Daniel Mullings has narrowly missed
potential game winning shots in losses to Niagara and UTEP — both games the
Aggies had late leads. NMSU by 20 in the first half at Niagara and a four-point
lead in the last 1:34 on Wednesday, a two point edge with 26 seconds left. The
common thread in both games was turnovers.
Perhaps the Aggies biggest weakness
was exploited in the first possession of Wednesday’s 55-54 loss at UTEP as the
Aggies turned the ball over 20 times leading to 22 points.
The Miners trapped sophomore point
guard KC Ross-Miller as soon as he touched it on two of NMSU’s first three
possessions for two of Ross-Miller’s five turnovers as the starting point
guard.
But to single KCRM out would be
unfair. Fellow starters Bandja Sy, Tyrone Watson and Chili Nephawe had four
turnovers each. Ross Miller had nine points, two assists and two steals in 28
minutes. Terrel de Rouen had three points, an assist no turnovers in 12
minutes. Both of them had their moments but I wouldn’t say either can be
trusted at this point down the stretch of a close game.
A lot of talk about the double
dribble on Watson that gave the Miners the ball back with 24 seconds left. It
spoiled what was initially a very smart play by Watson. He threw the ball off
of Julian Washburn’s back before the Miners could set up their press because
neither Sy nor Ross-Miller could get open but UTEP bailed them out with one of
their many fouls to give. So Watson got the ball cleanly and raced up court.
“We probably could have managed it
a little bit different,” Menzies said. “Maybe we dribble it out and get fouled,
get spacing. We had a timeout I believe. Maybe he thought he had numbers and
you never want to stop a roll if he’s going to get a lay up.”
Sy had a turnover with 43 seconds
left that helped the Miners get to 54-52 with 26 seconds left.
“We lost the game with turnovers.
They caused some of them. They are a good defensive team,” Menzies said.
So against the last three Division
I teams the Aggies have played, NMSU has averaged 23 turnovers per game, losing
two of those games on missed last second shots by Daniel Mullings.
2 comments:
Actually, UTEP isn't that good. The Aggies have a way of making them look better than they are.
The Aggies have been the better team for the last four years. No different this year. But a split is the best they can do. Sad.
No robbing going on at NMSU, Watson turned the ball over last year, why is the ball in his hands? Mullings has to improve as he has to have the most touches. Chili is a limited offensive player and has way too many turnovers for a big man.
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