New Mexico State fires coach in wake of hazing allegations Alabama’s Charles Bediako ‘day to day’ with knee injury WAC deems New Mexico State’s remaining games as forfeits Harmon, Obanor lead Texas Tech to 74-67 win over No. 6 Texas No. 22 Iowa State women snap three-game skid, beat No. 17 Texas Holmes powers No. 2 Indiana’s rout of No. 13 Ohio State

The state of New Mexico fired basketball coach Greg Hayar on Tuesday after allegations of hazing within the team that shut down the program for the rest of the season.

Chancellor Dan Arvizu announced the dismissal of the freshman coach and said that “hazing has no place on our campus and those found guilty will be held accountable for their actions.”

The Chancellor said decisions about the rest of the coaching staff would be made after further investigation.

Arvizu closed the program for the season on Sunday after examining a campus police report in which player Aggie said three teammates ganged up on him and attacked him. The report, which had the players’ names redacted, contained allegations of false imprisonment, harassment, and criminal sexual encounters.

Early in his career, Hayar, 47, worked as an assistant to former Aggis coach Chris Yance, who left after last season to coach Mississippi State. Hayar was in Northwest Florida last season where he helped the Raiders win the national junior title.

He brought along two high-profile juko players, Issa Mohammed and Marchelus Avery, but Aggie had trouble almost from the start of the season.

It began to unravel when several basketball players were involved in a brawl with New Mexico students at an Aggies football game in October.

A month later, the night before the New Mexico State basketball game was to be played in New Mexico in Albuquerque, forward Mike Peak went to the apartment complex of one of the students involved in the fight. Security cameras at the apartment complex show a student pulling a gun, then Peake brandishes his own gun and shoots at the student, fatally wounding him. Peak was taken to the hospital with leg injuries.

Peak was suspended from the team, but has not been charged with a crime while Albuquerque authorities are investigating. The state of New Mexico has hired an independent investigator to investigate the circumstances of the murder.

The hazing allegations came less than three months after the Albuquerque shooting. The police report states that the hazing victim described how teammates took off “his clothes, exposing his buttocks, and started hitting him (on the buttocks).” He also stated that they also touched his scrotum.”

The Aggie were 9-15 when the season was first suspended ahead of a scheduled game last Saturday at the California Baptist.

The Western Athletic Conference counts New Mexico State’s last six games as penalties. The team is expected to move to the bigger, louder US conference next season, a move that seems fitting for a program that has a long tradition of strong basketball teams. New Mexico State has made 26 trips to the NCAA Tournament and made the Sweet 16 five times.

But throughout the history of a program that has long depended on Huko transfers and players looking for a second chance, there have been problems. An academic scandal in the 1990s quickly ended Neil McCarthy’s successful tenure as coach. This led to relative stability during the second of two long stints at Las Cruces under staunch coach Lou Henson.

Most of Henson’s successors, including Marvin Menzies, Reggie Theus and Jans, were successful before leaving to seek bigger opportunities.

There was a similar turnover in the administration. In the last 14 months alone, the vice-rector and president of the university have resigned or been removed from their positions. And chancellor Arivzu is leaving in June after the regents refused to renew his contract. He said the school was investigating allegations of hazing.

“We will work to fully understand what happened here and hold those responsible accountable,” he said. “We will also ensure that support systems are in place to prevent this from happening again.”

TASCALOOSE, Alabama. Alabama center Charles Bediako is out for the top 10 game against Tennessee due to a minor knee injury.

Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oates said Bediaco visits the 10th-place Volunteers “day after day” due to an injury sustained against Auburn.

“He played through it. … He got better every day after the Auburn game, so we’ll see where he goes on game day,” Oates said.

Bediaco started all 25 games for the Tide, which moved up this week to its first-place ranking since the 2002-03 season.

He is averaging 5.6 points and 5.3 rebounds while leading the team with 41 blocks.

LAS CRUZ, New Mexico — The Western Athletic Conference ruled the remaining New Mexico State men’s basketball games as penalties after the program canceled the season amid hazing allegations.

The conference said in a statement Monday night that the penalties will be used for the standings and seeding because the NCAA does not recognize unrecorded games in a team’s overall standings.

“While there is no perfect solution to this unfortunate situation, I believe we are in the right place,” WAC Commissioner Brian Thornton said in a statement. “I applaud our athletic directors for working with our staff to make this decision.”

The state of New Mexico canceled the remainder of the season on Sunday after releasing a police report detailing how three players conspired against and assaulted a teammate in a case that included charges of false imprisonment, harassment and criminal sexual encounters.

On Tuesday, the university’s Regents will hold a private meeting to discuss “limited staffing issues relating to individual employees.” The names of the employees involved have not been released. The meeting was scheduled for Saturday, the day after Chancellor Dan Arvizu placed coach Greg Heyar and his staff on administrative leave, simultaneously suspending the season.

The allegations come less than three months after the suspension of forward Mike Peake, who is under investigation for the November 19 fatal injury of a student at a rival school at the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque.

Peak was not charged in the case, in which state police stopped a command bus on Interstate 25 as he was heading back to Las Cruces shortly after the shooting. Peake and three of his teammates are missing from the bus, taking him to the hospital with a leg injury.

LUBBOK, Texas. De’Vion Harmon scored 25 points and Kevin Obanor added 19 points as Texas Tech defeated their second-ranked rival in three days to turn No. 6 Texas 74-67 on Monday night.

Fardaus Aimak scored 12 points for the Red Raiders, who had a 13-point lead in the second half, before fending off the Longhorns on a stretch.

Texas Tech (14-12, 3-10 Big 12) also finished 12th in Kansas State on Saturday.

“Of course I’m very happy for these guys,” said Red Raiders coach Mark Adams. “It was great team work. This is a good basketball team that we beat. Texas is playing hard. We matched their intensity and played, I think, 40 minutes of great basketball.”

Texas (20-6, 9-4) tied at 64 thanks to a 3-pointer from Dylan Dees, but Tech responded by scoring the next six as Obanor dunked twice and Aimak converted a tip. Harmon added the lead basket with 35.1 seconds left and the Red Raiders held on.

“Give them credit,” interim Texas coach Rodney Terry said. “They were shooting. Our guys have put in a lot of effort. We just didn’t do enough to prepare for victory. In our league, anyone can beat anyone.”

Marcus Carr led the Longhorns with 23 points while Disu scored 11.

“We’re a team that’s been through a lot this season,” Obanor said. “It’s like a boxing match when you get hit, but it speaks to your character when you get up and have a sense of urgency and refuse to give up.”

Texas Tech hit seven in a row at halftime to take a 51-38 lead. Texas used a 12-4 rush to get close to 59-54 and Tyrese Hunter’s 3 cut it to 64-61 before Dees’ tie.

Harmon scored 21 points in the first half and scored his team’s last seven points as the Red Raiders took a 44–35 lead at halftime. Both teams made over 45% of their shots. Technician hit 7 of 12 from three-point range and Texas responded 6 of 11 from three-point range.

After the Longhorns went up to 37–35 on a three-pointer by Carr with 1:40 left in the half, Harmon responded with a short lane jumper, two free throws and a three-pointer when the signal sounded.

The Texas shooting cooled off in the second half as the Longhorns hit 10 of 30 shots overall and 5 of 16 from three-point range. Texas Tech stepped up the defense after the break, forcing the Longhorns to work on every possession.

“They play well here,” Terry said. “Texas Tech has good staff and a coach who does a great job of putting them in their place.”

BIG PICTURE

Texas Tech have won 10 of their last 12 meetings and have a 37-29 lead in Lubbock. … The Red Raiders have beaten three Big 12 opponents at home this season, including Iowa State in overtime.

NEXT

Texas hosts Oklahoma on Saturday.

Texas Institute of Technology visits West Virginia on Saturday.

Ames, Iowa. Ashley Jones had 24 points, Emily Ryan had 12 points and eight assists, while No. 22 Iowa beat No. 17 Texas 66-61 on Monday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

Joens finished the game with three points with 2:37 left to give Iowa State a 61–55 lead, but she missed two free throws at 1:45 and Texas took advantage when Rory Harmon flooded a baseline jumper to make it 61 -57. Iowa State had two chances across the field from an offensive rebound, and Denae Fritz made a 3-pointer from a corner to take a seven-point lead. Joens added two free throws with 14.2 seconds left.

Lexi Donarsky had 11 points and Fritz had 10 points for Iowa…