ALBUQUERQUE — Technical fouls. Trash talking and stare downs.

The University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University renewed its 106-year rivalry in the usual way Tuesday night in The Pit.

But in the end, it came down to simple offensive execution.

New Mexico State did it. The Lobos didn't.

That's why the Aggies celebrated on Bob King Court, through the tunnels of The Pit and onto their bus after the 62-53 victory.

New Mexico State (2-0) plays its first home game this season against another rival, UTEP, on Saturday. The Lobos (1-1) hit the road for the first time to face Arizona State at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

"It was a really poor performance by us, especially in the second half," said Steve Alford, UNM head coach. "I think you have to give state a lot of credit to [NMSU]. I thought they were very physical, big and very athletic and they did a lot of good things of taking us out of our offense."

The win is the first for NMSU in The Pit since 2002 and breaks a seven-game winning streak by the Lobos in the series.

The Aggies (2-0) had the tough task of defending two preseason All-Mountain West Conference team players in forward Drew Gordon and guard Kendall Williams.

The two Lobos were a combined 0-for-13 from the field, finishing with six combined points.

"We had a lot of players who didn't perform well," Alford said. "That's something that we have to continue to work on."

Something else could the team's overall offense. For the game, the Lobos (1-1) shot 28 percent from the field (14 of 50).

In the second half, UNM attempted 21 shots and made four. Only one was inside the 3-point arc. Their last field goal was a trey by senior guard Philip McDonald with 7 minutes, 6 seconds left in the game, cutting NMSU's lead to 50-48.

In the remaining time, UNM missed seven shots, committed two turnovers and hit 5 of 8 free throws.

"It was, at least in our tenure, the worst shooting night that we have had to endure," Alford said. The loss prevented Alford from claiming his 100th win as the Lobos head coach.

"I appreciate good defense and [NMSU] really guarded for 40 minutes. They are going to be a difficult team to beat if they are going to play this way consistently."

Tony Snell was the only offensive bright spot for the Lobos.

The sophomore guard hit three crowd-roaring 3-pointers to finish with 18 points. But it was easy to see that the Aggies defensive aggression shut down any offensive synergy by UNM.

"They are a great team," Snell said. "A really good physical team too. I thought we did okay defensively, but our offense didn't play well. We are all angry right now. I think the only way we can put this game away and concentrate on Arizona State is to take out our anger on them."

The Aggies were led in scoring by forward Wendell McKines with 14, guard Bandja Sy with 12 and post Hamidu Rahman with 10.

The Lobos held a 31-26 halftime lead through tough defense and the fact that NMSU couldn't hit their free throws.

The Aggies were 10 of 21 from the charity stripe in the first half.

The physical nature of the game started right at the jump. Both squads heard the whistle blown several times and paid the penalty for their actions.

Within the first 7 minutes, Gordon was on the bench with two fouls, while Rahman and forward Tyrone Watson took their seats as well.

The Aggies took advantage of Gordon's absence in the paint with layups and short jumpers created by precise passes into the post.

The defense also imposed its will forcing missed shots and passes to the perimeter.

That intimidation card backfired on the Aggies at the 7:45 mark.

Leading 17-12, NMSU post Tshilidzi Nephawe picked up his first foul by leveling reservce forward Cameron Bairstow on a block attempt.

He then was whistled for a technical after trashing talking the UNM forward while he was still on the floor.

That fired up the Lobos, especially guard Demetrius Walker who scored nine points during a 14-1 run giving the Lobos a 24-18 lead.

On four straight possessions, the Lobos hit three treys and got a nifty 3-point play from Walker.

That attitude carried throughout the opening half.

With 1:44 left until intermission, and UNM leading 31-23, A.J. Hardeman sent a Renaldo Dixon shot attempt into the bleachers.

The UNM forward went a step further and stared down Dixon after the shot.

Despite UNM's efforts to score, the Lobos couldn't handle the physical nature of the Aggies front court. NMSU outscored UNM 26-10 in the paint.

"We have a lot to work on," Alford said. "And we don't have much time to do it, since we play again on Friday."