LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) -Senior guard Jonathan Gibson scored a career-high 31 points in New Mexico State's 84-68 victory over North Carolina A&T on Thursday night.
NMSU (2-3) led 40-24 at halftime and 52-32 early in the second half, leading from start to finish. A&T (3-4) closed to 59-54 with 8:45 left on a Tavarus Alston layup, but that was as close as A&T came.
New Mexico State outscored A&T 23-14 in the final eight minutes, shooting 16 of 19 from the free-throw line during the stretch and 28 of 32 for the game.
Robert Johnson led A&T with 15 points.
Jahmar Young scored 23 points for New Mexico State, and Hamidu Rahman had 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds as NMSU outrebounded A&T 45-31.
NMSU scored the first nine points of the game as A&T missed its first 13 attempts from 3-point range. A&T was 9 of 39 from long range.
