National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
New Mexico St. 81, Arizona State 70
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 17, 2016
Where: Wells-Fargo Arena, Tempe, Arizona
Officials: # Kevin Brill, # Frank Harvey, # Gregory Nixon
Attendance: 5426

Braxton Huggins had 24 points and set a career high with six 3-pointers and New Mexico State extended its winning streak to eight with an 81-70 victory over Arizona State on Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Ariz.

Aggies guard Ian Baker had 19 points, and his free throw with 9:47 remaining capped a 13-2 run for a 63-47 lead after Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley received his second technical foul of the second half and was ejected.

Forward Eli Chuha had 13 points and 11 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season, as New Mexico State (10-2) won its first true road game against a Power 5 conference school since the 1994-95 season opener.

Forward Obinna Oleka had 15 points and 11 rebounds and guard Torian Graham had 14 points for Arizona State (6-5), which lost its first home game of the season.

Guard Tra Holder had 13 points for Arizona State, which shot 41.3 percent from the field, including 30.3 in the second half. The Sun Devils were within 10 points only once in the final 11 minutes.

Holder and Shannon Evans II, averaging a combined 33.5 points per game, had 22 points on 6-of-23 shooting from the field. Holder was 2 of 13.

Arizona State played its first game without freshman forward Sam Cunliffe, who left the program earlier in the week. A Seattle native, Cunliffe was the No. 45th-ranked recruit in the nation by scout.com last year.

The Aggies shot 50 percent from the floor and made 11 of 26 3-point attempts. They have not lost since falling to New Mexico on Nov. 18. They won the return match against the Lobos last Saturday.

Oleka made a technical foul shot before the opening tip, shooting because New Mexico State did not present its starting lineup to the official scorer 10 minutes before the game, as stipulated, but the Aggies answered with a 21-8 run.

Huggins had 14 points and four 3-pointers for a 40-38 halftime lead

Arizona State will play host to No. 10 Creighton (11-0) on Tuesday. Arizona State is 0-2 against ranked teams this season, losing to Kentucky and Purdue.
Top Game Performances
 
New Mexico St.   Arizona State
Braxton Huggins 24 Scoring Obinna Oleka 15
Ian Baker 7 Assists Shannon Evans II 7
Eli Chuha 11 Rebounds Obinna Oleka 11
Ian Baker 6 Free Throws Made Tra Holder 8
Jemerrio Jones 2 Steals Obinna Oleka 3
Jemerrio Jones 3 Blocks Kodi Justice 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
New Mexico St. 81 50.0 11-26 14-18 22 34 5 6 16
Arizona State 70 41.3 4-19 14-17 14 33 2 6 11