Aggies fall into last place at 0-6 in WAC play

LAS CRUCES − The New Mexico State men's basketball team finds itself in foreign territory − dead last in the Western Athletic Conference.

The Aggies lost 66-55 on Saturday to UT Arlingtonton at the Pan American Center in a game between two teams searching for their first conference win.

"To lose at home is flat-out unacceptable, and we have lost four in a row," said Aggies coach Greg Heiar, whose team is 7-11 overall this season. "You should play with more energy, more vigor, more grit.

"I'm sick for Aggie Nation because I know what this place is about. It's about winning. I'm about winning too. I'm very disappointed. We are going to go back to work, continue to work and work until we get this thing fixed."

New Mexico State is the only winless team in WAC play, at 0-6 on the season. N.M. State is 0-6 in conference play for the first time since the 1954-55 season under Presley Askew when the Aggies started 0-9 in the Border Conference, and it's the first five-game conference losing streak since 2004-05 when the Aggies lost 10 straight in the Sun Belt.

The New Mexico State men's basketball team is suffering the longest losing streak since the 2010-11 season, when the Aggies lost seven straight early in the season.

"This is unchartered territory for me," Heiar said. "At Wichita State in 2012, we lost three conference games in a row. That team went to the Final Four. ... I said to a group of friends that if we lost this third game, I will walk to and from work for the next three days. It's like here, this is unchartered territory for this university, men's basketball, our fans, our community. ... It's something I and we have to figure out."

Kyle Feit provided a spark for an otherwise sputtering Aggies offense in the first half. Feit was 3 for 3 from 3-point range in the first half, hitting back-to-back triples to give N.M. State a 33-26 halftime lead.

"The coaches put together a great game plan for us," said Feit, who finished with 11 points. "In the first half, we weren't great, either. We weren't playing anywhere near to our capability. We have to string a full 40 minutes together where we play hard, hit first and do everything GH and the staff preaches. We just have to lock in. We are too casual sometimes."

N.M. State was just 37% from the field in the first half. That trend continued into the second half, where the Aggies were outscored 40-22 on 8 for 30 shooting (26.7%) in the second half. The Aggies were 32% from the field for the game.

"We are struggling to score in the paint versus contact. We are struggling at times with ball movement," Heiar said. "We constantly are holding the ball, and the defense continues to reset and then guys have to make one-on-one plays. There is plenty of video out on all of the teams, and you have to give them credit. In the second half, they did a good job of making it difficult for us to score the ball."

UTA opened the half on a 17-2 run. UTA's Shemar Wilson hit a transition 3-pointer off of one of N.M. State's 16 turnovers to make it 50-37 with just over eight minutes to play.

NM State women's basketball team falls at home

The New Mexico State women's basketball team had its three-game win streak snapped on Saturday with a 67-65 loss to Utah Tech at the Pan American Center.

The Aggies fell to 9-9 and 4-2 in WAC play, and Utah Tech improved to 4-2 in conference play.

With six seconds remaining in the game, Utah Tech’s Breaunna Gillen knocked down a jump shot in the paint to put the Trailblazers ahead by two. Down to their last chance, Sylena Peterson got a great look from three for the Aggies, but the shot hit back iron and fell to the floor, allowing Utah Tech to escape with a road victory.

The Aggies play at Grand Canyon at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on Twitter @jpgroves.