Thursday, November 29, 2007

New Mexico State University news and notes

Here's the latest from Jason Groves, Aggie beat writer for the Las Cruces Sun-News.

Wendell McKines continues to shine -- we called him The Beast during his prep days out here in California and he hasn't missed a beat in continuing his beastly ways in D-1.

But even more importantly, the Aggies got a good contribution from point Chris Cole. We still think Cole is one of the keys to a winning NMSU season, giving Fred Peete some time off from playing the point. That key and, of course, a re-appearance of Herb Pope on the court. Pretty soon, Pope will be getting the nickname "The Ghost".


Aggie notes: Hawkins shows off perimeter game
Jason Groves
Las Cruces Sun-News
11/29/2007



Outmuscled

Few teams are able to match up with NMSU on the glass. The Aggies lead the Western Athletic Conference in rebounds per game (41.3) and are second in rebounding margin, outrebounding their opponents by 8.6 per game.

The Aggies were well on their way to matching those numbers again on Tuesday, outrebounding UTEP 27-18 in the first half and grabbing nine offensive boards.

UTEP outrebounded the Aggies 22-11 in the second half, finishing with a 40-38 edge...

...One player who did his job in the paint was freshman forward Wendell McKines. The 6-foot-6 McKines never slowed on the glass, grabbing 14 rebounds and nine offensive boards.

Cole steps up

With starting point guard Fred Peete limited in minutes, sophomore guard Chris Cole played 19 solid minutes.

Cole scored six points, but he dished out five assists and only turned the ball over once...

...Cole was on the court during the Miners' run to open the second half, where the Aggies turned the ball over on three straight possessions as the Miners scored on their first six possessions of the second half. NMSU turned the ball over 15 times on Tuesday, nine in the second half.


Go here for the full article.

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