New Mexico State loses by two

New Mexico State traveled to Denton, TX last night and fell just short:

North Texas bench scores 46 in 85-83 win over Aggies
Las Cruces Sun-News
12/07/2008

DENTON, Texas — Tristan Thompson scored 21 points and Collin Dennis added 20 points coming off the bench to lead North Texas to an 85-83 victory over New Mexico State on Saturday night.

North Texas (6-2) scored only two points and turned the ball over twice in the final three minutes. But the Aggies, who got the back with 28 seconds left trailing by two, never managed to get off a shot.

The Mean Green bench scored 46 points, including 16 from Eric Tramiel.

New Mexico State (2-4) had four players in double figures. Jahmar Young led the way with 19 points, while Troy Gillenwater and Jonathan Gibson each scored 15.

Wendell McKines finished with a double-double for the Aggies, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

and

Sophomore Tristan Thompson set a career high with 21 points and senior Collin Dennis came off the bench to post a season-best 20 points, leading the North Texas men’s basketball team to an 85-83 victory against New Mexico State on Saturday night at the Super Pit.

The Mean Green improves to 6-2 overall, while the Aggies fall to 2-4.

North Texas did not need another come-from-behind victory like last year. The Mean Green raced out to a seven-point lead, 15-8, six minutes into the first half. A three-pointer by Dennis gave North Texas its largest lead of the game, 35-24, with 6:14 left in the first half.

The Aggies cut the lead to three points at the half, 43-40, and came close to taking the lead several times in the second half, but the Mean Green was able to hold its lead the entire game.

A defensive stop at the end of the game sealed the win for the Mean Green. Hernst Laroche hit two free throws to cut the Mean Green’s lead to two points, 85-83, with 1:02 left in the game. After a Dennis miss, New Mexico State had one last possession with 28 seconds on the clock. The Mean Green defense kept the Aggies from even attempting a shot as time expired.

The Mean Green struggled from the free-throw line last game, but NT was much improved on Saturday night. NT hit 23-of-30 shots from the charity stripe for 76.7 percent. North Texas shot 42.2 percent from the field for the game, compared to the Aggies’ 53.4 percent.