New Mexico State’s men’s basketball team led by only three points with just over three minutes left after holding an 11-point second-half lead. Were the Aggies about to blow it again?
NM State was only two weeks removed from squandering a 10-point second-half lead, one it held four times, and losing 91-88 in overtime to rival UTEP. The Aggies rematched the Miners on Saturday, Feb. 21, at home, and they didn’t make the same mistake twice.
NM State (13-13, 6-10 Conference USA) inched out a 67-63 victory over UTEP (10-17, 6-10) to avenge its earlier loss and split the 2025-26 season series between the two in their final matchup as conference foes.
After a Kaseem Watson 3-pointer cut the Miners’ deficit to 3 points at 59-56, NM State guard Anthony Wrzeszcz drove to the basket and made a layup through contact that rolled around the basket before falling in. Aggies center Augustine Ekwe and UTEP guard Caleb Blackwell exchanged a 2-pointer and a 3-pointer to give NM State a 63-59 lead with 1:29 left.
Two free throws from Miners forward Jamal West Jr. cut the visitors’ deficit to two points at 63-61. NM State guard Elijah Elliott dribbled calmly in between the 3-point line and midcourt after a timeout before finding fellow guard Jemel Jones, who’s been called on time and time again to make shots in the clutch. He’s missed notable shots down the stretch this season, but hit the dagger on Saturday with a 2-point jumper to restore a four-point lead with 24 seconds left. That all but assured an Aggies win.
Final: UTEP 63, NMSU 67
The Aggies avenge their loss from 2 weeks ago and take down the Miners. Here’s the dagger from Jemel Jones that all but sealed NMSU’s win. He led the Aggies with 21 points. pic.twitter.com/bko1pch0EU
— Nick Coppola (@Nick_Coppola__) February 22, 2026
NM State has been in and out of CUSA’s bottom two this week, entering the week in last place but rising to 10th due to losses from Delaware and Florida International in recent days. FIU’s win over Missouri State on Saturday dropped the Aggies to 11th before it tipped off against UTEP, but NM State is now back above the bottom two with their win.
Now, the Aggies hope to stay there and qualify for the CUSA Tournament. NM State have four regular-season games left, the first coming against Western Kentucky at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26, on the road.
College basketball Hall of Famer and Aggies basketball legend Sam Lacey was honored at halftime to recognize his posthumous induction into the 2024 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame class and retire his No. 44 jersey. NM State presented Lacey’s daughter, Gretchen Downey, and Lacey’s teammate and former Aggies assistant coach Rob Evans with a framed 2025-26 NM State home jersey with Lacey’s No. 44 during the ceremony.
Lacey was a leading member of the Aggies’ 1970 Final Four team and still holds multiple school records for rebounding to this day. Ekwe entered the season wearing No. 44, but switched to No. 66 recently out of respect for Lacey and his number’s retirement.
Here are three more takeaways from Saturday’s game:
Osborne earns his moment
Jae’Coby Osborne came to play.
NM State’s sophomore forward got the scoring started emphatically with an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Jemel Jones. He then earned another dunk just over four minutes later after a Jones steal and a fastbreak.
Osborne finished the game with a season-high 12 points, his sixth double-digit scoring game of the season. He made six shots on 11 attempts and also tallied a team-high nine rebounds.
Osborne has been a fixture of the Aggies’ starting lineup during conference play. After only starting once in non-conference play due to a Julius Mims concussion against New Mexico Highlands on Nov. 11, Osborne has started all but two of NM State’s 16 conference games so far.
Jones and West Jr. lead the way
NM State guard Jemel Jones and UTEP forward Jamal West Jr. were the standard on Saturday.
Jones led the Aggies with 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting. He scored 12 first-half points, but cooled off and failed to make a field goal for the first 11:16 of the second half. But Jones eventually bounced back and found an extra nine points, including a 3-pointer and the game-sealing jumper.
West Jr. led all players with 22 points on 7-for-13 shooting. Eight of his 22 points came off free throws.
Defense rules first half, offense rules second half
Saturday provided a tight, low-scoring first half, but a more energetic second half.
NM State shot 37.8% in the first half and improved to a 41.7% mark in the second half. This included a 6-for-9 stretch between the 11:59 and 4:17 marks of the game and a 3-for-5 stretch in the last 4:17 of play.
UTEP only shot 34.5% in the first half. But the Miners came out swinging in the second half, making five of their first eight second-half shots and tallying a 46.2% second-half shooting mark.
Both teams ended at 40% or more from the field, with the Miners hitting the mark exactly and the Aggies coming in at 40.9%.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: 3 takeaways from NMSU basketball’s win over UTEP as Aggies get revenge