Three In a Row, Lobos Take Down Rams 80-65
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (11-11, 6-3 MW) forced 23 turnovers and racked up 13 3-pointers en route to its third-straight victory on Saturday night at Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit. The Lobos dominated the visiting Colorado State Rams (10-13, 3-7 MW) by a score of 80-65 to claim a solo third place in the Mountain West.
Four Lobos led the squad scoring in double figures including senior Joe Furstinger (13), junior Anthony Mathis (13) and senior Antino Jackson (12). Junior Troy Simons was the fourth double-digit scorer on the night, also posting a team-best 13 points in his return back to the court. Simons has not played in the last five games for UNM.
Jackson added a season-high 11 assists to his 13 points for UNM’s second point-assist double-double of the season. Junior Chris McNeal tallied one in the first game of the season against Northern N.M., which marked the first for a Lobo since March 2, 2014.
“I thought this was a gritty game from the standpoint of ‘this was a very easy let-up game’ that we could have lost, and I’m proud of the guys for working through and getting a win,” head coach Paul Weir said. “But I thought we slipped a little this week. I thought we were a little comfortable all the way around … we didn’t have the same edge. I thought that showed up a little bit tonight and we have to get that back every night.”
The Lobos got the scoring started nearly a minute and a half into the the game with a jumper by freshman Vladimir Pinchuk, followed closely by back-to-back layups from CSU’s Che Bob and Furstinger to make it 4-2 UNM. Another Ram layup tied it for the second time, 4-4, at the 17:24 mark before Mathis drained his first of four 3-pointers to put UNM ahead – and the Lobos never looked back.
UNM worked to extend its lead to 15, 30-15, by the 8:32 mark on a Simons three before a CSU 10-2 run closed the Lobo lead back to seven, 32-25 with 5:05 left to play in the first half.
Colorado State got as close as six, 38-32, in the final stretch of the first half on a jumper by Deion James with 1:34 left. The Lobos finished the half on a 6-0 run that included a three for Simons and a last-second 3-pointer from Mathis for a 12-point halftime advantage.
Despite leading 44-32 at the half, the Lobos were outrebounded 16-8 in the first 20 minutes. UNM did however outshoot CSU 55.2-54.2 percent from the field and had a 12-2 advantage in turnovers at the break.
In the second half, Colorado State battled back, cutting the Lobo lead to six twice before closing the gap to five points with 9:02 left, 53-48. The Lobos went off on a 11-2 run to reclaim their double-digit lead, 64-50 and did not again allow the lead to dip below 10 points.
Furstinger sealed the Rams’ fate with a dunk with 17 seconds left for the 80-65 final. He has been the last Lobo to score in each of UNM’s last three victories, icing both comeback victories over UNLV and SDSU with a pair of free throws.
“Yeah, I mean it’s always nice going on a little winning streak, but we’re still not satisfied,” Furstinger said. “We’ve still got to come out every night and compete with whatever team we play.”
UNM dominated possession of the game, coming away with a 23-7 advantage in turnovers while posting nine steals to just four for CSU. Despite the double-digit win, the Lobos were outshot in each category (53.1-51.9% FG, 50.0-38.2% 3FG, 80.0-73.3% FT) and outscored in the paint 38-30. UNM did capitalize on its turnovers, scoring 30 points to just six for CSU off of turnovers. The Lobo bench also outscored that of the Rams 33-11.
The Lobos hit the road for their next two contests as they continue conference play at Utah State on Wednesday, Jan. 31 and again on Saturday, Feb. 3 at San José State. Wednesday’s game at Utah State will air on the Mountain West Network at 7 p.m. MT.