TEMPE, ARIZ. – Looking to rebound from a tough loss to Pepperdine in the opening round of the Arizona Tip-Off, NM State (3-4, 0-0) faced Bowling Green (3-5, 0-0) in Saturday's third-place game. Despite holding a five-point lead with just under four minutes to play, the Aggies fell in a heartbreaker, 61-60, at Mullett Arena.
Bowling Green opened the game with a quick 5-0 run, sparked by a three-pointer from Marcus Johnson and a smooth layup by Derrick Butler. The Aggies got on the board when Peter Filipovity knocked down a pair of free throws after drawing contact, cutting the early deficit to 5-2.