ABIL

NMEXST

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New Mexico St. beats Abilene Christian 66-52, win WAC

AP
Mar 13, 2022

LAS VEGAS (AP) Clayton Henry had 15 points and eight rebounds to help New Mexico State beat Abilene Christian 66-52 on Saturday night in the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Sir'Jabari Rice scored 11 points for New Mexico State (26-6). Teddy Allen and Mario McKinney Jr. added 10 points apiece.

The Aggies won their 10th WAC title overall, their first since 2019.

Henry hit a 3 and Allen made three free throws after he was fouled on a shot from behind the arc before Rice capped a 9-0 spurt with a 3-pointer that made it 14-10 about 6 minutes into the game, and the Aggies led the rest of the way.

Coryon Mason led Abilene Christian (23-9) with 14 points. Airion Simmons and Mahki Morris scored 12 apiece.

The Wildcats had their five-game win streak snapped. Abilene Christian, the No. 6 seed, beat seventh-seeded Utah Valley in the first round before knocking off No. 3 seed Stephen F. Austin in the quarterfinals and second-seeded Seattle in the semis.

Rice hit a 3-pointer and added two free throws to spark a 10-2 run that made it 44-30 with 13:56 to play. Mason made two foul shots to trim the deficit to nine, but Johnny McCants hit a jumper to make it 49-38 with 9:41 left and the Aggies led by double figures the rest of the way.

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1st Half
ABIL
Wildcats
21
NMST
Aggies
30

Time		Play	Score
20:00		Airion Simmons vs. Johnny McCants (Jabari Rice gains possession)
19:48		Jabari Rice misses three point jump shot
19:46		Airion Simmons defensive rebound
19:32	+2	Makhi Morris makes two point floating jump shot (Tobias Cameron assists)	2-0
19:09	+3	Teddy Allen makes three point jump shot	2-3
19:02	+3	Makhi Morris makes three point jump shot (Airion Simmons assists)	5-3
18:41		Makhi Morris shooting foul (Johnny McCants draws the foul)
18:41		Johnny McCants misses regular free throw 1 of 2
18:41		Johnny McCants misses regular free throw 2 of 2
18:41		Clayton Henry offensive rebound
18:25		Yuat Alok turnover (bad pass) (Coryon Mason steals)
18:12	+3	Coryon Mason makes three point jump shot	8-3
17:52		Jabari Rice misses three point jump shot
17:50		Makhi Morris defensive rebound
17:38		Airion Simmons misses three point jump shot
17:36		Clayton Henry defensive rebound
17:13		Makhi Morris shooting foul
17:13	+1	Yuat Alok makes regular free throw 1 of 2	8-4
17:13	+1	Yuat Alok makes regular free throw 2 of 2	8-5
16:59		Johnny McCants blocks Tobias Cameron's two point jump shot
16:57		Johnny McCants defensive rebound
16:49		Teddy Allen misses two point floating jump shot
16:47		Teddy Allen offensive rebound
16:41		Teddy Allen misses two point layup
16:39		Will McNair Jr. offensive rebound
16:28		Jabari Rice misses two point jump shot
16:26		Tobias Cameron defensive rebound
16:10		Cameron Steele misses three point jump shot
16:08		Reggie Miller offensive rebound
16:05		Johnny McCants shooting foul (Coryon Mason draws the foul)
16:05	+1	Coryon Mason makes regular free throw 1 of 2	9-5
16:05	+1	Coryon Mason makes regular free throw 2 of 2	10-5
15:56		Jabari Rice offensive foul (Tobias Cameron draws the foul)
15:56		Jabari Rice turnover
15:50		TV timeout
15:26		Tobias Cameron misses three point jump shot
15:24		Wildcats offensive rebound
15:20		Damien Daniels misses two point jump shot
15:18		Aggies defensive rebound
14:50	+3	Clayton Henry makes three point jump shot (Teddy Allen assists)	10-8
14:40		Damien Daniels misses three point jump shot
14:38		Will McNair Jr. defensive rebound
14:18		Tobias Cameron shooting foul (Teddy Allen draws the foul)
14:18	+1	Teddy Allen makes regular free throw 1 of 3	10-9
14:18	+1	Teddy Allen makes regular free throw 2 of 3	10-10
14:18	+1	Teddy Allen makes regular free throw 3 of 3	10-11
14:07		Coryon Mason misses two point floating jump shot
14:05		Mike Peake defensive rebound
13:52	+3	Jabari Rice makes three point jump shot (Clayton Henry assists)	10-14
13:35	+2	Cameron Steele makes two point hook shot	12-14
13:05	+3	Jabari Rice makes three point jump shot (Will McNair Jr. assists)	12-17
12:42		Reggie Miller misses two point layup
12:40		Mike Peake defensive rebound
12:40	+2	Clayton Henry makes two point jump shot (Teddy Allen assists)	12-19
12:39		Wildcats 30 second timeout
12:18		Reggie Miller misses two point jump shot
12:16		Teddy Allen defensive rebound
12:03	+2	Teddy Allen makes two point jump shot	12-21
11:52		Cameron Steele misses three point jump shot
11:50		Will McNair Jr. defensive rebound
11:41		Coryon Mason personal foul (Teddy Allen draws the foul)
11:41		TV timeout
11:22		Teddy Allen misses three point jump shot
11:20		Airion Simmons defensive rebound
10:54	+2	Makhi Morris makes two point jump shot	14-21
10:34		Jabari Rice misses three point jump shot
10:32		Mike Peake offensive rebound
10:23		Airion Simmons shooting foul (Mario McKinney Jr. draws the foul)
10:23	+1	Mario McKinney Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2	14-22
10:23		Mario McKinney Jr. misses regular free throw 2 of 2
10:23		Coryon Mason defensive rebound
9:55	+3	Airion Simmons makes three point jump shot	17-22
9:29		Reggie Miller blocks Yuat Alok's two point layup
9:27		Reggie Miller defensive rebound
9:27		Yuat Alok personal foul (Reggie Miller draws the foul)
9:11		Airion Simmons misses two point jump shot
9:09		Wildcats offensive rebound
9:04		Airion Simmons misses three point jump shot
9:02		Mario McKinney Jr. defensive rebound
8:46		Mario McKinney Jr. misses two point jump shot
8:44		Immanuel Allen defensive rebound
8:31		Coryon Mason misses three point jump shot
8:29		Teddy Allen defensive rebound
8:23		Jabari Rice turnover (lost ball) (Coryon Mason steals)
8:06		Immanuel Allen misses three point jump shot
8:04		Jabari Rice defensive rebound
7:59		Teddy Allen turnover (lost ball) (Immanuel Allen steals)
7:34		Johnny McCants blocks Airion Simmons's two point layup
7:32		Immanuel Allen offensive rebound
7:24		Will McNair Jr. blocks Immanuel Allen's two point layup
7:22		Teddy Allen defensive rebound
7:22		Teddy Allen offensive foul (Tobias Cameron draws the foul)
7:22		Teddy Allen turnover
7:22		TV timeout
6:59		Cameron Steele turnover (lost ball) (Mario McKinney Jr. steals)
6:35		Johnny McCants misses three point jump shot
6:33		Damien Daniels defensive rebound
6:11		Damien Daniels turnover (out of bounds)
5:53		Clayton Henry misses three point jump shot
5:51		Tobias Cameron defensive rebound
5:43		Airion Simmons offensive foul (Johnny McCants draws the foul)
5:43		Airion Simmons turnover
5:27		Will McNair Jr. turnover (lost ball) (Damien Daniels steals)
5:12		Clayton Henry blocks Makhi Morris's two point layup
5:10		Johnny McCants defensive rebound
4:55		Damien Daniels personal foul (Clayton Henry draws the foul)
4:55	+1	Teddy Allen makes regular free throw 1 of 2	17-23
4:55	+1	Teddy Allen makes regular free throw 2 of 2	17-24
4:41		Coryon Mason misses two point jump shot
4:39		Tobias Cameron offensive rebound
4:28		Reggie Miller misses three point jump shot
4:26		Wildcats offensive rebound
4:19		Will McNair Jr. personal foul (Cameron Steele draws the foul)
4:07	+2	Tobias Cameron makes two point jump shot	19-24
3:46		Teddy Allen misses three point jump shot
3:44		Cameron Steele defensive rebound
3:29		Tobias Cameron misses three point jump shot
3:27		Clayton Henry defensive rebound
3:10	+3	Clayton Henry makes three point jump shot (Will McNair Jr. assists)	19-27
2:44		Damien Daniels misses two point jump shot
2:42		Will McNair Jr. defensive rebound
2:34		Teddy Allen offensive foul (Damien Daniels draws the foul)
2:34		Teddy Allen turnover
2:34		TV timeout
2:12		Cameron Steele turnover (lost ball) (Will McNair Jr. steals)
1:51	+3	Will McNair Jr. makes three point jump shot (Johnny McCants assists)	19-30
1:22	+2	Damien Daniels makes two point layup	21-30
0:51		Nate Pryor misses two point jump shot
0:49		Nate Pryor offensive rebound
0:40		Nate Pryor misses two point jump shot
0:38		Will McNair Jr. offensive rebound
0:31		Jabari Rice misses three point jump shot
0:29		Johnny McCants offensive rebound
0:25		Clayton Henry misses three point jump shot
0:23		Wildcats defensive rebound
0:02		Will McNair Jr. blocks Coryon Mason's two point layup
0:01		Wildcats offensive rebound
0:00		End of period

2nd Half
ABIL
Wildcats
31
NMST
Aggies
36

Time		Play	Score
19:46	+2	Airion Simmons makes two point hook shot	23-30
19:28	+2	Johnny McCants makes two point dunk	23-32
19:10		Makhi Morris misses two point jump shot
19:08		Jabari Rice defensive rebound
19:08		Clayton Henry turnover (out of bounds)
18:57		Teddy Allen flagrant 1 (Makhi Morris draws the foul)
18:57	+1	Makhi Morris makes technical free throw 1 of 2	24-32
18:57	+1	Makhi Morris makes technical free throw 2 of 2	25-32
18:51	+2	Makhi Morris makes two point jump shot	27-32
18:17	+2	Mario McKinney Jr. makes two point layup (Yuat Alok assists)	27-34
18:01		Airion Simmons misses three point jump shot
17:59		Coryon Mason offensive rebound
18:00		Johnny McCants shooting foul (Coryon Mason draws the foul)
18:00		Coryon Mason misses regular free throw 1 of 2
18:00	+1	Coryon Mason makes regular free throw 2 of 2	28-34
17:47		Mario McKinney Jr. offensive foul (Reggie Miller draws the foul)
17:47		Mario McKinney Jr. turnover
17:38		Coryon Mason misses two point jump shot
17:36		Mario McKinney Jr. defensive rebound
17:15		Clayton Henry misses three point jump shot
17:13		Aggies offensive rebound
17:13		Reggie Miller personal foul (Yuat Alok draws the foul)
16:55	+3	Jabari Rice makes three point jump shot	28-37
16:44		Airion Simmons turnover (lost ball)
16:29		Jabari Rice misses three point jump shot
16:27		Coryon Mason defensive rebound
16:20		Coryon Mason offensive foul (Mario McKinney Jr. draws the foul)
16:20		Coryon Mason turnover
16:02		Reggie Miller shooting foul (Jabari Rice draws the foul)
16:02	+1	Jabari Rice makes regular free throw 1 of 2	28-38
16:02	+1	Jabari Rice makes regular free throw 2 of 2	28-39
15:33	+2	Damien Daniels makes two point reverse layup	30-39
15:12		Jabari Rice misses two point jump shot
15:10		Mario McKinney Jr. offensive rebound
15:03	+2	Mario McKinney Jr. makes two point layup	30-41
14:53		Makhi Morris misses two point layup
14:51		Clayton Henry defensive rebound
14:41		Jump ball. Johnny McCants vs. Makhi Morris (Aggies gains possession)
14:41		TV timeout
14:37	+2	Will McNair Jr. makes two point hook shot (Mario McKinney Jr. assists)	30-43
14:21		Makhi Morris misses three point jump shot
14:19		Aggies defensive rebound
13:57		Airion Simmons shooting foul (Mario McKinney Jr. draws the foul)
13:57	+1	Mario McKinney Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2	30-44
13:57		Mario McKinney Jr. misses regular free throw 2 of 2
13:57		Tobias Cameron defensive rebound
13:46		Damien Daniels misses two point layup
13:44		Wildcats offensive rebound
13:33		Tobias Cameron offensive foul (Johnny McCants draws the foul)
13:33		Tobias Cameron turnover
13:04		Jabari Rice offensive foul (Damien Daniels draws the foul)
13:04		Jabari Rice turnover
12:51		Makhi Morris misses three point jump shot
12:49		Mike Peake defensive rebound
12:30		Mike Peake misses three point jump shot
12:28		Coryon Mason defensive rebound
12:18	+2	Immanuel Allen makes two point layup	32-44
12:02		Mario McKinney Jr. misses two point jump shot
12:00		Will McNair Jr. offensive rebound
12:00		Damien Daniels personal foul (Will McNair Jr. draws the foul)
12:00		TV timeout
11:53		Virshon Cotton misses three point jump shot
11:51		Clayton Henry offensive rebound
11:49		Reggie Miller personal foul (Mike Peake draws the foul)
11:52	+1	Mike Peake makes regular free throw 1 of 2	32-45
11:49	+1	Mike Peake makes regular free throw 2 of 2	32-46
11:36		Will McNair Jr. personal foul (Airion Simmons draws the foul)
11:31		Jump ball. Reggie Miller vs. Virshon Cotton (Wildcats gains possession)
11:28	+3	Airion Simmons makes three point jump shot (Reggie Miller assists)	35-46
11:07		Virshon Cotton misses two point jump shot
11:05		Will McNair Jr. offensive rebound
11:05		Jump ball. Will McNair Jr. vs. Reggie Miller (Aggies gains possession)
10:52		Teddy Allen misses two point jump shot
10:50		Will McNair Jr. offensive rebound
10:52		Coryon Mason personal foul (Will McNair Jr. draws the foul)
10:52	+1	Will McNair Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2	35-47
10:52		Will McNair Jr. misses regular free throw 2 of 2
10:52		Makhi Morris defensive rebound
10:37		Mike Peake shooting foul (Coryon Mason draws the foul)
10:37		Coryon Mason misses regular free throw 1 of 2
10:37	+1	Coryon Mason makes regular free throw 2 of 2	36-47
10:17		Teddy Allen turnover (bad pass) (Tobias Cameron steals)
10:12		Johnny McCants shooting foul (Coryon Mason draws the foul)
10:12	+1	Coryon Mason makes regular free throw 1 of 2	37-47
10:12	+1	Coryon Mason makes regular free throw 2 of 2	38-47
9:42	+2	Johnny McCants makes two point jump shot	38-49
9:22		Tobias Cameron turnover (traveling)
9:11	+2	Will McNair Jr. makes two point layup (Johnny McCants assists)	38-51
9:01		Johnny McCants blocks Reggie Miller's two point jump shot
8:59		Johnny McCants defensive rebound
8:59		Teddy Allen misses two point jump shot
8:57		Tobias Cameron defensive rebound
8:59		Teddy Allen personal foul (Tobias Cameron draws the foul)
8:59	+1	Tobias Cameron makes regular free throw 1 of 2	39-51
8:59	+1	Tobias Cameron makes regular free throw 2 of 2	40-51
8:26		Tobias Cameron personal foul (Johnny McCants draws the foul)
8:26	+1	Johnny McCants makes regular free throw 1 of 2	40-52
8:26	+1	Johnny McCants makes regular free throw 2 of 2	40-53
8:01		Airion Simmons turnover (lost ball)
7:42		Will McNair Jr. misses two point jump shot
7:41		Wildcats defensive rebound
7:42		TV timeout
7:27		Makhi Morris misses three point jump shot
7:25		Clayton Henry defensive rebound
7:17		Immanuel Allen personal foul (Mario McKinney Jr. draws the foul)
7:17	+1	Mario McKinney Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2	40-54
7:17	+1	Mario McKinney Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2	40-55
7:01		Airion Simmons offensive foul (Johnny McCants draws the foul)
7:01		Airion Simmons turnover
6:36	+2	Clayton Henry makes two point jump shot (Mario McKinney Jr. assists)	40-57
6:14		Immanuel Allen turnover (lost ball) (Jabari Rice steals)
6:08		Clayton Henry misses three point jump shot
6:06		Aggies offensive rebound
5:52		Johnny McCants misses three point jump shot
5:50		Clayton Henry offensive rebound
5:29		Mario McKinney Jr. misses three point jump shot
5:27		Makhi Morris defensive rebound
5:20	+2	Cameron Steele makes two point hook shot (Makhi Morris assists)	42-57
5:20		Wildcats 30 second timeout
5:20		TV timeout
4:50		Jabari Rice misses two point jump shot
4:48		Mario McKinney Jr. offensive rebound
4:38	+2	Mario McKinney Jr. makes two point jump shot	42-59
4:33	+3	Coryon Mason makes three point jump shot (Reggie Miller assists)	45-59
3:56		Clayton Henry misses two point jump shot
3:56		Aggies offensive rebound
3:56		Aggies turnover (shot clock violation)
3:56		TV timeout
3:46		Coryon Mason misses two point jump shot
3:44		Teddy Allen defensive rebound
3:24	+2	Clayton Henry makes two point layup (Johnny McCants assists)	45-61
3:12		Coryon Mason misses two point layup
3:10		Johnny McCants defensive rebound
3:10		Mario McKinney Jr. turnover (out of bounds)
3:02	+3	Airion Simmons makes three point jump shot (Reggie Miller assists)	48-61
2:42	+3	Clayton Henry makes three point jump shot (Teddy Allen assists)	48-64
2:30		Airion Simmons misses three point jump shot
2:28		Johnny McCants defensive rebound
2:21		Mario McKinney Jr. turnover (bad pass)
2:11		Teddy Allen shooting foul (Makhi Morris draws the foul)
2:11	+1	Makhi Morris makes regular free throw 1 of 2	49-64
2:10		Makhi Morris misses regular free throw 2 of 2
2:10		Will McNair Jr. defensive rebound
1:42		Jabari Rice offensive foul (Reggie Miller draws the foul)
1:42		Jabari Rice turnover
1:33		Jabari Rice personal foul (Airion Simmons draws the foul)
1:33		Airion Simmons misses regular free throw 1 of 2
1:33	+1	Airion Simmons makes regular free throw 2 of 2	50-64
1:01		Johnny McCants misses two point layup
0:59		Johnny McCants offensive rebound
0:53	+2	Johnny McCants makes two point tip shot	50-66
0:47	+2	Coryon Mason makes two point jump shot	52-66
0:18		Will McNair Jr. misses three point jump shot
0:16		Damien Daniels defensive rebound
0:10		Ja'Sean Jackson misses three point jump shot
0:08		Clayton Henry defensive rebound
0:00		End of period

Clayton Henry defensive rebound