Lobos Tie Record in 15-point Win Over Utah State
BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY | POST-GAME NOTES | POST GAME QUOTES
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team earned a 15-point victory over Utah State on Wednesday night at Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit, tying a 20-year-old program record for most 3-pointers in a season with 301 (1997-98). Junior Anthony Mathis went off on the night, tying his career-high 25 points en route to the 78-63 win.
Mathis not only tied his career-high in total points, which he set on Jan. 31 at Utah State, but notched a new career-best seven 3-pointers in a single game, which ties for ninth all-time in Lobo history. He paced four Lobos in double figures including freshman Makuach Maluach (16), senior Sam Logwood (10) and junior Chris McNeal (10).
Logwood tallied three dunks in the game, including two within the last 1:30, and Maluach had two.
With the win, the Lobos improve to 8-6 in the Mountain West, 13-14 overall, while Utah State falls to 7-7 in league play, 14-13 on the season.
“I thought our depth, more than anything, wore them down a little bit,” head coach Paul Weir said. “I felt that as an overall team, if we could wear them down, that it would give us a good chance to win and fortunately, it did tonight.
“I thought we did a much better job in the second half of just moving the ball … That’s the way I like basketball. I just love team, fundamental-oriented basketball, and it’s fun to watch when you’re doing it.”
.@UNMLoboMBB defeat Utah State 78-63 for the Lobos Love Pink game! #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/yBbTEuuNdJ
— New Mexico Lobos (@UNMLOBOS) February 15, 2018
The first half of the contest was a tough one for the Lobos. UNM shot just 39.4 percent compared to 54.2 percent for the Aggies and Utah State led for 14:13 of the opening period.
Maluach hit a 3-pointer to bring the Lobos within two, 27-25 with 4:14 left in the first half before Mathis, who had scored just a pair of free throws, went off for 11 straight points including three 3-pointers over 2:50. Mathis helped UNM close the first half 14-7 for a two-point advantage at the break, 36-34.
Utah State captured the momentum in the start of the second half, rallying for an 8-0 run on an opening dunk and a pair of 3-pointers by Aggie leading-scorer Sam Merrill, forcing Coach Weir to call a timeout with the Lobos trailing by six, 42-36. Merrill finished with a career-high 33 points including 7-of-8 from behind the arc.
Out of the timeout, the Lobos began to pile back on the pressure, going on a 7-0 run, capped by a three from junior Dane Kuiper, to jump back ahead by one, 43-42, at the 16:17 mark.
Neither team was able to get out by more than two for 5:10, until a pair of Aggie free throws put USU up by four, 50-46, at the 11:07 mark. A layup from senior Joe Furstinger closed the gap back to two and it wasn’t until a Maluach dunk with 8:32 on the clock sparked a dominant Lobo offense.
Maluach’s dunk broke the sixth tie of the game to put the Lobos back on top 54-52 and marked the beginning of an 11-0 UNM run over 1:39 to take an 11-point advantage, the largest lead of the game to that point. The run consisted of a trio of back-to-back Mathis 3-pointers (9 points) within 1:07.
The run put the game out of reach for the winded Aggies and the Lobos closed the game on a pair of Logwood dunks over the final 1:30 for the final 15-point victory.
It just never gets old! Sam Logwood DUNK! @UNMLoboMBB #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/AG1H9bAWCq
— New Mexico Lobos (@UNMLOBOS) February 15, 2018
The win comes after the Lobos fell to Utah State on the road earlier this season by a score of 89-80 with just seven players in uniform. The Lobos had cut a 15-point deficit to three with just one minute left before the Aggies held on for the win in Logan.
Mathis scored 20 of his 25 points within a 3:50 span finishing 8-for-12 on the night, 7-of-10 from behind the arc and 2-for-2 at the charity stripe. He also collected a pair of steals and three rebounds.
“I was just waiting for my opportunity to get my shot up. It didn’t really happen in the first ten minutes,” Mathis said. “After I saw that first one go down, every time I saw a clean look at the rim, I was just going to let it go.”
Someone call the fire department, because Mathis is ????!! @UNMLoboMBB #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/VgY22l4nGV
— New Mexico Lobos (@UNMLOBOS) February 15, 2018
Furstinger led the Lobos with seven rebounds while senior Antino Jackson followed with six rebounds and a team-best three steals. Maluach went 7-of-12 from the floor and added a block, a steal and three rebounds.
The Lobos went 53.1 percent from the floor in the second half for a total average of 46.2 percent on the night, compared to 51.3 percent for the Aggies. The Lobos also dominated in fast-break points (24-9), points in the paint (36-14) and points off of turnovers (23-8). UNM forced 23 turnovers on the night.
The Lobos get a little rest over the weekend and return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at Wyoming. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. live on AT&T SportsNet.