LAS CRUCES, N.M.-The New Mexico State men’s basketball team was selected to host Long Beach State, Feb. 23 at 7:00 p.m., in the O’Reilly ESNPU BracketBuster. The two-day tournament features 100 teams from 16 conferences.
Head coach Marvin Menzies said he was happy with the selection, which is close to home for the Hamilton, Calif., native, but was discouraged the Aggies were not chosen for one of the 14 nationally televised games.
“I’m excited,” he said. “I think it’s a great travel game for us next year. It allows us to get to Southern California, which is obviously one of my focal points in recruiting.
“I’m a little disappointed we didn’t get the chance to get on TV but I don’t know if we earned that with our wins this year.”
Long Beach State is a member of the Big West and is currently 4-16 overall and 1-7 in league play. Junior guard Donovan Morris, a transfer from Fresno State, leads the 49ers with 19.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
“I don’t know a lot about their team yet,” Menzies said. “I know they’re rebuilding and they are in a rebuilding phase in the program. I know it’s a team with a lot of potential so I’m optimistic we’ll get two competitive games out of it and get an opportunity to get some good travel.”
The match-up renews a series that was once a conference showdown when the Aggies were also members of the Big West. NMSU has a slight, 20-17, advantage in the all-time series, which begin in the 1981-82 season. The Aggies won the last meeting, 89-84 in overtime, March 10, 2000, to advance to the title game of the Big West Tournament.
In the BracketBuster game last season, the Aggies defeated Ohio, 77-72, Feb. 17 in Las Cruces. Next season, the Aggies will make the return trip to Long Beach, Calif.
Courtesy: Rebecca Craig
