Zawdie Jackson had come alive.
New Mexico State’s senior guard struggled in the first half against Southern Utah (8-4) with zero points on three shots. But in the second half, he was leading the way with 11 points.
And with the game on the line, he was trusted with the basketball.
The Aggies needed to seal a win up 68-66 with under 30 seconds left. Jackson wouldn’t let them down. He dribbled at the top of the key, drove right to the basket and made a layup through contact to put NM State (5-6) up 70-66. The Aggies would complete a 72-69 win at home on Monday evening.
“He’s a tough kid,” said NM State coach Jason Hooten. “He’s really bought in right now, and I’m hoping that a lot of these guys are going to follow his lead… I think he’s disappointed when he doesn’t play well like in the first half, and then he came out in the second half and did some good things. What a huge layup he got going to the basket.”
Jackson played a large role in NM State’s second-half surge. The Aggies trailed 33-32 at halftime but stormed to a 53-39 lead with 13:53 left after a 21-6 scoring run. He recorded five of NM State’s first eight second-half points and drained five of his eight second-half shots.
Jackson wasn’t made available to speak after the game, but his teammates praised him.
“He’s one of our leaders,” said graduate student forward Peter Filipovity, who ended with 18 points. “We need him to step up like he did in the second half and make the plays.
Cook said he pushed Jackson down the stretch to try and motivate him, and it seemed to work.
“We had a few conversations,” Cook said. “Me and him, being the seniors, we got to lead more. I told him he has to step up.”
The Aggies are back in the win column after losing 91-67 to Texas last week, and stay home to face Northern New Mexico (3-13) at 7 p.m. Thursday. After that, they have nine days before facing NAIA University of the Southwest (7-4) on Dec. 28.
Those will be NM State’s last non-conference games before entering Conference USA play, and Hooten hopes the Aggies get their “pop” back before then. His players agree.
“Both of them, (we) just need to play tough,” said senior guard Christian Cook. “(We) can’t underestimate our opponents, and we just have to play our basketball and execute.”
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Cook cooks
NM State will lean on Cook throughout the season, and Monday was no different.
The senior guard tallied a team-high 19 points. He was efficient shooting the ball, draining eight of his 13 field goal attempts.
Cook helped the Aggies seal their win, draining a jump shot with 2:57 left to give the Aggies a 66-64 lead. NM State wouldn’t trail again. Cook feels he could’ve played better, but Hooten commended him for wanting to lead.
“I don’t want to say he carries this team, but he wants to be the leader of this team as far as being the shot-maker and the shot-taker,” Hooten said. “I know they’re getting a lot of good compliments from other coaches that were playing.”
Cook is the Aggies’ leading scorer so far this season with 14.7 points per game, a mark that ranks 10th amongst CUSA players. Senior guard Dionte Bostick was another standout against SUU with a team-high plus/minus of 17.
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Aggies hope to prevent second-half rallies
NM State showed resiliency in staying composed after SUU’s rally, but they’d rather prevent them from happening in the first place.
It happened when the Aggies faced New Mexico on Dec. 7. In that game, NM State led as much as 15 points in the second half before the Lobos came back to force overtime. The Thunderbirds pulled off their rally thanks to a 14-2 run to trail only 56-55 with 8:22 to play, and the game would remain close until the finish.
NM State didn’t need an extra period like it did in Albuquerque, but it still breathed a sigh of relief. Hooten believes it comes down to bench play, believing role players need to step up and hold a big lead while starters get rest.
“When you go to the bench, you can’t have a letdown,” Hooten said. “We just have to have some other guys that step in, and I thought tonight, we shot ourselves in the foot.”
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: NM State basketball’s Jackson awakens in 2nd, Aggies top Southern Utah
