Joy in Las Cruces as the New Mexico State men’s basketball team knocks 6th ranked Miami from the undefeated charts Saturday night in Hawaii

Now 11-2 and led by senior Zach Lofton, the Aggies next take on Southern California Monday night for the championship of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu

By Arnie Leshin

A not so funny thing happened to 6th-ranked, undefeated University of Miami when New Mexico State crashed the party Saturday night in Hawaii.

And now there are three unbeaten Division I men’s teams after the unranked Aggies stunned the Hurricanes, 63-54 in the semifinals of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu.

In upping its record to 11-2 and reaching Monday night’s championship game against USC, it was a NMSU team that came to play, and with time ticking down, a Miami team that surrendered when Aggie 6-foot-4 senior guard Zach Lofton grabbed a rebound and put the emphasis on the win with an uncontested dunk as the final buzzer sounded.

This was not an accident. The Canes had won 10 in a row and were looking ahead to matching up with the Trojans in the final. They were at full strength, no injuries, no suspensions, but they couldn’t shake New Mexico State and it enabled an ACC team losing to a Western Athletic Conference team.

It was the first time in 10 years that the Las Cruces school had knocked off a nationally ranked team. That came on March 3 of 2007 via an 80-73 success over 13th ranked Nevada. Since than, it had lost its last 18 to a ranked school.

Said Aggies first-year head coach Chris Jans: “We don’t get many opportunities like this to play a highly ranked team on a neutral court, and when you have that opportunity you’ve got to take full advantage of it, and I couldn’t be more proud of this group of guys as I am right now.”

Lofton had a whale of a game, scoring a team-high 15 points with seven in the second half, bringing down nine rebounds, handing out three assists, and converting 6-of-6 free throws. He was 4-for-15 from the floor and set off the unthinkable celebration with his stuff.

The Aggies did not miss a beat from the opening tap. They trailed by seven in the first half, but still hung around until taking the lead, 23-21, for good on a baseline drive and bucket from 6-10 senior Jonathan Wilkins. And every time UM responded, State answered back with a big play of its own. It was a performance that should move it into the national rankings.

Also in double figures for the Aggies were 6-2 junior Sidy N’Dir and 5-9 sophomore A.J. Harris with 10 points each, but it was a total team effort as reserves did their part and the underdogs became more confident with each key play.

It was the first meeting of the schools, and in the quarterfinals, NMSU won by a point over Davidson while USC handily turned back host Hawaii and probably expected to face the Canes for the title.

Not so, said New Mexico State.

Winning their fourth in a row, the Aggies provided the tempo of the contest with their guard play and earned a 39-33 advantage on the backboards. Plus they were buoyed by a staunch defense that mixed up several zones with enough one-on-ones to keep the quick Canes from going on a run.

Miami was only down 54-53 with 1:25 remaining. But in little time, Lofton tossed in a 3 from the corner, 6-5 senior Jemero Jones hit on a short jumper, Harris stole the ball and laid it in, and then, Jemero Jones stole the ball and laid it in, and after the Canes made one-of-two foul shots, Lofton snared the rebound and headed down court as the Miami players just watched. If Lofton was going to just run out the clock, he changed his mind when the frustrated Canes gave him the dunk.

New Mexico State was 24-67 from the floor and 8-for-13 from the foul line. It made 7-of-24 3s. Miami went 18-for-54, converted 16-of-22 freebies, and made only two of 18 3s. The Canes shot a poor 34 percent from the field because of the aggressive defense.

Now there’s three unbeatens remaining, top-ranked Villanova, 3rd ranked Arizona State, and 8th ranked TCU.

NOTE: This is the 35th anniversary of Division II (Hawaii) Chaminade’s shocking upset of top-ranked Virginia and 7-4 All-America Ralph Sampson in Honolulu. Miami head coach Jim Larranaga was a Virginia assistant coach at the time.

“You don’t forget games like that,” said Larranaga, “and it was the most startling upset of all time, but New Mexico State made its own mark by outplaying us and deserving this one.”