Feb. 23, 2004

Box Score

DENVER - Junior guard Rodney Billups (Denver, Colo.) scored a career-high 26 points and senior foward Zeljko Zupic (Sinj, Croatia) recorded his fifth double-double of the season but New Mexico State University pulled out an 84-77 Sun Belt Conference win over the Denver men's basketball team on Monday, Feb. 23 in Magness Arena. Denver falls to 14-11 overall, 6-7 in the SBC, while NMSU improves to 13-12, 6-7.

The Pioneers went on a quick 7-0 run, sparked by a jumper from senior forward Carvell McAlister (Fresno, Calif.) to put the score at 11-7 with 15:08 left in the first half. New Mexico State's Byron Davis responded with two 3-pointers to lead the Aggies on their own 7-0 run and tie the score at 21-21 with 10 minutes remaining.

Senior center Brett Starkey (Lakewood, Colo.) sunk a shot with 8:51 remaining to give the Pioneers a 25-22 advantage. NMSU's Duane John took control of the offense and led the Aggies on a 14-1 run, holding the Pioneers without a basket for over six minutes. A basket by Robert Frazier gave NMSU a 10-point lead, putting the score at 36-26 with 3:33 remaining. A pair of free throws by James Moore gave the Aggies a 40-30 advantage heading into the second half.

The Aggies hit 60.9 percent from the field (14-23) and 83.3 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (5-6). The Pioneers shot 32.1 percent from the field (9-28) and only 18.2 percent from beyond the arc (2-11). NMSU also won the rebounding battle 18-12 in the first half.

"This was a complete reversal from our first game (against NMSU)," said head coach Terry Carroll. "We did a poor job on the offensive end. It was a combination of not guarding in the first half and fouling. This is the fourth-straight game we have been outrebounded, so now we need to get our defense back on the floor and commit less fouls. We have to win one on the road, we don't have any other options."

The Aggies continued their offensive dominance in the second half and extended their lead to 13 points off a 3-pointer from Allen Hayes to put the score at 43-30. Billups added a basket and a pair of free throws but NMSU's Gary Jackson hit a 3-pointer to give the Aggies a 14 point lead, their biggest of the night, and leave the score at 52-38 with 13:40 left in the game. Billups continued to break through the Aggies' defense and scored four points to cut NMSU's lead to eight.

John added six points in two minutes to keep the Aggies in control of the game. Senior guard Erik Benzel (Spokane, Wash.) hit his second 3-point bucket of the night to once again cut NMSU's lead to eight, but the Pioneers were still trailing 64-56 with 5:05 remaining in the game. Billups hit two 3-pointers and Zupic hit a layup with under 25 seconds left in the game, but free throws from three different Aggies sealed the 84-77 win.

Billups led all scorers with 26 points. Starkey added 16 and Zupic dropped in 10. Zupic led all players with 11 rebounds and Robert Frazier pulled down 10 boards for the Aggies. NMSU won the rebounding battle 41-30, and shot 49.1 (26-53) percent from the field, compared to Denver's 38.3 (23-60) percent.

The Pioneers will return to action on Thursday, Feb. 26, when they travel to Mobile, Ala., to take on South Alabama at 6 p.m. MT. They will continue their two-game road trip on Saturday, Feb. 28 when they face New Orleans in the regular-season finale in New Orleans, La., at 6 p.m. MT.