More details emerge in homicide involving New Mexico State basketball player
New details have emerged in a homicide that occurred on the University of New Mexico campus early Saturday morning involving New Mexico State basketball player Mike Peake.
According to The Albuquerque Journal’s Geoff Grammer, the victim in the homicide has been identified as 19-year-old UNM student Brandon Travis. New Mexico State police told Grammer that two men and a 17-year-old girl conspired to get Peake to the UNM campus to “assault” Travis.
Peake was shot in the midst of the altercation, but also had a gun and fatally shot Travis. Peake’s injuries were not considered life-threatening and he was taken to the hospital. The girl has been arrested for her involvement in the homicide, while the two men have been identified but not yet charged.
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The shooting resulted in Saturday’s night scheduled basketball contest between New Mexico and New Mexico State being postponed.
“The impact of this experience is life-changing for so many and will extend far beyond expressions of grief and sense of loss—and far beyond the Lobo community,” UNM President Garnett Stokes said in a statement Saturday. “I cannot express how deeply saddened I am by this tragedy on so many levels.”
Peake is a sophomore at NMSU after transferring from Austin Peay over the offseason and scored 16 points in the season opener on Nov. 10. He started his college career at Georgia in 2019-20 and headed to Austin Peay via the transfer portal the next season.
New Mexico is 3-0 so far on the season, including a victory over SMU on Tuesday. The Lobos are in their second season under head coach Richard Pitino and went put up a 13-19 overall record last year, including a 5-12 mark in Mountain West play. They’re trying to make it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014.
It remains to be seen when, if at all, the game between the Aggies and Lobos will be rescheduled.
On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.