LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The FIU football team never trailed by more than a touchdown until the final quarter in a contest that featured three ties before falling by a 34-17 margin in a Conference USA road clash at New Mexico State on Wednesday night.
 
The game was tied at the conclusion of each of the three opening quarters before New Mexico State pulled away by outscoring the Panthers 17-0 in the final 15 minutes.
 
New Mexico State finished with 439 yards of total offense, including 256 rushing yards.  FIU posted 397 yards on the evening.  The Aggies also forced a pair of interceptions in the win.
 
FIU freshman quarterback Keyone Jenkins finished 25-for32 for a total of 250 passing yards.  He also rushed for 34 yards and added a score on the ground.
 
Panthers' junior wide receiver Kris Mitchell hauled in eight receptions for a total of 91 yards.  Sophomore Dean Patterson added five catches for 88 yards and Eric Rivers added five catches for 60.
 
NMSU signal caller Diego Pavia accounted for three touchdowns in the contest (2 pass/1 rush) and finished with 256 passing yards while completing 20-of-31 attempts.  He also recorded 46 rushing yards – including a 43-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
 
Monte Watkins led the Aggies on the ground with five rushes for 89 yards.  He averaged 17.8 yards per carry. 
 
New Mexico State (3-3, 1-1 CUSA) took its opening drive and put together a 11-play, 76-yard drive that resulted in an 11-yard touchdown pass from Pavia to Chris Bellamy to put the Aggies ahead 7-0 just about midway through the opening quarter. 
 
The drive was keyed by a successful fourth down attempt just past midfield and Bellamy snagged a pair of catches, including the touchdown, for a total of 35 yards.
 
FIU (3-3, 0-3 CUSA) responded on its following drive that was sparked by a 40-yard completion from Jenkins to Mitchell – that set up the Panthers deep inside Aggie territory. 
 
Jenkins capped off the seven-play, 75-yard march with a five-yard touchdown run that saw him deke a pair of NMSU defenders on his way to the end zone and deadlock the score at 7-7, with 4:41 left in the opening quarter.
 
The Aggies reclaimed the lead at 14-7 with a big play with 8:33 left before halftime when Pavia connected on his second touchdown pass – a 49-yard toss to Jordin Parker.
 
The Panthers' defense set up the final score of the half for the FIU offense as junior CJ Christian thwarted a NMSU drive with his team-leading third interception of the season with just under five minutes left before the break. 
 
The offense responded with a nine-play, 81-yard push that was keyed by a 36-yard run by Kejon Owens before Shomari Lawrence put on the finishing touch with a six-yard scoring run to send the teams into the locker room at half tied at 14-14.
 
New Mexico State opened the second half with a drive that took nearly half of the third quarter before the FIU defense stiffened in the red zone and forced a 22-yard field goal by Ethan Albertson, which put the Aggies ahead 17-14.
 
The Panthers answered the field goal with one of their own on their opening drive of the second half.  Junior Chase Gabriel split the uprights from 41 yards out to knot the score for the third time with 1:01 remaining in the third.
 
New Mexico State struck fast on its next possession which only took three plays and 68 seconds before Pavia busted free for a 43-yard touchdown run up the middle of the field to make the score 24-17, with 14:53 left in regulation.
 
NMSU struck quickly again on its next possession as a pair of big plays, a 26-yard pass from Pavia to J.J. Dervil and a 32-yard rush set up a three-yard TD burst by Star Thomas, to increase the margin to 31-17 with 10:35 remaining.
 
FIU had a chance to trim the deficit on its next possession and moved 70 yards, down to the NMSU five-yard line in less than two minutes, before coming away empty, when a Jenkins pass attempt was tipped at the line and intercepted in the end zone by the Aggies' Andre Seldon.
 
New Mexico State added a 28-yard field goal by Albertson with 1:12 left in regulation to account for the final margin.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to The Cage in Miami on Wednesday, Oct. 11 for a nationally televised ESPN2 showdown against UTEP in a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Wednesday's game at New Mexico State marked the first of four consecutive primetime, nationally-televised games for the Panthers.
• Wednesday night's game featured three ties – the Panthers never led in the contest.
• FIU junior Chase Gabriel made a 41-yard field goal in the third quarter – he is now 4-for-5 this season on field goal attempts.
• FIU was 1-for-2 on fourth down conversions in the contest.
• FIU sophomore running back Shomari Lawrence tabbed his third rushing touchdown of the season in the second quarter.
• FIU junior CJ Christian recorded his team-leading third interception of the season to end a NMSU drive in the red zone at the 4:50 mark of the second quarter.
• FIU punter Daton Montiel blasted a 56-yard punt in the second quarter – his second longest this season.
• FIU freshman quarterback Keyone Jenkins scored his third rushing touchdown of the season with a five-yard run in the opening quarter.
• FIU linebacker Alex Nobles forced a fumble in the first quarter – his first of the season.
• FIU was stopped on a fourth down and one attempt in the opening quarter at the NMSU 11-yard line.
• FIU marked the first home opponent for New Mexico State in its inaugural season as a member of Conference USA.
   

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