New Mexico State men looking for elusive 1st win in WAC play

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KTSM) – New Mexico State (7-14, 0-9 WAC) men’s basketball is aiming to snap its 9-game losing streak when they face off with Stephen F. Austin (15-7, 7-2 WAC) at the Pan American Center on Wednesday.

This is the second meeting of the season between the two teams. Last time NMSU and SFA met, the Lumberjacks grabbed a 69-60 win over the Aggies in Nacogdoches, Texas on Jan. 4.

New Mexico State heads into Wednesday’s game on a 9-game losing streak after they fell to Utah Valley 77-72 on Jan. 28. 0-9 matches the worst start to a conference season at NMSU since the Aggies started the 1954-55 Border Athletic Conference season 0-9.

They will aim to snap the streak on Wednesday, but it won’t come easy as Stephen F. Austin is in good form. The Lumberjacks currently hold a 15-7 overall record and are 7-2 in Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play. Stephen F. Austin has won their last two games against UTRGV (Jan. 25) and Seattle U (Jan. 28).

Much of the Lumberjacks’ success stems from its ability to pressure the opponent into turning the ball over. Entering Wednesday, the Lumberjacks rank first in the nation in turnovers forced per game at 19.27. SFA also paces the WAC in steals per game since league play started, coming up with 9.1 steals per contest.

The Lumberjacks are also the most accurate shooting team in the conference as they are currently shooting at a .482 clip on the season.

Individually, the ‘Jacks are paced in scoring by Sadaidrienne Hall who averages 13.0 points per game while shooting at a WAC-leading 59.3% from the field. Hall is also Stephen F. Austin’s leading rebounder – pulling in 6.4 boards per game. The Aggies will also have to contest with Latrell Jossell and Nigel Hawkins who each average more than 10 points per game. Jossell currently averages 11.7 points while Hawkins posts 10.2 points per game.

New Mexico State and Stephen F. Austin will face off on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m. MT. The game will also air on ESPN+.