ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team started off exhibition play on a strong note, defeating the Colorado State-Pueblo ThunderWolves, 96-84, Tuesday in the WisePies Arena AKA The Pit.
“It’s been a really hard four or five days, just going through the loss of Mel and to hear Stu died,” stated head coach Craig Neal. “It was tough to come down that ramp and not hear his voice. We also had the dedication for Bob Turner in the lettermen’s lounge, as well as losing Officer Webster tragically. It’s been a hard week and I think it affected our kids a little bit. But I always said I thought we could score the ball. We shot 64 percent from the foul line and still scored 96 points. All and all, I think it was good offensively but we have to get back to our toughness defensively.”
The Lobos were led by Cullen Neal, who scored a game-high 33 points, which would have been a career-high had this been a regular season game. He shot 10-for-17 from the floor, 4-for-8 from 3-point range and 9-for-10 from the free throw line. He also tallied a team-best seven assists. Obij Aget was team’s leading rebounder, earning a double-double with 10 boards and 15 points on 7-for-13 shooting.
The crowd was electric at the start of the game, with the evening serving as their first chance to see the Lobos in a live game. Aget asserted himself quickly, scoring seven of the team’s first 10 points to lead the Lobos to an early 10-5 advantage. CSUP’s Will Newman scored a quick five points to erase the lead and keep the ThunderWolves from falling far behind.
The remainder of the first half would be a back-and-forth struggle, with the lead changing six times. However, the Lobos would come out on top at the end of the half, leading 44-41. UNM shot 16-for-27 in the opening half, but committed nine turnovers and allowed eight offensive rebounds, keeping CSUP in the contest.
The ThunderWolves continued to play the Lobos tough in the second half, even tying the game at 54 with 16:21 remaining. On the ensuing play, Neal converted a four-point play from the left corner to give the Lobos a lead they would never give up.
The Lobos remained within single digits of the opposition for much of the second half, but a Tim Williams free throw with 3:50 remaining gave UNM its largest lead of the game at 87-75. Both teams made mass subs over the course of the final three minutes, allowing the Lobos to play out the clock and cruise to victory.
The Lobos improved their defense in the second half and control the final 20 minutes. They held CSUP to 12-for-37 from the floor, while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 3-point range.
Overall, New Mexico shot 54.2 percent (32-for-59) from the floor, 41.2 percent (7-for-17) from 3-point range and 25-for-39 from the foul line. The Lobos also won the rebounding battle by a large margin, 47-33.
“We held them to 36 percent shooting and 31 percent from 3, and I think those are pretty good numbers, but we can’t let people score 84 points,” admitted Coach Neal. “We have a lot to work on and I’m staying positive, but we want to challenge them to get upset enough to get a stop when someone scores on them.”
In his first exhibition game with the Lobos, Tim Williams scored 15 points on a near perfect 6-for-7 shooting. He also logged four boards and a pair of blocks. Also suiting up for the first time, Elijah Brown scored nine points on 3-for-5 shooting with four assists and five rebounds. Xavier Adams led the reserves with seven points and five rebounds in 15 minutes.
The Lobos will wrap up exhibition play on Friday at 7 p.m. against Rogers State in the WisePies Arena.
(11/3/2015) Men’s Basketball vs. CSU-Pueblo
Lobos Down ThunderWolves in First Exhibition, 96-84
