FT. COLLINS, Colo. – Behind a career-high game from C.J. Bobbitt, the New Mexico State men's basketball team cruised to an 88-68 victory over Colorado State Sunday afternoon at Moby Arena.
 
With the win, NM State is now 3-0 against Mountain West teams for the second-straight year and heads into Western Athletic Conference play with an 11-3 overall record. It was also NM State's first win at Moby Arena in five tries moving its record against CSU to 3-5 and 1-4 when playing in Ft. Collins.
 
Another slow start for the Aggies had them trailing Colorado State 16-11 at the 12-minute media break. However, that sluggish start turned into offensive production in the latter part of the half thanks to C.J. Bobbitt – who finished the first-half with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
 
With the Aggies down 20-13, a 12-0 run by the Aggies capped off by a transition 3-ball from Bobbitt put NM State on top 25-20 and forced a timeout from Colorado State (5-8). Another 15-2 spurt from the Aggie shooters pushed the lead to 36-22 before heading into the locker room with a 39-25 lead on back-to-back baskets from Terrell Brown.
 
Colorado State jumped out to an 8-2 run against the Aggies in the first 1:49 of the second-half and forced a timeout after cutting NM State's lead to 41-33.
 
The Aggies and Rams went back-and-forth from that point on with Colorado State hanging around each time New Mexico State would regain a double-digit lead.

WATCH | @FAMOUS_AMOS12 finds @ivanaurre15 for the wide open bucket. He's got 10 and the 3rd Aggie in double-figures now!#AggieUp pic.twitter.com/dxggd4HAaC

— NM State MBB (@NMStateMBB) December 30, 2018

 
NM State extended its lead after the under-eight media break to 82-60 after back-to-back buckets from Ivan Aurrecoechea, including an and-1, followed by a 3-pointer from Mohamed Thiam. From there it was on cruise control for the Aggies as they wrapped up the 2018 calendar year with an 88-68 victory over the Rams of Colorado State.
 
Bobbitt finished with a career-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, four of which came from 3-point land, and six rebounds. Joining the Denver transfer on the double-digit scoring list was Terrell Brown, who had 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting including a 4-of-6 day from deep. Aurrecoechea concluded the list for NM State with his second double-double of the season, posting 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting with 10 boards.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
The Aggies dominated the paint, outscoring the Rams 42-24…NM State also turned 13 offensive boards into a 20-7 edge in second-chance points…the .515 shooting clip (35-of-68) for NM State is the third time the Aggies have shot 50-percent or better from the floor this season…the 18 assists today is the 11th time the Aggies have registered 10-plus dimes on the year and fifth time since they've dished out 15-plus assists.
 
UP NEXT
New Mexico State will ring in the new year with the start of conference play when it heads to Southern California for a Jan. 3 battle against Western Athletic Conference newcomer California Baptist in an 8 p.m. (MT) game on the WAC Digital Network.