New Mexico State Aggies' Paint Domination Not Enough Against Liberty Flames
The New Mexico State Aggies fell to the Liberty Flames with a final score of 70-82, leaving both teams with their respective records. The Aggies, despite a valiant effort, could not overcome the Flames' offensive surge in the Conference USA - Semifinal 2 at Von Braun Center in Huntsville.
From the outset, the Aggies faced an uphill battle as they trailed by 11 points after the first quarter. The team's performance was marked by a determined push in the paint where they scored 28 points. Their tenacity on offense was evident as they made 23 out of 59 two-point attempts, translating to a shooting percentage of 39 percent from that range.
The New Mexico State team also showcased their ability to capitalize on turnovers by scoring 15 points off them and adding another 15 through second-chance opportunities. Despite trailing behind in fast-break points with only eight compared to the Flames' thirteen, their effort on rebounds was commendable; they secured a total of thirty-seven rebounds—twelve offensive and nineteen defensive—alongside six additional team rebounds.
Free throws were another area where New Mexico State demonstrated efficiency by making fifteen out of twenty attempts, achieving an impressive free throw percentage of seventy-five percent. However, their three-point shooting lagged slightly behind at thirty-three percent accuracy with three made shots from beyond the arc out of nine attempts.
Defensively, while managing seven steals and two blocks during playtime did provide some resistance against Liberty's offense; it wasn't enough to stifle their opponents who boasted higher field goal percentages across both two-point (forty-eight percent) and three-point (sixty-two percent) ranges.
The fourth quarter saw an aggressive push from New Mexico State as they racked up twenty-six points—their highest-scoring period during this game—but it ultimately proved insufficient against Liberty's consistent scoring across all quarters.
As fans look back at this semifinal matchup between The New Mexico State Aggies and The Liberty Flames, it is clear that while certain aspects such as rebounding and free-throw accuracy were strengths for NMSU; other areas like field goal percentage will likely be focal points for improvement moving forward.
For those eager to follow The Aggies' next steps after this challenging contest can tune into future broadcasts scheduled for standard viewing times within US Mountain Time Zone parameters.