LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KTSM) — New Mexico State men's basketball was on the losing side of a closely contested Conference USA game against Jacksonville State at the Pan American Center. When the final buzzer went off, it was Jax State that played its way to a 65-59 win over NMSU. "I feel like we played really hard and put a lot of effort into this game. And you know, when you come out short, it hurts. Especially tonight." NMSU forward Peter Filipovity said postgame. "We're a team that's very capable of beating anybody, but I also think in a league like this, we're a team that can also get beat by anybody." NMSU men's basketball head coach Jason Hooten said postgame. The game had nine ties and nine lead changes. Four of the lead changes happened in the second half. After Jax State tied the game at 50 with 6:26 to go, Jax State shot 6-of-8 from the floor. During that stretch, Jax State's Jaron Pierre Jr.—Conference USA's leading scorer—shot 4-of-6 from the field and made the only three-pointer he attempted. That three-pointer by Pierre Jr. put Jax State up 63-56 with 1:32 left in the game. Pierre Jr. scored 11 points in the last 6:26 of the game. As for New Mexico State, the Aggies shot 4-of-15 from the floor and 1-of-10 from three in the last 6:09 of the contest. The Aggies had several chances to tie the game or take the lead in the last minutes of the game, but couldn't get a shot to fall. "Bottom line is, look, we just can't throw it in the ocean right now," Hooten said. "We had a lot of really good looks tonight. you know, I wish just a couple of them went in, and if they would have, it would have been a totally different game." NMSU shot 34% from the floor on 22-of-64 shooting. Jax State shot 39% from the floor on 25-of-64 shooting. Pierre Jr. was the game's leading scorer as he recorded 20 points on 7-of-19 shooting from the floor, 2-of-5 from three, and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Jax State's Mason Nicholson had a double-double as he recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds. New Mexico State had three players reach double figures in scoring in Saturday's game. Robert Carpenter led the way with 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the field and 4-of-11 shooting from three. Peter Filipovity scored 13 points and had the most rebounds in the game with 17. Christian Cook also recorded 13 points. Cook shot 4-of-13 from the floor. The intense battle of the boards was won by NMSU, but not by a lot. NMSU outrebounded Jax State, 39-38, but Jax State's size down low still gave the Aggies problems on Saturday. With the loss, New Mexico State has dropped three straight CUSA games, two of them at home this week, after a 4-0 start to league play. NMSU sits with an 11-9 overall record and 4-3 record in CUSA play. Up next, NMSU will hit the road and take on Middle Tennessee (14-6, 5-2 CUSA) and Western Kentucky (12-8, 3-4 CUSA).