Saturday, December 1, 2012

NMSU hosts unbeaten Southern Miss Saturday


By: Anthony Esparza

After a disappointing one-point loss at rival UTEP, the New Mexico State men’s basketball team seeks redemption when it hosts undefeated Southern Mississippi at the Pan American Center Saturday.
In addition to bouncing back to Wednesday’s loss, the Aggies will also look to avenge two losses to Southern Miss from last season.

“That’s a team that beat us twice last year on a neutral court and on their home court, so we’re hoping having them at home gives us a little bit of an edge,” NMSU head coach Marvin Menzies said. “They’ve got some very talented players that are returning from last year’s team that were very successful against us last year.”
Southern Miss lost four starters from last year’s squad, including a trio of guards that had successful outings in both games against the Aggies: LaShay Page, Angelo Johnson and Maurice Bolden.

However, thus far in the season the Golden Eagles have been led by senior forwards Dwayne Davis and Jonathan Mills.

After missing last year because of academics, Davis has had a strong start to the season. Davis leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.2 points per game, while continues to be the team’s best rebounder, grabbing 7.5 boards per game.

Southern Miss is certainly battle-tested heading into the matchup with NMSU. Three of the Golden Eagles’ six games have been decided by fewer than five points, including back-to-back overtime contests to start the season.

Nevertheless, the team is off to a 6-0 start as it heads begins a three-game road trip that includes games against NMSU, No.9 Arizona and Louisiana Tech.

NMSU, meanwhile, is 3-3 as they return to Las Cruces before heading back on the road for contests against South Alabama and No.25 New Mexico.

The Aggies have been sound for the most part defensively and have out-rebounded their opponent in all but one game this season. However, the Aggies are still in the process of figuring out their offensive identity.  

Menzies said the team needs to adjust to the tempo of the offense and start taking more high-percentage shots.  

“Right now that’s something that the younger guys on the team are struggling with in their decision making in terms of understanding our system,” Menzies said. “The system is built around scoring points but we’ve got to do it with an understanding of how that’s accomplished; through rebounding and through getting to the foul line. It’s not just all making shots; you can score points in different ways.”

The Aggies also average 17 turnovers per game, which proved to be costly in the UTEP game.

NMSU still has five non-conference games before WAC play begins. Saturday’s contest against Southern Miss serves as an ample opportunity for the Aggies to get their first signature win of the season.  

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