ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team improved to 16-10 on the year and 9-5 in the Mountain West after taking down Boise State Tuesday night, 78-73 inside WisePies Arena – The Pit.
“I thought our guys were terrific,” said head coach Craig Neal. “I thought they played with a lot of energy and effort. I thought they were really in-tune with what we were trying to do.”
Elijah Brown led the Lobos with 27 points, making 17 of the last 19 Lobo points of the game in the final six minutes. He was 6-for-16 from the field, 2-for-5 from the three and 13-for-14 from the foul line. He also chipped in six rebounds and four assist.
“You’ve got to give Elijah credit, because he really struggled early and then he made some big shots.”
Two other Lobos finished in double figures. Damien Jefferson and Obij Aget both finished with 14 points each. Jefferson was 5-for-6 from the field, while Aget was 7-for-8 with five blocks. Jefferson hit two big threes down the stretch for the Lobos. Jordan Hunter led the Lobos off the bench scoring nine points and leading the team in assists with five.
The game was tight in the beginning, but the Lobos never trailed. The game was tied 8-8 going into the media timeout but a 17-7 run propelled the Lobos to a 27-15 lead. The Lobos defense held Boise State to a little over six minute drought before the Broncos finally hit a field goal at the 4:51 mark. The Lobos ended the half on a 8-6 run, leading the Broncos 35-25.
In the second half, the Broncos started a little bit of a comeback as they went on a 15-4 run at the 12:34 mark. But Jordan Hunter stopped that run with a two with 6:27 left to play. Brown went off the rest of the game, scoring 17 of the Lobos’ final 19 points.
Free throws were once again key in securing the victory. In the final minute and half, the Lobos went 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Brown making seven of those and Jordan Hunter hitting two.
“We handled the pressure and made our free-throws. I thought our guys played well. Our defense was good and we’re making strides.”
For the game, the Lobos shot 51 percent (26-51) from the field, 36.4 percent (4-11) from the three and 84.6 percent (22-26) from the foul line. New Mexico limited Boise State to 39.7 percent (27-68) from the field, 25.0 percent (6-24) from the three and 76.5 percent (13-17) from the foul line.
The Lobos will look to make it three straight wins as they travel to Fresno State Saturday. Tip-off time is set for 3 p.m. PT/4 p.m. MT and will air on CBS Sports Network.