Championship Bound! Lobos Down USU in Semis
BOX SCORE (PDF) | PHOTO GALLERY | POST-GAME NOTES | POST-GAME QUOTES
LAS VEGAS, NEV. — With an 83-68 victory over No. 7 seed Utah State on Friday night, The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team earned its first trip to the Mountain West Championships since 2014. The Lobos are set to take on No. 5 San Diego State for the tournament title on Saturday, March 10, at 3 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. MT on CBS.
The last two times that the Lobos have faced SDSU in the title game, in 2012 and 2014, UNM came away with the victory.
With Friday night’s victory, the Lobos extend their largest streak of the season to seven while San Diego State enters the matchup riding an eight-win streak. Last time UNM went on a seven-win streak was in 2012-13 when the squad opened the season 12-0 en route to a regular-season and tournament title.
Saturday will also mark the sixth time in program history that UNM has advanced to the championship, winning its last four appearances (2005, 2012, 2013, 2014). UNM is 4-1 all-time in the title contest.
The Lobos (19-14) used a 19-0 run in the first half on Friday night to take a commanding lead over the Utah State Aggies (21-10) and never looked back en route to the 15-point victory.
Troy Simons with the drive! Lobos lead 26-22 with 6 min. to go in the half. @UNMLoboMBB #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/33nqGTF4gX
— New Mexico Lobos (@UNMLOBOS) March 10, 2018
“I can’t say enough about what I think about Coach Duryea and Utah State, they have a great team,” head coach Paul Weir said. “They wouldn’t go away tonight, they kept fighting, you have to give them a lot of credit.
“Right now, we’re moving forward on to the next game. San Diego State is a tremendous team.”
The first seven minutes were an all-out battle between the squads. Both were physical and playing tough defense as the score at the 13:06 mark was tied at just 12-12. After Utah State climbed out to an eight-point lead, 20-12, junior Troy Simons hit a clutch 3-pointer that sparked the Lobo offense. Twenty-two seconds later, senior Joe Furstinger hit a jump shot, 20-17 USU, and the Lobos were off and running.
Down by five with 8:51 left in the first half, 22-17, the Lobos exploded for a 19-0 run that lasted 6:31 to get out to a 14-point lead. Utah State scored just three more points on a free throw and a jumper for the lofty 37-25 final.
At the half, the Lobos were outshooting the Aggies 48.1 – 34.6 percent and were outrebounding 18-15.
Maluach puts it down again!!@UNMLoboMBB #Golobos pic.twitter.com/DJHwhToD9E
— New Mexico Lobos (@UNMLOBOS) March 10, 2018
The Lobos came out of the half with the first six points to extend their lead to 20, 45-25, forcing Utah State to call a timeout. UNM proceeded to jump out to the largest advantage of the game, 23-points, two and a half minutes later, 53-30.
The Aggies battled back, cutting the Lobo lead to as little as nine with 1:51 left, but UNM closed on a 6-0 run that included a trio of free throws and a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left on the clock from senior Antino Jackson to seal the victory.
On the night, the Lobos fired from the floor at a clip of 51.9 percent while the Aggies shot 42.1 percent from the floor. Both squads went 7-for-24 from behind the arc (29.2 percent) while UNM dominated in the paint, 36-28, off of turnovers, 23-13, and off the bench, 26-5.
The Lobos were led by four players scoring in double figures on the night including Simons (17), senior Sam Logwood (16), senior Joe Furstinger (16) and junior Chris McNeal. Logwood also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds while Jackson collected eight points and a game-high six assists.
Three pointer by Simons! @UNMLoboMBB leads 69-53 with 6:29 to go in the game. #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/rCq3hny1zC
— New Mexico Lobos (@UNMLOBOS) March 10, 2018
No. 3 seed New Mexico takes on No. 7 seed San Diego State on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. MT in the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. in the battle for the 2018 Mountain West Championship.