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What did the Gophers learn from New Mexico State’s opener?

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What did the Gophers learn from New Mexico State’s opener?


The Minnesota Golden Gophers will open the season towards New Mexico State on Thursday night time, however whereas the Aggies have been one of many worst applications in faculty soccer in recent times, they arrive into the opener as a relative unknown.

The excellent news for the Gophers is that the Aggies opened their season towards Nevada on Saturday night time – dropping 23-12 – so was there something that they might be taught heading into the opener?

Gavin Frakes will in all probability be the beginning quarterback

Jerry Kill’s first project at New Mexico State was to discover a beginning quarterback. Diego Pavia obtained the beginning towards Nevada, however turned the ball over 4 occasions (three interceptions, one fumble) within the first half earlier than being changed by Gavin Frakes.

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Frakes entered the sport down 17-2 and regarded extra snug within the offense. He went 9-for-13 for 143 yards and threw a goal-line fade to Kordell David into the again nook of the top zone for his first profession landing.

Kill was non-committal after the sport over who would get the beginning towards Minnesota however Saturday’s efficiency signifies that Frakes needs to be the frontrunner.

The Aggies wish to run the ball

The working recreation was one of many staples of Kill’s offense throughout his time at Minnesota and that philosophy hasn’t modified along with his transfer to New Mexico State.

The Gophers ranked within the high 5 amongst Huge Ten groups in dashing makes an attempt per recreation throughout Kill’s four-plus seasons at Minnesota, and in his lone season because the offensive coordinator at Rutgers in 2017, Kill’s offense ran the ball (36.4 makes an attempt per recreation) greater than they threw it (22.9 makes an attempt per recreation).

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Kill tried to ascertain the run recreation towards the Wolfpack, however the Aggies averaged simply 3.4 yards per carry. The Aggies had been additionally pressured to take to the air as soon as they fell behind, main Kill to lament about his crew’s capacity to run the ball after the sport.

The Aggies’ protection is more durable than you suppose

New Mexico State allowed 23 factors of their opener, however their protection did sufficient to maintain the Aggies within the recreation.

Nevada ran for 179 yards on Saturday night time however wanted 45 makes an attempt to succeed in that quantity – a median of 4 yards per carry. The Wolfpack additionally collected 78 of these yards on their two closing drives of the sport, which means the Aggies largely did their job on the bottom.

This could possibly be a giant consider Thursday’s recreation. The Gophers ranked eighth in dashing makes an attempt final season and though they need to have extra stability beneath offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, Mohamed Ibrahim and Trey Potts could have their fingers full.

The Aggies will flip the ball over

Kill’s crew did some issues proper towards the Wolfpack, however one of many issues they did not do was shield the soccer.

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We already mentioned Pavia’s 4 turnovers within the first half however Frakes additionally tossed an interception, giving the Wolfpack 5 takeaways on the night time.

That quantity is indicative of the rising pains on the roster but it surely additionally allowed Nevada to work on a brief discipline on an evening the place the Aggies held them to 257 yards of complete offense.

“You might be by no means going to win within the recreation of soccer turning the ball over 5 occasions,” Kill advised reporters after the sport. “I advised the youngsters I’ll by no means get on them for enjoying exhausting, however the successful formulation is you may’t flip the ball over 5 occasions.”



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New Mexico

New Mexico hosts Texas Southern after Posey’s 26-point game

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New Mexico hosts Texas Southern after Posey’s 26-point game


Associated Press

Texas Southern Tigers (0-4) at New Mexico Lobos (4-1)

Albuquerque, New Mexico; Sunday, 8 p.m. EST

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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Lobos -23.5; over/under is 155.5

BOTTOM LINE: Texas Southern takes on New Mexico after Duane Posey scored 26 points in Texas Southern’s 97-82 loss to the Samford Bulldogs.

The Lobos are 3-0 on their home court. New Mexico is fourth in the MWC with 40.8 points per game in the paint led by Nelly Junior Joseph averaging 12.0.

Texas Southern finished 16-17 overall with a 6-11 record on the road a season ago. The Tigers allowed opponents to score 71.1 points per game and shot 42.5% from the field last season.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.




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Sophomore star shows he can dunk, leads Rebels to win — PHOTOS

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Sophomore star shows he can dunk, leads Rebels to win — PHOTOS


There’s only one thing UNLV forward Jalen Hill didn’t believe his teammate Dedan Thomas Jr. could accomplish on the basketball floor, and it’s going to cost him a steak dinner.

Thomas found himself ahead of the pack late in the first half and flashed a big smile as he started to measure his dribbles and steps toward the rim.

“I got the ball and thought I saw someone chasing me to block it, so I was like, ‘Yeah, I have to go dunk this,’” Thomas said.

The first slam of his collegiate career highlighted the Rebels’ 72-65 win over New Mexico State on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

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A preseason discussion between Hill and Thomas resulted in the promise of the meal should Thomas throw one down in a game this season. Hill may not be the only one on the hook.

“He never shows that he can dunk at practice,” Hill laughed. “It’s exciting, because for a guy that doesn’t really dunk to get his first one, a lot of people owe him stuff.”

While the above-the-rim moment was a departure from the norm, it was business as usual otherwise for the sophomore point guard, who was once again the catalyst for much of what UNLV (4-1) was able to accomplish in a game in which it struggled from the field for long stretches.

He finished with 22 points, five rebounds and four assists as the Rebels held off the Aggies (3-2) in a physical affair that featured 50 fouls and a combined 33.3 percent shooting effort from the field.

Thomas got to the free-throw line 19 times and made 13 of the attempts.

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“We knew they were a physical team, so I tried to use that aggression against them,” he said. “Just drawing fouls and trying to get to the line as much as possible.”

UNLV led by as many as nine points midway through the second half only to allow the Aggies to hang around. Julian Rishwain hit a pair of 3-pointers to help keep them at bay for a while, but they eventually grabbed a brief lead that proved to be short-lived.

New Mexico State used a late 6-0 run to take a 63-62 lead with 4:08 remaining, but UNLV got the ball inside to Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry for a dunk to recapture the lead for good.

Thomas got to the rim and was fouled in a one-point game with 2:22 remaining and made both free throws. The Aggies wouldn’t score again, as UNLV tightened up defensively down the stretch, forcing New Mexico State to miss its final six shots and eight of their last nine.

UNLV led 37-34 at halftime despite a miserable shooting performance from the field.

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After a three-point play by Thomas in the opening minute, the Rebels missed their next eight shots and 13 of their next 15 as they went more than seven minutes without a basket from the floor.

They were able to stay in the game largely because of their defense and ability to get to the free-throw line. UNLV held the Aggies to 31.3 percent shooting in the first half and got into the bonus with more than 14 minutes remaining, going 20-for-23 from the line before the break.

“It just shows we’re really gutsy,” Hill said. “We didn’t shoot well, but we got to the free-throw line and got rebounds when we needed them.”

Eight New Mexico State players had two fouls in the first 20 minutes.

The Rebels did get hot toward the end of a first half that saw Thomas record 15 points and three assists while UNLV shot just 29.2 percent from the field.

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None were more memorable than the ones scored by Thomas on the breakaway with 3:06 remaining in the first half.

Coach Kevin Kruger had more faith than Hill.

“I didn’t know if he was going to dunk or not, but I do know he can,” Kruger laughed. “I have seen it before.”

After the Thomas dunk brought the entire bench to its feet in celebration, he threw a lob to Cherry on a break that he finished with a highlight-reel jam and a foul. The three-point play completed a 7-0 run that put the Rebels up 37-30.

“A dunk isn’t always worth only two points,” Kruger said. “Sometimes it gets your team going, and I thought it did for us.”

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Cherry finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, and Hill had 16 points and nine boards.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.



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NM State Parks offering free day use on Black Friday

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NM State Parks offering free day use on Black Friday


EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — If you are looking for a day trip or to get outdoors over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend, New Mexico State Parks is offering free day-use access to all 35 state parks on Friday, Nov. 29. It is a great way to explore New Mexico’s “diverse landscape — from scenic […]



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