The Aggies finally spotted it - the Lobos' weakness.

The Aggies finally exploited it - the Lobos' interior defense.

The Aggies finally did in the second half what they probably should have done the whole game.

Toss the basketball inside to the big boys.

Drive to the basket.

Throw the ball up on the glass and then go get it.

"They've got nobody who can guard our big guys," said New Mexico State men's coach Reggie Theus.

The Aggies did some smarter things on defense, too, and pretty much took the Lobos out of their offensive tempo.

And pretty much took The Pit (18,018) out of the game.

The Aggies extended their defense, mixed in some full-court and half-court presses and did not allow the Lobos any scoring runs.

Lobos point guard Jamaal Smith had no second-half assists and only two assists in 34 minutes.

The Lobos had only 10 field goals in the second half. The Lobos often went minutes between buckets.

And as the Lobos' offense died, so did The Pit.

And while all this stuff worked for the Aggies, it didn't work well enough.

The University of New Mexico slipped past the Aggies 79-76 Tuesday night in The Pit in exactly the kind of game the Lobos needed to win.

It was a game in which J.R. Giddens was good but not great - 19 points, six turnovers.

It was a game in which the Lobos star needed some help and got it. Darren Prentice scored 16 points, Tony Danridge had 15, and Smith scored 15, with eight coming from the line.

And Aaron Johnson was his rock-solid self - 10 points, 14 rebounds.

The Lobos led by 13 at the half and won by three.

"We lost the game in the first half," said Theus, who said his Aggies came back in the second half because of "heart and effort."

And probably coaching.

Yeah, Theus looked like a pretty good coach for 20 minutes.

Too bad it wasn't the first 20 minutes.

Too bad his Aggies can't shoot free throws.

NMSU went 12-of-28 from the line, 8-of-20 in the second half with 7-foot Martin Iti going 0-of-8 on the night.

The Lobos weren't much better, going 15-of-27 with Giddens hitting 2-of-7.

The free throw line could be pointed at as the difference in the game especially when you point at two players - Iti and Smith. Smith was clutch. Iti was awful.

If you had to guess what's going to happen in Las Cruces on Dec. 5, the shot chart on the back of the official game stats probably is a huge clue.

The Aggies made four layups in the first half.

The Aggies made 12 layups in the second half.

The Aggies pounded the Lobos for 20 minutes Tuesday night in The Pit. Expect them to pound the Lobos for 40 minutes down in Cruces.

Stevens is the Trib's deputy sports editor. You can reach him at 823-3663 or rstevens@abqtrib.com.