LAS CRUCES, N.M. — New Mexico State University has a history of producing dominant men’s basketball teams, but a 2023 hazing scandal quickly changed that.
After winning its first NCAA Tournament game in 29 years in 2022, the program faced two consecutive losing seasons, to which fans were not accustomed. Luckily for them, the Aggies put together a winning season with a record of 17-15 (10-8 in Conference USA) this past year and showed that the future is bright.
The team faced many highs and lows. They started the season 3-0 before losing six out of the next seven. They then went on to win seven straight including a 4-0 start in CUSA. They followed it up by losing another six out of seven including four home defeats. They then went on a stretch where they won five out of six, but fell in the final two games.
Head coach Jason Hooten maintained four players from last year’s team with three of them playing key roles.
Christian Cook proved to be the best returner, averaging 12.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He also shot 36.7% from three.
Robert Carpenter put up averages of 10.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and a team-high 0.7 blocks.
Jaden Harris played a pivotal role off the bench, putting up 5.3 points and 2.2 rebounds a night. While free throws proved to be an issue for the Aggies this season, Harris shot 84.8% from the charity stripe, which led the team.
Christopher Biekeu, another returner, fought through adversity coming off an injury that sidelined him all last year after appearing in just one game. Biekeu played in eight games this season.
With only four returners, newcomers were needed to help gain success and they did just that. Maine transfer Peter Filipovity led the team in scoring averaging 13.1 points. He also grabbed 8.2 rebounds a game, which led the team. Zawdie Jackson averaged 10.5 points and a team-high 3.1 assists a night. Defense was a big reason the Aggies won many games this year and Dionte Bostick was one of those guys who made it happen, averaging 1.1 steals which led the team.
Post play proved to be a weak point in the Aggies’ offense to start the year, but once the Tshimanga brothers started together, the winning serged. The team went 5-1 in its first six games with Emmanuel and Nate starting together. The two improved their play with their brotherly connection. It was the first time at the collegiate level the two brothers started and played together.
Coming into the season, Hooten liked the idea of having brothers on the team.
“The last time we had two brothers on the same squad, it was a great experience for everyone,” Hooten said after signing the Tshimanga brothers in June 2024.
The team had nine seniors as well, which made up the majority of its roster. Fans may worry they will be hard to replace, but two freshmen showed signs of having bright futures for the program.
Gabe Pickens played in 30 games, displaying his playmaking skills as a true point guard. Jae’Coby Osborne is a guy who cracked the rotation halfway through CUSA action and showed his skills on the defensive end.
One of the best wins for the Aggies came against its rival, the University of New Mexico Lobos. The Aggies defeated the Lobos 89-83 at the Pit in Albuquerque in overtime. Cook had a masterful performance of 27 points, five rebounds and three assists. Carpenter finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and a blocked shot. Bostick put together his best performance of the season finishing with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists. It was the Lobos’ only loss at home and the lone matchup between the two teams.
Another rival win the Aggies picked up was against the UTEP Miners at Don Haskins Center. The Aggies beat the Miners 85-57 behind a brilliant performance from Jackson who scored 18 points on 7-for-7 shooting.
Despite a a 66-63 loss to UTEP at home later in the year, the Aggies had a 2-1 record against their rivals.
One of the more intriguing victories the Aggies pulled off was defeating the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 78-48 at the Pan American Center early in conference play. Cook led all scorers with 19 points.
While most teams are better at home than on the road, the Aggies were much different. During conference play, they posted a 6-3 road record while finishing just 4-5 at home. Last year’s team went 1-13 away from Las Cruces, so there was improvement. Overall, they finished 9-6 at home and 8-6 on the road.
Aggie fans proved to be the best in the conference yet again by leading CUSA in attendance for a second straight year. On average, 6,031 people attended home games.
Despite all the great things accomplished this season, the Aggies still had their flaws. Even though they proved to have many talented offensive players, it did not always show. As a whole, they shot just 41.5% from the field including 32.1% from three. Free throws also proved to be a struggle as they shot just 67.5%.
Even though the shooting splits were not impressive, the defense proved to be elite, which is why they managed to snag wins. They managed to average 6.4 steals a night to go along with a rate of 2.3 blocks. An example of the great defense was in the final home game when they held Western Kentucky to shoot just 26.9% from the field, including 25% from three.
The Aggies season came to an end with an 80-77 loss to a young Kennesaw State team. Free throws proved to be the problem as they missed 12 for the game. Despite this, Carpenter and Filipovity both scored 21 points to end the year off on personal high notes.
The Aggies had a rough patch of seasons before this one, but the previous success could be what they need to get back to their dominant ways.
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