One small step …

Despite his disappointment in having hurt his team’s late-game causes with a lane violation on a crucial Michigan State free-throw attempt, New Mexico State’s Troy Gillenwater admitted he did accidentally stumble into the lane early.

His misstep gave MSU’s Raymar Morgan a second chance at a second free throw with 18.6 seconds left. And when the Spartans’ junior guard made the most of it and put MSU up 70-67, the Aggies were left to try a couple of ill-aimed 3-pointers in an effort to tie the game and force and overtime period.

“It was tough, really tough,” said Gillenwater, who said he couldn’t recall being called for a similar infraction since he was in high school. “It was just a tap. But overall, I think the officials did a good job.”

Gillenwater’s teammate Jahmar Young was a little less diplomatic – especially after having his first-half minutes limited by a couple of personal fouls, one of which was followed by a technical.

“In the end, the refs took the air out of the game for me, and that’s how I felt.”

NMSU coach Marvin Menzies responded to Young’s comments by saying, “Jahmar is a passionate individual. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and he’s the kind of guy that’s going to speak his mind.

“That’s how he felt.”

Time management

Texas A&M players stated in the Thursday’s press conference that they wanted to play “40 minutes of A&M basketball.”

Like many games, however, the Aggies’ 69-53 first-round win over Utah State was determined, in large part, by much smaller increments of time.

A&M scored 10 straight points in a 21/2-minute span in the first half to seize an early lead, and they added an 8-0 run that covered another 2½ minutes midway through the second half to counter another Utah State rally.

Another 8-0 spurt spanning 2 minutes late in the contest turned the game into a rout.

Underdogs? Really?

There was much talk about Purdue, which has played without junior Robbie Hummel (knee surgery) for the past six games, might be ripe to be upset. Some even thought the Boilermakers should have been cast as underdogs against Siena.

Even President Obama picked Siena in his bracket.

“You can’t help to see – analysts pick against you, and you’ve got the President picking against you,” said the Boilermakers’ Keaton Grant. “So we just use it as motivation.

Added sophomore guard Lewis Jackson: “I think the biggest thing for me was when President Obama just said he kind of felt sorry for us – just everything we’ve been through and with the adversity we’ve faced. Guys don’t want people to feel sorry for us.

“We want to prove that we still have a lot of talent and can make a big run in the tournament.”

Winning brings perks

When asked Thursday what made this NCAA-qualifying basketball season memorable, Houston guard Kelvin Lewis thought for a moment.

“We got to take a charter flight,” he said. “All year we flew commercial. That’s the only difference I saw.”

Teammate Aubrey Coleman, the Cougars’ leading scorer elaborated on the benefits of a charter over spending 10 or 11 hours on a small commercial plane.

“We had leg room,” he said. “If you win, you get anything you want.”

Good habits die hard

Purdue University is making a habit of winning first-round games in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

For the 12th consecutive time, the Boilermakers – seeded No. 4 in this year’s event – opened with a victory by turning back No. 13 Siena 72-64 in Friday’s first round of the South Regional at the Spokane Arena.

“I think it’s great for the program,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said of the streak, which dates back to 1994. “It just says how consistent Purdue’s men’s basketball program has been over the years. And I think it really says a lot about the players and the coaches that have come through the program.”

Steve Bergum, Greg Lee, Mike Vlahovich and Jason Shoot contributed to this report.