(01-05-2020 02:34 PM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(01-05-2020 06:17 AM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  Gilyard had to play with a lot of restraint tonight. He is normally more of an attacking guard. But since the game plan was to feed the post, making Aurrecoechea and McCants our primary scorers, he did not force the issue offensively. Additionally, AJ Harris got seriously injured during the game; injured his ankle or foot. So, Gilyard needed to play most of the 2nd half minutes without getting into too much foul trouble; which was hard since CBU's offensive runs through three attacking guards; Acquaah, Boyd, and Flavors.

In a previous post, I stated that NMSU was stronger on the perimeter this season than a year ago because of our depth and experience. However, since that post, "it appears" there was a decision to Medical RS Clayton Henry the rest of this season (who did not play tonight) and AJ Harris injury sidelined him the rest of the game. So, NMSU once again lost its' two starters from a season ago. Hopefully, Harris' injury is not too serious or Jans might need to Medical RS Harris as well; with the hope of petitioning the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility. We will see.

Fortunately, Queen and McCants woke up in the second half to help Aurrecoechea with the scoring load. Harris was having a good game before his injury. He had 9 points, 3 steal, 2 assists in the 8 minutes he played. Keep in mind, CBU's first half run happened shortly thereafter Harris' injury. Jans needed to regroup at halftime making Gilyard our primary point guard the rest of the way.

I was at the game last night. The difference in this game and last year's game at CBU was Ivan Aurrecoechea. Last year, Aurrecoechea played nine minutes, had 0 points and two rebounds, went 0 for 7 from the floor and collected four fouls. He was horrible in that game. This year, Aurrecoechea had 20 points and 8 rebounds in 35 minutes, with only two personal fouls. You are right, they kept going inside to Aurrecoechea and CBU could not match up with him. NMSU went to the basket all night without fear of what CBU had inside defensively. This is an issue the Lancers need to address, if they can.

Otherwise, the game was very similar to last year. CBU committed more turnovers. They got beat on the boards. NMSU just shot better in this game, mainly because they went inside. Milan Acquaah may have had a better game than last year, when he scored 36 points, but had zero assists. This year he had 24 points and 8 assists. He is literally bringing the ball up court and creating offense for himself or his teammates. I think CBU will win 20 games this season if they can keep Acquaah healthy.

On the NMSU outside shooting, I was not impressed. We will have to see it improves over time. I like the ball movement on offense, the bench strength and the defense. If the shooting gets better, then maybe they have a chance at a win in the NCAA tournament. They are obviously going to win the WAC.

You weren’t impressed with our 16 point win in an almost sold out arena vs. team with a 7 game win streak? Interesting