ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The (-/RV) University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (4-1) earned its fourth win in five games, taking down the Nicholls State Colonels (1-3), 75-63, at home on Nike N7 and American Indian Night.
The Lobos were led by an 18 point, nine rebound effort from Elijah Brown, who was New Mexico’s leading scorer for the second time this season. Brown also tied the game-high for assists at five. Tim Williams had a team-best 12 rebounds to go along with 10 points. Cullen Neal logged 12 point and tied Brown at five assists. In his last two games, Neal has logged nine assists to just two turnovers.
“You’ve got to give them (Nicholls State) credit, they came in and played,” said head coach Craig Neal. “I think our guys underestimated what kind of game it was going to be. They underestimated the tempo of the game, they just felt they were going to come in here and it was going to be an easy one and it wasn’t. You’ve got to give them credit, they did a heck of a job and they played hard, they made shots.”
The Lobos wore their turquoise Nike N7 jerseys Wednesday in honor of Native American Heritage Month. A jersey auction was held, which raised $4,300 for the NB3 Foundation and the UNM American Indian Student Services Department.
The Lobos had a tough first half offensively, and allowed the road-tested Colonels to take an early lead. Nicholls led by as much as eight points 11 minutes into the game, but the Lobo defense eventually made an impact. The Colonels’ run ended when they were held to just one field goal for over five minutes. With 2:18 left before the half, the Lobos took a 34-33 lead at the free throw line. The Lobos held their lead going into halftime, up 39-35.
The Lobos had their struggles shooting at the start of the game, but their defense stifled the opposition down the stretch. Nicholls only made two of their last 14 attempts before the break and shot 40.6 percent for the period. The Lobos made up points at the free throw line, shooting 14-for-16 in the period.
The defensive intensity carried over into the second half. In the period, the Lobos held Nicholls to 8-for-32 shooting and 3-for-17 from behind the arc. New Mexico trailed briefly at the start, but eventually established their first double-digit lead at 57-46 with 11:03 remaining. From that point on, the Colonels were held to just four field goals and never came closer than nine points of the Lobos.
“It’s huge (to earn the victory),” said freshman Anthony Mathis “We came back from losing to USC, a great team, and we tried to bounce back from that loss and that’s what I think we did tonight.”
New Mexico improved their offense in the second half, shooting 43 percent from the floor. They finished the game at 41.3 percent (26-for-63), while Nicholls shot 32.8 percent (21-for-64). New Mexico won the rebounding battle, 45-39, with 10 offensive boards. The victory gives Coach Neal his second 4-1 start in three seasons as the leader of the Lobos.
“I think that we had a lot of open shots,” said Neal. “I just think we didn’t shoot the ball well. I you go back through tonight, I bet we only took five or six bad shots. I thought our shots were good, I just didn’t think we made that many.”
Obij Aget nearly finished with a double-double, logging nine points and eight rebounds. Mathis was the leading scorer off the bench with seven points. Joe Furstinger earned four points, three blocks and two steals, with the latter two tying career highs.
“I thought Joe was terrific,” said Neal. “I also thought he was good at USC, and I should’ve played him more, but it was hard because Tim Williams had it going so well. Joe’s given us great effort, he’s got great confidence right now and he’s playing at a high level. I was really happy the way he played. He’s going to continue to get better because he wants to get better. It’s the first time Joe’s come in and watched a lot of tape and spent a lot of time in the gym, and when you do that you see rewards.”
Sam Logwood had six points and two steals. Xavier Adams finished with four points and a pair of rebounds.
The Lobos will return from Thanksgiving weekend to host Oral Roberts at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1 on ROOT SPORTS.
(11/25/2015) Men’s Basketball vs. Nichols State