LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The duel in the desert came down to the final seconds with the home Aggies of New Mexico State edging Jax State, 67-65, in front of a packed Pan American Center crowd of more than 11,000.
 
The Gamecocks (11-12, 3-5 CUSA) led for over 27 minutes, but went scoreless the final 2:13 allowing NMSU (11-12, 5-3 CUSA) to steal one in the closing seconds. Despite Jax State's frequent lead, the matchup went back-and-forth most of the night with 10 ties and 11 lead changes.
 
In an 18-18 tie midway through the first, senior Juwan Perdue knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to push the Gamecocks out to their largest lead up to that point. Perdue finished with 12 points and matched his career-high with 12 rebounds as well in his second double-double of the season. In an almost unbelievable stat, all three of Perdue's career 12-rebound games have come in the state of New Mexico after doing so twice last season versus Northern Colorado and North Dakota State in Albuquerque.
 
Perdue was joined in double figures by Quincy Clark (16 points), KyKy Tandy (13) and Mason Nicholson (10). Nicholson had a monster night with a career-high 10 rebounds of his own, marking Jax State's first game with two double-double performers since Jan. 7, 2021 – a span of 97 games. That night also featured Perdue, a freshman, and Brandon Huffman.
 
With Perdue's nine first-half points, Jax State took a 33-28 lead into the locker room, aided by a late steal and fastbreak slam by Ivan Reynolds off a feed from Tyre Patterson to beat the halftime horn.
 
In the second, Jax State grabbed its largest lead of the night at 41-30 just two minutes into the frame, but the Aggies responded with a 16-5 run over the next seven minutes to even things up. In the final 11:30 of the game, the largest lead either side held was three points.
 
The Aggies grabbed a 56-54 lead with 5:57 remaining, but a bracket supporting the shot clock on the backboard came loose during the dunk causing referees to bring a halt to the action. After a 10 minutes delay for repairs, Jax State went right down the court and tied the game once again with a slam from Nicholson.
 
With just over two minutes to play, Tandy had a putback layup that pushed Jax State out to a 65-62 margin, but that would be that last of the Gamecock scoring. The Aggies tied the game with an old fashion three-point play and took the final lead on a pair of free throws with 12 seconds on the clock. A driving attempt by Clark as time ran out bounced off the rim without a chance at a clean rebound.
 
The Gamecocks return home to host Sam Houston on Thursday, Feb. 8. The Bearkats sit second in the Conference USA standings at 6-2, while Jax State is in a four-way tie at 3-5.
 
 
33-28 half
41-30 largest
49-48 NMSY