WAC Basketball

New Mexico State head basketball coach Greg Heiar feared retaliation in the aftermath of the fatal shooting involving one of his players at the University of New Mexico last month.

In body cam footage from the New Mexico State Police Department obtained by ESPN's Myron Medcalf, Heiar told Officer David Esquibel he was concerned for the "safety" of his family and players.

Heiar spoke with Esquibel hours after New Mexico State's Mike Peake shot and killed University of New Mexico student Brandon Travis on Nov. 19. Police have deemed the shooting to be self-defense.

Heiar said his concern stemmed from his wife and daughter being at the game in the same location where a New Mexico student was shot.

"I'm worried about my wife and daughter just being at the game," he told Esquibel. "A student shot...people say, a New Mexico State basketball player shot a student. That's not going to go over well in front of 15,000 people. This is about the safety of everybody. That's where I'm at."

A game between New Mexico State and New Mexico at The Pit was scheduled to take place Nov. 19, but it was postponed as a result of the shooting, which took place in the early hours of gameday.

According to New Mexico State police (h/t Medcalf), Peake said he was "lured" to the campus by four University of New Mexico students before an altercation led to the shooting.

"Through investigation, agents later learned that Travis had conspired with a 17-year-old female and two of Travis's male friends, all UNM students, to lure the 21-year-old victim to UNM campus and assault him," the police said in a statement.

Peake was also shot in the incident, but he was listed in stable condition. New Mexico State athletic director Mario Moccia announced this week that Peake has been indefinitely suspended from the basketball team and an independent investigator will be hired to review the events surrounding the shooting.

The 17-year-old girl involved has been charged with aggravated battery and conspiracy. Police are offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the apprehension of two other male suspects.

The New Mexico State men's basketball team left the University of New Mexico campus after Albuquerque police requested to interview three members of the roster in connection to the shooting involving Aggies basketball player Mike Peake, according to police.

ESPN's Myron Medcalf reported Friday that investigators wanted to question Marchelus Avery, Issa Muhammad and Anthony Roy and told head coach Greg Heiar of their plans. Police said Heiar initially responded he "had to make sure the athletes didn't need an attorney and told police he would respond to their request soon," per Medcalf.

Instead, the NMSU players allegedly boarded the team bus, which began its journey back to Las Cruces. Police eventually caught up with the bus and began a search. Medcalf detailed the police's version of what happened next:

Inside, police said, they located Peake's tablet, which was in a backpack held by Lorenzo Jenkins, who serves as a special assistant to Heiar. According to the investigation report, Peake's phone was located later in Las Cruces. Braun Cartwright, NMSU's deputy athletic director, had called the officer and told him that an unnamed administrator had the phone.

Officers also said they recovered Peake's gun at the team hotel from assistant coach Dominique Taylor, who was reportedly informed by Avery, Muhammad and Roy where he could find the gun.

Per Jamel Valencia of KFOX14 in El Paso, Texas, surveillance footage showed three people approaching Peake on Nov. 19. New Mexico State was in Albuquerque for a game against New Mexico that had been canceled.

Investigators with NMSU said the people attempted to "lure" Peake onto campus as revenge in connection to a fight at a football game between NMSU and New Mexico. After being physically confronted and attacked, Peake ran and shot New Mexico student Brandon Travis. Travis died at the scene, while Peake was hospitalized with a gunshot wound.

Medcalf reported Avery, Muhammad and Roy were seated inside a yellow Camaro in the parking lot where the shooting occurred. T.J. Wilham of KOAT in Albuquerque reported Peake was shown placing items into the Camaro's trunk.

It's unclear what happened with the tablet, cellphone and gun before they were retrieved by authorities.

No criminal charges have been brought against any members of the New Mexico State men's basketball program.

The school suspended Peake indefinitely pending results of the ongoing investigation.

New Mexico State University suspended Mike Peake from its basketball team as an investigation into a fatal shooting that took place in the early hours of Nov. 19 continues.

“Mike is suspended from our basketball team until the completion of the university’s investigation and the investigation of the proper authorities,” New Mexico State athletic director Mario Moccia told reporters. “When those investigations will be complete, I can’t say.”

Police say Peake shot and killed 19-year-old Brandon Travis on the University of New Mexico campus after Travis and three others allegedly lured Peake to campus to attack him. Peake suffered a leg injury in the shooting and underwent multiple surgeries.

"Through investigation, agents later learned that Travis had conspired with a 17-year-old female and two of Travis's male friends, all UNM students, to lure the 21-year-old victim to UNM campus and assault him," New Mexico State police said in a statement.

Further investigation showed Peake skipped curfew in Albuquerque ahead of the Aggies' game against the Lobos to meet up with the 17-year-old female on the New Mexico campus, where he was met by the girl, Travis and two other male assailants. According to the police report, one man hit Peake with a baseball bat and another shot at Peake while he was running away at which point Peake shot back, striking Travis four times.

The planned attack was revenge for a fight that began weeks prior at a New Mexico vs. New Mexico State football game. Jonathan Smith and the unnamed girl have been charged with crimes related to the attack.

According to police, Peake was seen on video meeting teammates Issa Muhammad, Marcelus Avery and Anthony Roy following the shooting and putting items into the trunk of a car. Head coach Greg Heiar and assistant coach Dominque Taylor are regularly mentioned in the police report as being uncooperative in the subsequent police investigation.

The report says police received resistance from the players and coaching staff for weeks regarding the investigation as they attempted to recover the weapon used to shoot Travis, along with Peak's tablet and cell phone.

“I emphasized to Coach Taylor how important it was to recover the gun and other items that were placed in the trunk,” state police agent David Esquibel wrote. “I asked him to let me know if he finds out any information about the Camaro, the gun or other items and he said he would.”

Police eventually found Taylor in possession of the weapon wrapped in a towel. They have also recovered Peake's tablet and cell phone as the investigation continues.

There has been no word on what potential criminal charges could be pursued.

The game at New Mexico and the scheduled Dec. 3 rematch between the teams in Las Cruces, New Mexico were both canceled.

Four University of New Mexico students allegedly conspired to lure New Mexico State men's basketball player Mike Peake to campus and assault him when a deadly shooting broke out on the New Mexico campus early Saturday morning, police said in a statement.

Peake shot and killed 19-year-old Brandon Travis after the Aggies forward was attacked by the four assailants, per Myron Medcalf of ESPN.

"Through investigation, agents later learned that Travis had conspired with a 17-year-old female and two of Travis's male friends, all UNM students, to lure the 21-year-old victim to UNM campus and assault him," New Mexico State police said in a statement.

Travis allegedly attacked and shot Peake, who responded by shooting back at Travis, killing him at the scene. A statement sent by school officials to the student body said Peake is in stable condition. Police have not offered any updates on Peake's condition.

The incident led to the postponement of Saturday's scheduled game between New Mexico State and New Mexico.

The 17-year-old girl involved in the shooting was arrested and charged with aggravated battery and conspiracy. She has not been identified. The two other male students have also not been identified, and police are offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to their apprehension.

Peake, a junior, averaged 9.0 points and 3.5 rebounds while starting New Mexico State's first two games of the season. He began his college basketball career at Georgia before transferring to Austin Peay and then New Mexico State.

The University of New Mexico men's basketball team announced Saturday's game against New Mexico State has been postponed following a homicide on its Albuquerque campus.

UPDATE on tonight's game... pic.twitter.com/lfXsSlNNVq

— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) November 19, 2022

Elizabeth Tucker and Geoff Grammer of the Albuquerque Journal reported a New Mexico State player "may have been involved" but wasn't the person killed. Police haven't provided further details about how the unnamed player was linked to the killing.

"One individual has succumbed to gunshot injuries and was pronounced deceased on scene," Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Chase Jewell said.

Police received a call around 3 a.m. local time Saturday after two men, ages 19 and 21, both suffered gunshot wounds during an altercation, per KTSM's Melissa Luna.

The 19-year-old man died. An update on the 21-year-old's condition wasn't immediately available after he was transported to the hospital.

New Mexico State Police told Luna the preliminary investigation has led them to believe there is no further threat to the community.

The schools' men's basketball programs have faced off 226 times since their first meeting in 1896 as part of the Rio Grande Rivalry. The Lobos hold a 123-103 all-time advantage.

It wasn't immediately announced whether the game would be rescheduled or canceled.

Seattle University has suspended men's basketball head coach Jim Hayford and placed him on administrative leave pending an internal investigation into allegations from a player who said he repeated the N-word on two occasions, per Jeff Goodman of Stadium.

Hayford allegedly used the word during a scrimmage Thursday with the team preparing for its Nov. 10 season opener at home against Alcorn State.

"Sources said that it wasn’t the first time that Hayford had repeated the word after one of his players said it, and that it also occurred once during the summer," Goodman wrote.

"A Black player used the word during Thursday's scrimmage, and it was then called into question by one of the officials. Hayford then repeated the word in an effort to curtail its use."

"Did you say the N-word?" Hayford allegedly asked the player.

Goodman also reported issues between Hayford and the Seattle Redhawks players separate from the allegations.

"Most of the players don’t like him, so this was almost the final straw," a source told Goodman. "He’s very emotional, flammable. It can be a hostile environment."

Hayford reportedly apologized to his team Friday, but the "majority" of the Redhawks are "refusing" to play for him, per Goodman.

Hayford has been a high school and college coach from 1987 to the present date. The 53-year-old led Eastern Washington from 2011 to 2017 before becoming Seattle's head coach. He also led Sioux Falls (1999-2001) and Whitworth (2001-2011).

Hayford leads an eight-person coaching staff. Chris Victor and Alex Pribble are listed as associate head coaches.

Last year's Redhawks went 12-11 overall (4-5 Western Athletic Conference) under Hayford. They return many of their players from last year's squad, including leading scorer and sophomore guard Darrion Trammell (20.5 PPG) and junior wing Riley Grigsby (17.8 PPG).

Grand Canyon University has quarantined its entire basketball team after six people involved with the program tested positive for COVID-19, per the Arizona Republic. 

"The university has been working diligently over the last few months to ensure that proper protocols and procedures are in place and, as a result, we were able to quickly address the positive COVID-19 cases," GCU Interim Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs said.

This article will be updated to provide more information soon.

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Grand Canyon University has fired men's basketball coach Dan Majerle after seven years at the helm.

"We made the decision to move in a new direction with our men's basketball program," per GCU President Brian Mueller in a release (h/t Richard Obert of the Arizona Republic). "We wish Coach Majerle the best of luck in his future endeavors."

Majerle went 136-89 in seven seasons for the Antelopes and led the team to 20 or more wins from 2015-16 to 2018-19. Grand Canyon made the CIT or CBI in five of his campaigns and reached the Western Athletic Conference title game twice.

GCU fell to a Majerle-era worst 13-17 last season, however, finishing in a tie for fifth in the WAC.

Per Obert, GCU was short-handed this year with senior Oscar Frayer being declared academically ineligible and transfer Jaylen Fisher never becoming eligible after transferring from TCU.

Assistant Marvin Menzies will be the interim head coach for now, but Obert noted that he might be a candidate to assume the role full time.

Majerle played 13 NBA seasons for the Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers from 1988 to 2002, making the All-Star Game three times. He averaged 11.4 points per game with a career-high 17.3 in 1991-92. The 6'6" wing was an integral part of the 1992-93 Suns, who won the Western Conference.

The University of Missouri-Kansas City men's basketball team isn't traveling to Seattle for its conference matchup with the Seattle Redhawks on Saturday, the Western Athletic Conference announced Wednesday.

UMKC cited fears over the coronavirus for its decision, and it's the second school to make such a determination after Chicago State canceled its game against Seattle, originally scheduled for Thursday. 

WAC Commissioner Jeff Hurd issued a statement on the situation:

"While disappointed that the situation has evolved as it has, I fully respect the right of any member institution to determine what it believes to in the best interest of its student-athletes. From a conference standpoint, the necessary adjustments will be made according to NCAA policy in order to bracket the conference tournament scheduled for March 11-14 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas."

The coronavirus has killed 3,200 people worldwide with more than 92,000 confirmed cases.

According to the Seattle Times, health officials in Washington state have diagnosed 28 people with the virus, and the death toll has climbed to 10.

The NCAA announced Tuesday it had set up a panel comprised of "leading medical, public health and epidemiology experts from their respective fields of study and NCAA member schools." The group is tasked with monitoring the spread of COVID-19 to determine any steps required to combat the outbreak.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported MLB sent a memo to its 30 teams saying it doesn't have any plans to cancel spring training or regular-season games. The memo also included recommendations for players and team personnel in response to the virus.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe of ESPN, the NBA issued a similar memo to its teams recommending players use fist-bumps with fans and avoid signing autographs and nothing the league is already discussing how the coronavirus could impact the buildup to the 2020 draft on June 25.

New Mexico State's Zach Lofton is running up the sideline with UT Rio Grande Valley's Xavier McDaniel Jr. in pursuit. As soon as Lofton catches the ball about 30 feet from the bucket, he takes one dribble with his right hand to slow his momentum and then quickly dribbles behind his back as McDaniel—bless his heart—loses his balance and falls straight onto his butt. Lofton calmly takes one more dribble with his left hand toward the three-point line and unleashes that picture-perfect jump shot of his. The ball splashes through the net, a sequence that would go viral if it were someone like Trae Young putting his defender on his rump.

On this night, Lofton pours in 34 points and the Aggies win by 23. They've won 11 games in a row and are on the verge of entering the Associated Press Top 25—they received 66 votes this week, putting them at No. 26. They outscore WAC opponents by 19.9 points per game and are the most dominant team in their respective conference in the country, equipped with an unforgiving defense and one of the best bucket-getters in college basketball.

Lofton is listed at 6'4"—his coach says he's actually 6'5"—and he averages 20.0 points per game. This season, he put up 23 points at the United Center in Chicago in a win against Illinois. He also outdueled Miami's Bruce Brown Jr. and Lonnie Walker IV—both considered future first-round picks—in a New Mexico State upset win over the then-No. 6 team in the country. Two nights later, at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii, he had 28 points in a close loss to USC in the championship game.

Lofton has terrific handle, especially for a shooting guard, and he's an explosive athlete. It's the prototype for today's NBA 2-guard. "In terms of just raw basketball talent and productivity on the floor, I'd have to say he's the best I've ever coached," New Mexico State coach Chris Jans says, and such a statement carries some weight considering Jans has coached Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors, Ron Baker of the New York Knicks and Richaun Holmes of the Philadelphia 76ers.

But it all comes with an asterisk.

Zach Lofton is at his fifth school in six years.

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An explanation was needed.

When Lofton decided he wanted to transfer from Texas Southern after last season—when he won SWAC Player of the Year—Jans was interested and invited Lofton to campus, but the official visit was more so a job interview. Jans and his staff had been busy working the phones to call Lofton's former coaches, and they wanted to make sure they weren't recruiting a cancer.

"The feedback was positive in terms of what type of kid he was," Jans said.

The sixth-year senior graduated high school in 2011, and he's been as well-traveled as any prospect in America since. After graduating, he spent one year at prep school in Iowa, one year at San Jacinto College (a junior college in Texas), one year at Illinois State, one year at Minnesota and then two years at Texas Southern.

Lofton had a justification for each jump. He went the prep school route because he was a non-qualifier for the Division I level and was told he could qualify with one year of prep school. That didn't happen, so he headed to a junior college for a year to become qualified. At Illinois State, he was recruited by then-assistant coach Dana Ford. After Ford left to become the head coach at Tennessee State, Lofton wasn't sure he wanted to be there and got word that Minnesota would be interested if he transferred.

In his ideal world, this was his final destination. Minnesota was his dream school. He grew up nearby in St. Paul and was a fan of the Golden Gophers. He had to sit out a year because he was a transfer, but it was worth it to get to play in his hometown on a bigger stage, at a Big Ten program.

He never got his chance. Lofton was booted from the team on Oct. 29, 2014 for what was deemed "failing to meet the expectations and obligations of the team." Depending on whom you ask, you'll hear a different story. Lofton said it was a combination of little stuff that boiled over, including being late for a couple of practices.

"I think he was just immature," his half-brother Jamie Rutherford says. "All of his friends were there. All of his family was there, and he took advantage of it in a bad way. I just think mentally, at that point in his life, he couldn't handle everything—the partying, being in the Big Ten and a Power Five school, a big school like Minnesota. There's so many distractions, and I think he let that get to him."

On the day Minnesota coach Richard Pitino delivered the news in his office, Lofton was in tears by the time he reached the parking lot. He escaped to his dorm room in solitude. Reality hit him the next day when he finally picked up his phone—he'd been ignoring calls—and he had an alert on his ESPN app: "Gophers dismiss Zach Lofton."

"It was just depressing," Lofton says. "I felt like I let everybody down."

Lofton would not leave his room, and he wasn't eating. He estimates he lost eight to nine pounds. Eventually, he had to return to class and life. He spent the rest of the year at Minnesota as a regular student. Unable to use the team facilities, he went to the school recreation center to work out. He attended Gophers home games and held out hope that he'd be reinstated after the season. That call never came, but one from Texas Southern did.

Former Indiana coach Mike Davis has built the best program in the SWAC by taking on reclamation projects like Lofton. Lofton was grateful to get another chance after fearing he wouldn't be able to stay at the D-I level. He hoped that since he had sat out at Minnesota, he'd be able to play right away. Texas Southern tried to get a waiver, but the NCAA said he had to sit. He was awarded an extra year of eligibility. (Most student-athletes get five years to play four, and Lofton got six.)

"That was tough for me to keep him motivated and not drop out of school and try to go overseas," says Brian Sandifer, Lofton's former grassroots coach whom he calls his basketball dad. "That's what he kept calling me about. 'Man, I'm going to go overseas and just skip playing [in college] and try to get a contract overseas.'"

Sandifer convinced him to stay, and his patience paid off. In his debut for Texas Southern in a week that he had missed practice because of injury, he dropped 35 points in a loss to UT Arlington. He helped the Tigers make the NCAA tournament, where they lost in the opening round to eventual champion North Carolina.

Lofton graduated in the spring and decided to make one more move in hopes of playing on a bigger stage. (The Southwestern Athletic Conference has ranked as the worst league in college basketball in seven of the last eight years, according to KenPom.com's metrics.)

"He had several high-major schools that still wanted him," Sandifer says. "He couldn't get into Gonzaga last minute, because they couldn't get him into the grad program because of his grades."

New Mexico State emerged as a perfect alternative. Jans knew of Lofton's talent from going against him when he was at Illinois State and Jans was an assistant at Wichita State. Among his understudies, Jans had Jeff Mailhot, who knew Lofton because he, too, was from the Minneapolis area and had been an assistant coach at San Jacinto. Also joining Jans' staff was David Anwar, who recruited Lofton when he was an assistant at Nebraska.

"I came out here with my mom," Lofton says. "She liked it and we liked what the coaches were about."

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When Lofton arrived in Las Cruces, it was quickly apparent he was the most talented player in the program. "When he played pickup when we first got here, it looked like he was supposed to be in the NBA with the shots he made and moves he made," sophomore guard Shunn Buchanan says.

But once practice started, Lofton turned into something else entirely. He could blurt out as many expletives as buckets, an issue that has followed him for years.

"He wouldn't be yelling at anybody but himself," Sandifer says. "But if you're a referee or a booster or a fan and see that, you could take that many different ways."

It wasn't just the language that bothered Jans, but also what Lofton's tirades did to his game. "He'd let one bad play or, in his mind, one bad call just completely wreck his mindset," Jans says. "If things didn't go the exact way that he anticipated them going, he would go south in a hurry and he had a hard time settling in and being positive the rest of the day in practice or in some of our early games. It just really befuddled me how one negative thing could completely take him off the rails."

Jans let Lofton know in front of the team and in private that his outbursts were not tolerated. He explained that when he struggled, it was self-inflicted. When he started to get frustrated, his coaches encouraged him to use self-talk to calm down.

"I just think that Jans has done a great job with him as a young man," Sandifer says. "I think he's shown more of a maturity level with Jans than any coach he's had. They understand Zach. Jans has taken the time to really get to know Zach and understand him, and I think on the court, off the court, it's been hands down the best situation for the kid."

Jans says Lofton has come a long way. He still has the occasional mood swing, but the coaches address it immediately.

Lofton also has the luxury of Rutherford in his ear echoing similar sentiments to the coaches. Rutherford, who also played last season at Texas Southern, is sitting out this year rehabbing from a stress fracture in his leg and then plans to play his final year of eligibility at Arkansas Tech. He's living with Lofton and constantly reminds his brother that people are now watching after a year of relative obscurity at Texas Southern.

"We only had a couple televised conference games," Rutherford says. "Here every night they're on ESPN3, and ESPN is ESPN. I don't care if it's ESPN10. It's still ESPN, and everybody's watching worldwide."

Excited to play on the bigger stage, Lofton started the year strong. Through the first five games, he averaged 23.8 points and shot 71.8 percent inside the arc and 46.7 percent from three-point range.

"He was on a heater," Jans said. "They were video-game numbers. His percentages were off the charts."

It's the first time Lofton has ever been an efficient scorer in his career. He entered this season a 27.8 percent three-point shooter at the D-I level, and he's shooting 39 percent this season. His offensive rating of 116.6 ranks 39th nationally among players who use at least 24 percent of their team's possessions. He uses 27 percent of the Aggies' possessions, and if he were in the 28 percent-plus usage rate category, he'd rank fifth in offensive rating among that group.

If it were up to his teammates, he'd probably be there. Jans was encouraged in Hawaii when he heard his players barking at Lofton that he wasn't shooting enough.

"We want him to shoot a lot," Buchanan says. "Nobody gets mad when he shoots, because we expect most of his shots to go in. When we see Zach hitting shots, it makes us want to defend more so we can get it right back to Zach so he can hit another shot."

Defenses, especially in conference play, have built their schemes around him. He's often face-guarded and has seen double-teams and box-and-ones to try to limit his looks. It typically doesn't matter, because Lofton can score from all three levels off the catch or the bounce. At 24 years old, he's also stronger than the guys guarding him. His upper body is something Jans noticed as soon as Lofton stepped off the plane.

"When we were that age, you start to pick up man weight," Jans says.

Plus, Lofton has some playground wizardry that leaves defenders helpless.

"He's got an uncanny ability to alter his release point at times," Jans says. "He makes some shots in games, I raise my eyebrows, like wow, I've never seen that. He's like a pitcher almost. He can alter his shots depending on how the defense is playing him, and that's not what you teach in terms of how to shoot the ball. You want to shoot it the same way all the time. But he can adjust how he shoots the ball and do it at high percentage. It's a nightmare for other teams to match up with him."

Lofton is enjoying the ride and looking forward to returning to the NCAA tournament—this time with a team that could actually win a game.

Once his college journey is finally complete, he's thinking about writing a book about his experience.

He knows he's carried that asterisk next to his name, and he's not the only one. But there's always more to the story.

"I want people to know, what I stuck through, what was self-inflicted, what wasn't self-inflicted," he says. "I want to help kids that have felt like giving up, because I could have gave up going to five schools in six years."

     

C.J. Moore covers college basketball at the national level for Bleacher Report. You can find him on Twitter, @CJMooreHoops.