New Mexico State basketball player Mike Peake suspended indefinitely
Jason Groves
LAS CRUCES - Mike Peake has been suspended indefinitely from the New Mexico State men's basketball team, according to NM State Athletics Director Mario Moccia.
When asked about Peake's status by the Sun-News, Moccia said, "I cannot or the school can't comment on his status as a student, but Mike is indefinitely suspended from the program pending the university process and current ongoing investigation process."
Peake, 21, was involved in a deadly shootout on Nov. 19 in Albuquerque. The shooting left Peake in the hospital after being shot in the leg as police say he fired back, killing UNM student Brandon Travis, who conspired with three other UNM students to lure Peake to campus around 3 a.m., according to police documents.
NM State and police have confirmed that Peake took a gun on a team bus to Albuquerque, breaking university policy, and carried a gun on the UNM campus, which could be a misdemeanor in New Mexico. Peake has not been charged with a crime, according to court records.
Aggies men's basketball head coach Greg Heiar said Peake had previously been disciplined following his involvement in an October fight at Aggie Memorial Stadium that proved to be the genesis of the shooting, according to police documents.
Moccia said that he made the decision to suspend Peake from the basketball team along with Heiar, but didn't publicly discuss discipline until now due to the fact Peake was still recovering in an Albuquerque hospital from a gunshot wound.
"If there is criticism, I'm more than willing to take that, but I felt that while I can't get into specifics, but while an individual is going through multiple procedures, I felt that's not the appropriate time for that announcement," Moccia said.
Peake, a 6-foot-7, 218-pound junior forward came to NMSU for the 2021-22 season. He was one of two returning players on this year's Aggie hoops squad. In the team's first two games, he averaged 9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2 blocks in just over 20 minutes as a starter.
Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on Twitter @jpgroves.