Rice is nice; Jabari Rice's game winner lifts Aggies over Miners in El Paso in Jans' return to the bench

EL PASO — A game-winning shot can overshine a lot of statistical categories.

In New Mexico State's case Friday night against the Miners in El Paso, it overshined a seven-point collapse in 57 seconds, two technical fouls, a 32-27 rebounding disadvantage and 8-13 shooting from the free-throw line. And in the end, redshirt junior guard Jabari Rice's game-winning step-back 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left to beat UTEP 72-69 and sweep the 2021 Battle of I-10 rivalry series gave the Aggies a reason to celebrate in head coach Chris Jans' return to the bench.

More: Dominique Taylor misses UTEP basketball game due to COVID-19 protocols

He missed the previous two games due to Covid-19 protocol. Assistant coach Dominique Taylor also missed the game in Covid protocol.

How it happened

NMSU had finally re-captured momentum with 4:19 left in the game.

After the Aggies jumped out to a 15-7 lead in the early minutes and maintaining a comfortable lead for most of the first half, UTEP made a late run to close NMSU's lead to 32-30 at the break. Then the Miners used an extended 9-2 run over the first six minutes of the second half to take a 39-34 lead, forcing the Aggies to rekindle the same sense of urgency they started the night with to prevent the Miners from pulling away.

Five minutes later, they tied the game at 49. And on the next possession, redshirt sophomore forward Will McNair gave NMSU its first lead since the first minute of the second half.

More: The Aggie Wagon Podcast S1 E4: Levar Williams

The Aggies gradually built on their lead over the next four minutes, reaching its apex when redshirt junior guard Teddy Allen nailed a driving reverse layup with 4:19 left in the game to stretch NMSU's lead to 63-56. Astonished he didn't draw a foul on his drive, he immediately turned to the officials to beg for a call.

Instead, he got the opposite.

Allen was called for a technical foul seconds after his layup, and redshirt junior guard Souley Boum calmly connected on both of his free throws to cut the lead to five. Junior point guard Jamal Bieniemy hit his only 3-pointer of the night on the Miners' possession following the technical, effectively causing a seven-point swing in 15 seconds. Bieniemy's jumper on UTEP's next trip down the floor tied the game at 63 with 3:22 left, just 57 seconds after the Aggies appeared to begin to pull away behind a seven-point lead.

The teams pushed at each other like enervated pugilists in the final three minutes, neither able to gain a lead bigger than one possession. The teams had three lead changes before freshman forward Jamari Sibley nailed a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left to tie the game at 69.

More: Las Cruces' Saterfield breaking out for UTEP basketball, hometown NMSU Aggies loom

But Jans didn't call timeout. He told his team to keep running the same offensive breakdown they were running and take their time appropriately to ensure UTEP didn't get the ball back with too much time on the clock. He screamed at a few of his players to crash the offensive glass aggressively in case Rice missed the final shot.

They didn't need to rebound at all.

Rice's step-back 3-pointer rolled around the rim, kissed the backboard and dropped in with 1.6 seconds left for his second game-winner in an Aggie uniform. UTEP heaved a half-court shot at the buzzer, but it clanked off the iron.

Friday's stars

Fittingly, Rice's game-winning shot tied him for the night's leading scorer with 19 points, along with UTEP redshirt junior guard Souley Boum. McNair's huge six points in the final three minutes tied him for the game's second-leading scorer with Sibley with 18; redshirt senior Aggie forward Johnny McCants finished with 10, and redshirt junior guard Teddy Allen closed with 15.

Bieniemy also had 11 for the Miners.

Additionally, sophomore point guard Mario McKinney Jr. started his first game for NMSU and replaced senior forward Donnie Tillman in the lineup. Jans said Tillman was dealing with some injuries, and he didn't believe Tillman would be able to suit up for the game. Tillman still played more than four minutes off the bench and went 1-2 from the free-throw line.

Inserting McKinney at the point guard spot allowed Rice to play his natural position at shooting guard.

What was said

Rice on the game-winner: "As soon as I got the ball and we were coming down, I honestly didn't know it was a tie game. I thought that they were down one. And when I didn't see them press and I looked at the score and it was a tied game, and everybody was just like, 'You got it, you got it.' And I was like, 'Oh, alright.' So I came off the ball screen. They switched. It was a matchup that we liked and the shot went in."

Rice on what it meant to hit the shot to seal a season sweep of the Miners: "I'm not gonna lie to you. It feels good that it was against a rival. I wish we would have won the game by a lot more and we didn't have silly technical fouls and just silly plays, but we won, and that's what you want. You want to learn while winning."

UTEP head coach Joe Golding on the defense on the Aggies' final possession: "I thought it was fine. I'll have to watch tape. We'll see. We switched it. We were trying to guard it two or three different ways there the last five minutes, give them different looks and get a stop. ...Give them credit. The kid's a good player. ...He hit a big one. We switched. We had Sibley on him, so we had length on him, and he raised up and hit it."

Jans on coaching in his first game since Nov. 21: “It feels really good, man. I told the team today, ‘I’m grateful.’ I was emotional a little bit walking down there because I was just so grateful to be back doing what I love. I try to tell (the players), 'When you go through what I just went through and you've got to watch from afar, soak it up. Get lost in the love for why you're here, what you're doing, and that was kind of our mantra all game long. Just get lost in the joys of competition and leave it on the floor. But it felt really good to be back."

What's next

NMSU has a quick turnaround and plays New Mexico in Albuquerque Monday. UTEP heads to Lawrence, Kansas Tuesday for a game with the Jayhawks.

Stephen Wagner is a sports reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can found on Twitter at @stephenwag22 and reached at SWagner@lcsun-news.com.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Jabari Rice's game winner lifts Aggies over Miners in El Paso