ALBUQUERQUE – An emphatic Chris Jans made a b-line towards New Mexico State's bench after shaking hands with New Mexico post 65-62 win at Dreamstyle Arena Saturday night and did his best Tiger Woods impression, pumping both fists in the air yelling "how 'bout that win, Aggie fans!!"
 
The win gave NM State its first sweep of both rivals since the 2002-03 season and the first Aggie victory in Albuquerque since 2013. Jans also became the only first-year head coach to sweep all four games against rivals UNM and UTEP.
 
With 4:29 left to play and down 58-55 after Johnny McCants' layup, the Aggies held UNM without a field-goal (0-6) and forced three turnovers. The only points the Lobos were able to put up came at the free-throw line, but it was not enough as NM State held on for the win.
 
The Aggies (7-2) had a tough start to the game, getting dinged with three offensive fouls the first 2:18 minutes of play. Zach Lofton gave the Aggies their first field-goal of the game at the 16:09 mark after getting his own miss for the put-back.
 
New Mexico State began to pick things up out of the media timeout and traded leads with UNM (3-7) until back-to-back baskets, including a cross-court pass from Lofton to Eli Chuha on the press break, gave the Aggies an 11-8 lead with 12 minutes left on the clock.
 
A timely 3-pointer from Keyon Jones followed by an and-1 from Lofton had the Aggies on top 18-16 with 7:56 left to play in the first half.
 
The Aggies got ahead 23-16 out of the media break thanks to a 3-pointer from AJ Harris and a pair of free-throws from Jemerrio Jones. However, the Lobos battled back and went on an 8-0 run of their own to take the 24-23 lead before a lob from Harris to Johnny McCants gave New Mexico State the 25-24 lead again.
 
Short runs continued to rule the game as UNM tallied five-straight for the 29-27 lead before a slashing K. Jones tied it up at 33 with 13 seconds left. A huge block on the other end by Harris allowed the 5-9 guard to find a racing Lofton down the lane for the fast break lay-up on the other end with the clock expiring and the 35-33 lead at halftime.
 
Both teams went back-and-forth to start the second-half, exchanging leads until Aggie head coach Chris Jans called a timeout at the 10:00 mark after Makuach Maluach's dunk made it a 14-4 run in favor of the Lobos and pushed NM State's deficit to 54-45.
 
A 10-4 run by New Mexico State capped off by McCants' layup after that timeout cut the Lobo lead to 58-55 at the final media timeout (3:57). Two-straight buckets from Lofton gave the Aggies the 59-58 lead before Harris went coast-to-coast to make it 61-58. A critical layup from Harris and free-throw from Lofton wound up securing the 65-62 win over UNM.
 
Lofton led all scorers with 22 points and six rebounds while J. Jones and McCants chipped in with eight points and 10 rebounds apiece. Harris added 12 points on the night with four boards and three assists.
 

The new mayor of Las Cru.... i mean NMSU men's basketball coach Chris Jans after a 65-62 win over UNM in Albuquerqu… https://t.co/qPXzzfmfWL

— Derek E. Gonzales (@derekgonzales34) December 10, 2017

UP NEXT
New Mexico State returns home for its final contest in the Pan American Center for the 2017 calendar year next Tuesday, Dec. 12, when it entertains Eastern New Mexico at 7 p.m. (MT). Tuesday's game is also the second chance NM State fans can get their hands on the special edition Aggie snapback hat.

Remember: Tuesday will Hat Giveaway #2 at the Pan Am!
Free to the first 1,000 fans! ??@NMStateMBB vs. Eastern New Mexico • Tuesday, Dec. 12 • 7 PM #AggieUp
?? 575-646-1420 for ?? pic.twitter.com/SkhPhHmSiH

— NM State MBB (@NMStateMBB) December 8, 2017