Host New Mexico State led-to-wire for a 80-64 men’s basketball win against Western Kentucky on Thursday night in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

The Hilltoppers fall to 9-6 overall and 2-2 in Conference USA play.

WKU got off to a slow start as New Mexico State jumped out to a commanding 13-0 lead by the first media timeout. Armelo Boone finally put the Hilltoppers on the board with a put-back layup, but the Aggies continued to surge ahead, stretching their advantage to 21-2 and forcing a WKU timeout with 14:20 remaining in the first half.

The Hilltoppers responded with a 7-0 run, fueled by five points from Cam Haffner — a 3-pointer followed by a jumper — and two free throws from Blaise Keita, trimming the deficit to 21-9. New Mexico State quickly regained momentum, though, reeling off nine straight points to push the margin back to 30-9.

The Aggies continued to build on their lead, going up 41-13 at the 5:38 mark as WKU managed just two baskets during that stretch — one each from Kade Unseld and Noah Boyde. The Hilltoppers found some rhythm late in the half, closing on a 15-5 run to narrow the gap to 46-28 at the break. Boone and Jack Edelen each scored four points during the spurt, Unseld buried a 3-pointer, and Grant Newell and LJ Hackman combined for three points at the line.

WKU carried the momentum into the second half, opening with a 5-0 burst behind a Haffner corner 3-pointer and two free throws from Terrion Murdix. New Mexico State answered right back with a 4-0 spurt of its own to extend the lead to 50-33 with 18:11 remaining.

The Hilltoppers rallied again, using a 10-2 run to pull within nine at 52-43. Edelen sparked the surge with a 3-pointer, Ryan Myers converted an and-one and Murdix added two more at the free-throw line. Myers then scored inside and Boyde hit two free throws as WKU stayed within 10 at 57-47, but the Aggies countered with a 7-0 run to regain control with just over 10 minutes to play.

New Mexico State pushed its advantage to 70-50 with 9:16 left and maintained a double-digit margin the rest of the way, securing an 80-64 victory.

​Boone was the only Hilltopper to score in double figures, tallying 13 points, going 6-of-14 from the floor while adding a team-high nine rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in 28 minutes.

Edelen turned in a strong performance off the bench, recording a season-high nine points along with three rebounds and a block in 23 minutes.

Unseld provided a spark, scoring eight points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting mark — including 2-of-2 from deep — while adding a steal in 10 minutes.

Haffner matched Unseld with eight points of his own, hitting 3-of-7 from the field and 2-of-5 from beyond the arc while grabbing three rebounds in 15 minutes.

In his first game action since Nov. 27, Murdix contributed six points, four assists and two steals in 16 minutes.

Boyde chipped in five points, five rebounds and a block in 20 minutes.

The Hilltoppers led in points in the paint (30-20), second-chance points (22-16), bench points (34-31), steals (5-4) and blocks (5-3).

WKU concludes the two-game road swing on Saturday at UTEP. Tipoff in El Paso, Texas, is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT. The game will stream live on ESPN+.