Elliott scores 18 off the bench, New Mexico State defeats Sam Houston 87-78

By Canadian Press on December 21, 2025.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Elijah Elliott led New Mexico State over Sam Houston on Sunday with 18 points off of the bench in an 87-78 win in a Conference USA opener.

Elliott shot 8 for 13, including 2 for 4 from beyond the arc for the Aggies (7-3). Jayland Randall scored 16 points, going 6 of 10 (3 for 5 from 3-point range). Anthony Wrzeszcz had 11 points and went 3 of 10 from the field (3 for 8 from 3-point range).

The Bearkats (7-4) were led by Justin Begg, who recorded 20 points. Po’Boigh King added 15 points for Sam Houston. Kashie Natt finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

New Mexico State took the lead for good with 18:29 to go in the first half. The score was 48-28 at halftime, with Randall racking up 12 points. New Mexico State used an 8-0 run in the second half to build an 18-point lead at 62-44 with 12:50 left in the half before finishing off the win.

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

The Associated Press