foreign preseason tour in Canada.

The Aggie offense was potent in the first half with a 54-37 advantage behind 13 points from junior center Hamidu Rahman. Junior forward Tyrone Watson was also in double-digits with 11 points while both junior guard Hernst Laroche and sophomore guard Bandja Sy scored eight each.

“We had a favorable outcome,” head coach Marvin Menzies said. “It was one of those types of games where I didn’t really know how we were going to perform based on the fatigue factor that we experienced last night.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

SAINT LAMBERT, Quebec (Aug. 11) – The New Mexico State men’s basketball team beat an alumni team from McGill University, 98-93, in overtime in an exhibition scrimmage on the Champlain College campus in Saint Lambert, Quebec.

In overtime, the Aggies scored the first seven points to help secure the win. NM State had five players in double-figures with freshman guard Christian Kabongo posting a team-high 19 points. Sophomore forward Tyrone Watson had 18 while junior center Hamidu Rahman scored 17. Junior guard Hernst Laroche finished with 15 points, including two free throws at the end of regulation to force the extra time, as senior guard Gordo Castillo tallied 14.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

MONTREAL, QUEBEC -The New Mexico State men’s basketball team concluded the first day of action on its preseason tour in Canada with an 88-57 victory over Vanier College at Dawson College in Montreal, Quebec.

Sophomore guard Bandja Sy scored a game-high 21 points for the Aggies. Sophomore forward/center B.J. West contributed 16 while senior guard Gordo Castillo had 15 points. Sophomore forward Tyrone Watson and junior center Hamidu Rahman were both in double-digits with 13 and 10, respectively. Playing in his hometown for the first time in an Aggie uniform, junior guard Hernst Laroche scored eight points against his former team. Guard Damon Buckley led Vanier with 13 points while forward Kazadi Gauthier scored 11.  Continue Reading This Post >>