ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (1-0) started the year off with a bang, winning its 13th straight season-opener over the Texas Southern Tigers (0-1), 86-57, Friday in WisePies Arena.
“This was a really good first win for us,” stated head coach Craig Neal. “I have a lot of respect for Mike (Davis). I think Mike’s one of the better coaches in the country. They are going to be an NCAA tournament team. But I’m just really, really happy that our guys got out to a big start. We showed that we have a lot of weapons, but I’m really happy with the way we guarded tonight.”
The Lobos were led by Cullen Neal, who scored 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting. Neal also chipped in four assists and two steals. Tim Williams and Elijah Brown each made their regular season debuts for the Lobos and scored in double digits. Williams tallied 17 points on a near-perfect 7-for-8 shooting, along with five rebounds and two blocks. Brown scored 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting and recorded a team-best six assists.
“I can’t really put it into words,” admitted Brown. “It was extremely emotional. Obviously, that’s the first time I’ve played in nearly two years. I was just so focused on the game plan, trying to get the rest of my guys ready and then just make sure we came out and did what we were supposed to do.
Texas Southern entered the game as the preseason favorites to win the SWAC and looked the part early. A pair of 3-pointers put the Tigers up, 16-11, in the first three minutes, giving the road team its largest lead. However, the Lobos would take over the game with a 15-2 run, taking a double-digit lead they never gave up. After Texas Southern led by five points, they would be outscored, 43-11, going into the break.
The Lobos’ 54 points in the first half was the most they have scored in a half since January 18, 2014. They reached that mark by shooting 72.4 percent from the floor while limiting themselves to four turnovers. Neal scored 16 of his 22 points in the first period to help build New Mexico’s lead.
“I told (the Lobos) at halftime that I thought that was the most unselfish I’ve seen them play even in practice,” stated Neal. “I thought they came out and moved the ball, did some great things and didn’t turn it over. We spread the floor out and we made some good passes.”
New Mexico held its largest lead of the game with 12:08 remaining, leading Texas Southern at 67-35. The Tigers would cut the deficit down to as low as 25 points, but never threatened to make a comeback against the staunch Lobo defense.
New Mexico’s 84 points was the most they have scored since March 13, 2014. Overall, the Lobos shot 59.3 percent (32-for-54) from the floor, and held Texas Southern to 34.7 percent (17-for-49) shooting. The Lobos kept up their defensive intensity for a full 40 minutes, holding the Tigers to 34.6 percent in the first half and 34.8 percent in the second. Texas Southern was also held to 28.6 percent shooting from distance.
“As I mentioned last week, we are trying to improve our defense and I think we did that tonight,” said Cullen Neal. “We did a lot of great things, we forced turnovers, I think we tested a lot of shots and I think we improved substantially on the defensive end.”
The Lobos outrebounded the Tigers, 35-24, with eight boards on the offensive end. New Mexico also won the turnover battle, 13-19.
Junior center Obij Aget pulled down a team-best six rebounds and scored six points. Xavier Adams was the scoring leader off the bench, chipping in seven points of 3-for-4 shooting. He also tallied four rebounds and three assists, a new career-high. Sam Logwood and Joe Furstinger each chipped in five points. Aget and Furstinger combined with senior Tim Jacobs to shoot 5-for-5 from the floor.
Coach Neal is now 3-0 in season-openers as a head coach. He sported the storied cherry blazer on opening night and is now 8-1 in his career when wearing it.
The Lobos will have a quick turnaround, hitting the road for the first of two games against rivals, New Mexico State, in Las Cruces, New Mexico at 7 p.m. Sunday.
(11/13/2015) Men’s Basketball vs. Texas Southern
Lobos Begin 2015-16 with 29 Point Win over Texas Southern
