Western Kentucky University center Chris Marcus (left) blocks a shot by New Mexico States Mikko Noopila in the second half Tuesday at Diddle Arena. Photo by Clinton Lewis

Even though the final score didnt show it, Western Kentucky University dominated visiting New Mexico State in almost every way. The Aggies trailed by as much as 25, but made a late run scoring 16 points in the last three minutes to make the final score a more respectable 72-61 Tuesday. I was totally disappointed with the last three minutes, Western basketball coach Dennis Felton said. We had a pretty flawless game going and then we let them score all those points in the last three minutes and let them get their shooting percentage up that wasnt something I was real happy with. New Mexico State (5-12, 1-4 in the Sun Belt Conference) made 4-of-5 3-pointers during the last stretch and finished with a shooting percentage of 45.3 percent. Western (12-5, 5-1 in the SBC) proved why it is the top rebounding team in the Sun Belt by outrebounding New Mexico State, the No. 2 rebounding team, 42-25.We were hoping to do a little better, but Western Kentucky is pretty physical and they fight those boards hard, Aggies coach Lou Henson said. I think they were just a little too rugged for us. We just couldnt hang in there. Daveeno Hines, who came into the game averaging over nine rebounds a game for NMSU, managed only six rebounds and six points. Center Chris Marcus once again led the Hilltoppers with 23 points and 11 rebounds for his sixth straight double-double. Westerns big man appears to have put his early season foul problems behind him and has been putting up stellar numbers as a result. Ive just had to learn to move my feet and what shots to go for and what shots not to go for, Marcus said. Henson said Marcus was undoubtedly the biggest reason for Westerns success in the Sun Belt. When you have a player like that, he elevates everybody else, he said. Theres no way one player can stop him and thatll open it up for everybody else. One player that Marcus opened things up for was Nashon McPherson. The senior guard scored a season-high 14 points while dishing out three assists and getting a pair of steals. I think hes finally settled down and started playing the way hes most effective, and thats smooth, Felton said. Hes just letting teamwork get him the shots where hes really effective. Junior guard Eric Channing hit 4-of-5 3-pointers to lead New Mexico State with 20 points. Three of his treys came in final three minutes of the game. The Hilltoppers opened the game with a 14-2 run behind eight points from junior Derek Robinson, but the Aggies whittled the lead down to four with 5:17 left. Western then scored 12 unanswered points and took a 37-21 lead at the break. In the first half, we really dug deep and focused all our energy into our defense, McPherson said. I feel like thats what allowed us to get that big cushion. Western continued to dominate in the second half, but did so sloppily and turned the ball over 14 times against the Aggies zone defense. In the second half, I was really upset about our carelessness with the ball, Felton said. Its just ridiculous to turn the ball over 14 times against the kind of defense they were playing. The Hilltoppers lead reached its highest point when Filip Videnov hit back-to-back 3-pointers and followed with a layup at the 3:46 mark to make it 68-43.Westerns 12 wins are one more than the team recorded all last season, but McPherson said the Hilltoppers arent playing their best ball yet. It wasnt our best game. We havent seen our best game yet. We dont even know how good we can be yet, the senior captain said. We have to bring it up to another level. We have to want it more and more. Western returns to action Thursday in Diddle Arena against Louisiana Tech.