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| Hernst Laroche of New Mexico State shoots over Landon Tatum of Idaho on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. Laroche scored a season-high 20 points en route to an 80-68 Aggies win. Zack Ponce |
The New Mexico State men’s basketball team remained unbeaten in conference play by taking down Idaho 80-68 Saturday at the Pam American Center.
Seniors Wendell McKines and Hernst Laroche led the way for the Aggies. McKines finished with 23 points and ten rebounds, racking up his eleventh double-double of the season. After being held to five points in the first half, Laroche scored 15 points in the second half to finish with a season-high 20 points.
“I just tried to pace myself, find my spot and see how they play me,” Laroche said of his adjustments in the second half. “I hit some big shots, so that was good.”
After turning the ball over just six times against Utah State on Thursday, the Aggies finished with 18 turnovers against Idaho on Saturday night. However, NMSU coach Marvin Menzies said the final score is the most important statistic in conference play.
“In the WAC it’s about winning and losing and tonight we got the ‘W’,” Menzies said. It wasn’t as pretty as we would have liked, but at the end of the day it’s about winning and we did that tonight."
The Aggies led for the majority of the second half, but efficient shooting kept the Vandals within striking distance. Idaho shot 44% on the night, connecting on seven three-pointers.
NMSU was able to contain Deremy Geiger and Stephen Madison, Idaho’s leading scorers, throughout the contest. The duo shot a combined 7-24 and scored a total of 20 points.
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Stephen Madison of Idaho drives to the basket against New Mexico State on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. Idaho’s second leading scorer was shut down by NMSU; he scored just nine points on 4-13 FG and 1-8 3-Ptr. Zack Ponce |
“They were in the scouting report. Those were guys that we had to key in on,” Menzies said of Geiger and Madison. “We had some of their tendencies down, but they lost their legs a little bit in the latter part of the second half.”
NMSU improved to 13-5 overall and 3-0 in WAC play. Idaho fell to 9-9 overall and 2-2 in the conference.
The Aggies will now go on the road to face San Jose State and Hawai’i before returning home for a showdown against Nevada.
“This is a big road trip,” junior forward Tyrone Watson said of the upcoming road trip. “Last year we went to San Jose State and we coughed the game up and we also coughed the game up in Hawai’i too. We definitely know what we have ahead of us.”
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