LAS CRUCES — New Mexico State head coach Chris Jans said he would learn more about his team after playing multiple bench players extended minutes in the Aggies’ final two games of the calendar year against two Division II opponents. Monday night against UT Permian Basin, he learned what it was like to be leading a Scare punch II by three points with 45 seconds left in the first half.
After jumping out to a 14-0 lead the first seven minutes in NMSU’s 84-59 win, the Falcons, who were added to NMSU’s schedule less than two weeks ago to replace Cal Fullerton, gave the Aggies their second first-half scare against a Division II team this season. NMSU scored four more times in the next three minutes, but the first-half runs were over for the Aggies. UTPB matched NMSU punch for punch the next seven minutes, never letting the Aggie lead climb higher than 13 but never cutting the deficit to fewer than eight. Then with 2:22 left in the half, the Falcons made their short-lived but forceful run.
