Feb. 2 (UPI) -- New Mexico State's Robert Carpenter pulled back his arm and delivered a powerful punch to the face of Liberty's Shiloh Robinson, sending the forward to the floor and leading to an ejection during an Aggies overtime win.
The incident occurred about 8 minutes into the first half of the Aggies' 79-73 victory Thursday at Pan American Center in Las Cruces, N.M. Flames coach Ritchie McKay said Robinson broke his nose and will be "out for a while."
"That was one of the most unjust things I've ever seen or ever witnessed, whether it was in a sporting competition or elsewhere," McKay told reporters at his postgame news conference. "If you represent Liberty, or work on our campus, you should be really proud of our group because there is no place for that in competition."
Aggies guard Tanahj Pettway missed a 3-point attempt at the start of the sequence. The shot bounced off the rim and was rebounded by Flames forward Ben Southerland.
Carpenter was wrestling with Robinson for position as the ball left Pettway's hands. Robinson then turned in transition as Southerland collected the rebound. He hit his shoulder into Carpenter when he started that move. Carpenter responded by using his right fist to hit the Flames forward in the face.
Carpenter was given a technical foul and immediately kicked out of the game. Robinson, who remained down on the floor before being tended to by trainers, left the game and did not return.
Aggies coach Jason Hooten opened his news conference by apologizing to the Flames and McKay. He also said he had yet to review the footage, but that Carpenter will miss at least one game due to suspension from the team and/or Conference USA.
Representatives from Conference USA did not immediately respond when asked about the incident Friday morning.
"Even if there was something that put Rob in that state of mind to do what he did, it's still not acceptable," Hooten said.
"First of all, that is not the way we are going to do things here at New Mexico State University. I think everybody knows me, in my 31-year career and 14 as a head coach. I think everybody knows the type of person I am and I stand for that.
"I'm very proud of the person I am and our program will never do those kind of things."
Hooten also called Carpenter a "really good person and really good kid."
"I'm shocked at what happened, but also know there is probably nobody that is more remorseful than him," Hooten said of Carpenter. "I know he feels really bad about what he did. There is just no room for that in the game at all.
"I feel really bad as the coach and responsible for that. We just gotta do a better job and take what we need and what comes at us and move on and learn from it."
The Aggies outshot the Flames 41.5% to 38.1% from the floor. They also hit 31.6% of their 3-pointers, compared to the Flames' 19.4% clip from downtown. They held a 38-31 edge in rebounding.
Guards Christian Cook, Jaden Harris and Femi Odukale paced the Aggies. Cook scored a game-high 27 points, while Harris chipped in 17. Odukale logged 11 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Flames forward Zach Cleveland totaled 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the loss. McKay said he was proud of how the Flames responded to the early incident, but his players "ran out of gas" in the second half.
Carpenter, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, is the Aggies' third-leading scorer. He averaged 9.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game through 22 appearances this season, including 16 starts.
Robinson, a 6-foot-7 redshirt senior, averaged 5.0 points, 3.3 rebounds through 22 appearances off the bench for the Flames.
Liberty (13-9) will play UTEP (12-10) at 9 p.m. EST Saturday in El Paso, Texas. New Mexico State (10-12) will host Jacksonville State (11-11) at 9 p.m. Saturday in Las Cruces.
