NCAAB Game Recap - Grand Canyon at New Mexico State
Sat Mar 16, 2019 10:00 PM EDT

UMBC
49
Vermt
66
F
Penn
58
Harv
66
F
Wisc
55
MSU
67
F
NCC
50
Norf
47
F
Hou
61
Mem
58
F
TxSt
46
GASt
59
F
TXSo
86
PVAM
92
F
Seton
72
Vill
74
F
BGSU
73
Buff
87
F
E WA
62
Mont
68
F
W Ky
56
ODU
62
F
GrCan
57
NMSt
89
F
Oreg
68
Wash
48
F
CS-Ful
64
UCIrv
92
F
Princ
77
Yale
83
F
Tenn
82
KY
78
F
StLou
67
David
44
F
WichSt
63
Cin
66
F
SDSU
57
UtSt
64
F
GaSo
58
TexAr
67
F
NOrl
60
AbCh
77
F
Minn
49
Mich
76
F
IaSt
78
Kansas
66
F
FSU
63
Duke
73
F
URI
51
StBon
68
F
Fla
62
Aub
65
F

Mar 16, 2019, 10:00 PM EDT

Final

1

2

T

(3) Grand Canyon

30

27

57

(1) New Mexico State

41

48

89

New Mexico State routs Grand Canyon in WAC title game
Sun Mar 17, 2019 1:26 AM

LAS VEGAS (AP) Grand Canyon coach Dan Majerle said his Antelopes ran out of gas.

New Mexico State junior Trevelin Queen said the Aggies were all gas and no brakes.

Queen fueled the Aggies' offense by scoring 27 points to lead New Mexico State past Grand Canyon 89-57 on Saturday night for its third straight Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berth.

"My role on the team is to bring energy, and stay positive and bring my teammates up," said Queen, who finished 9 of 15 from the field, including 6 of 11 from 3-point range. "Every shot I shot, it just touched me. I almost cried on the court after every shot."

Ivan Aurrecoechea scored 16 points and Clayton Henry added 14. The Aggies made 33 of 65 field goals, going 17 of 39 from 3-point range. The 17 made 3s set a new tournament record.

"I think the theme of the night was keep coming at them in waves," New Mexico State coach Chris Jans said. "We've been playing a lot of guys all year long. We talked a lot in the last 24 hours that we're built for this. Our team is built for three games in three days."

The Aggies, who outscored their opponents in the tournament by an average of 84.6-59.3, dismantled the Antelopes' highly regarded defense, which ranked No. 1 in conference play in defending 3-pointer (.325) and second in scoring defense, allowing 66.5 points per game.

New Mexico State improved to 30-4 with its 19th straight victory, extending its program record for wins in a season. The Aggies have won seven of the last eight titles and nine overall, also beating Grand Canyon in the championship game last season.

New Mexico improved to 13-2 against the Antelopes (20-13), the Phoenix school in its sixth year at the Division I level, and second being eligible to play for a berth into the NCAA Tournament. Alessandro Lever led Grand Canyon with 17 points, and Damari Milstead added 11.

After opening with just one field goal in the first five minutes, and falling behind 10-2, New Mexico State responded with a flurry of 3-pointers, hitting four during a 24-11 run - including three from Queen.

The Antelopes made eight of their first 15 field-goal attempts, then closed the half missing 12 of 15. They finished the first half shooting 36.7 percent, including 6 for 18 from beyond the 3-point arc.

The Aggies carried the momentum into the second half, when their lead grew to 16, and eventually 76-48, as the Antelopes' lack of depth had taken its toll. At one point, the Aggies were 8 of 13 from 3-point range, while Grand Canyon was 8 of 20 from the floor.

"They just kept running bodies at us, and they were fresher than us, and that's what happened," Majerle. "They have a deep team that keep coming at you in waves and they did a really good job of it."

BIG PICTURE

Grand Canyon: During their time in Division I, the Antelopes are 50-1 when scoring at least 82 points and 58-6 when holding opponents to 63 points or less. The problem for them was they couldn't defend the perimeter, and the Aggies had 63 points before the midway point of the second half, at the 12:11 mark. At the other end, Grand Canyon never found a rhythm that would allow it to play its type of offensive game.

New Mexico State: While Jans improved to 57-10 in his second season at the helm, and captured his second straight tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth, former Aggies coach Marvin Menzies, was fired from UNLV the day before after the Runnin' Rebels went 17-14 this season. In his three seasons since leaving New Mexico State for UNLV, Menzies was 48-48 in charge of the Rebels.

READY RESERVE

The Aggies tend to use up to nine reserves in games, but until Jans emptied his bench near the end, he'd only utilized five in the championship. Despite the decrease, New Mexico State's bench outscored Grand Canyon's 50-9.

UP NEXT

Grand Canyon: With 20 wins, and a KenPom ranking of 94, the Antelopes should receive a lower-level postseason tournament invite.

New Mexico State: The Aggies await their seeding for the NCAA Tournament.

---

More AP college basketball: http://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Leaders

Grand Canyon PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
A. Lever 17 0 2 3 0 0
D. Milstead 11 0 0 4 0 0
New Mexico State PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
T. Queen 27 0 2 4 1 2
I. Aurrecoechea 16 0 0 7 0 0

Team Comparison

GrCan NMSt
Points For 57 89
Field Goals 23/60-38% 33/65-51%
Three Pointers 7/31-23% 17/39-44%
Free Throws 4/9-44% 6/8-75%
Offensive Rebounds 5 11
Defensive Rebounds 23 36
Rebounds 31 50
Blocks 3 2
Steals 6 4
Turnovers 8 10
Personal Fouls 13 15
Technical Fouls 0 0
Ejections 0 0

2018-19 Reg Season - NMSt Leads Series 3-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Thu Jan 10 GrCan 75 @ NMSt 77 C. Johnson 16 I. Aurrecoechea 20
Sat Feb 9 NMSt 67 @ GrCan 64 E. Chuha 15 M. Finke 16
Sat Mar 16 GrCan 57 @ NMSt 89 A. Lever 17 T. Queen 27

Game Information

Stadium: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Attendance: 3,598
Game Time: