Manigault's 24 Powers Lobos Past McNeese, 90-80

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team finished off an exciting game on Saturday afternoon to improve to 4-0 as the Lobos claimed a 90-80 victory over McNeese (1-4) in the final minutes inside Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit. Senior Corey Manigault tied his career-high 24 points in the contest as once again, five Lobos registered double figures on the day.

Manigault went 6-for-8 from the floor, battling in the low post, while scoring 12 more on free throws and posting six rebounds and three steals. The last time he scored 24 points was on Jan. 6, 2018 while at Indian Hills CC.

“I’ve said it before, I think Corey is the best low-post, left-block scorer I’ve ever had,” head coach Paul Weir said. “For him to get six rebounds, no turnovers and three steals was huge for him. Every day I see him becoming a more impactful player on the floor and to see him finishing out the game is a big testament to how far he’s come.”

Additional standout performers in the matchup included redshirt-senior Carlton Bragg Jr. who racked up 18 boards and five assists to go along with six points, redshirt-senior JaQuan Lyle who collected 18 points, four assists and five rebounds, junior Makuach Maluach (12 points) and redshirt-junior Vance Jackson who registered his first double-digit scoring game of the season (11).

Redshirt-junior JJ Caldwell dished 10 assists on the day and contributed four steals, filling in key roles off the ball while taking just one shot from the floor.

“When you play with a lot of scorers, you want to get the ball to them when they’re in their spots,” Caldwell said. “They’re essentially our playmakers. I’m an unselfish person so I don’t really care about shooting. It doesn’t really matter to me as long as we get the win and our scorers are scoring.”

With the score tied at 78 apiece with just 2:29 left to play, the Lobos amassed significant momentum, collecting four of their 17 steals in just the final two minutes of the contest.

Manigault put the Lobos up by two, 80-78 with a pair of free throws and then up by four (82-78) with a layup before McNeese’s Leondre Washington made a pair from the stripe to cut the deficit back to two (82-80) with 1:10 left on the clock.

The Lobos got the ball back – but quickly turned it over – and it looked as if the Cowboys were about to tie it up again – until a Caldwell steal put the ball back in New Mexico possession with 42 seconds left in front of a roaring crowd. Caldwell quickly fired to Manigault who slammed an emphatic dunk to put UNM back up by four, 84-80.

Caldwell feeds Manigault who slams down the DUNK to put UNM up 84-80 over McNeese with less than a minute remaining! #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/i9CKfppqEb

Weir called a full timeout and the Lobos came out with another steal, this one from Manigault, and Lyle drew the foul to make two more free throws and give UNM a more comfortable, six-point lead (86-80).

A near-brawl under the Lobo basket caused the Cowboys’ Kuxhausen to foul out and earned the Lobos four shots on both a technical foul and an intentional foul. Lyle took all four, putting them away for the 90-80 final.

In the final 2:29, UNM went on a 12-2 run with six points coming from Manigault and the other six coming from Lyle. UNM closed the game on an 8-0 run.

McNeese jumped on top early in the contest, leading UNM 10-3 just 1:40 into the first half. The Cowboys extended their lead to 10 at the 16:04 mark and again at the 15:07 mark before the Lobos started to come back.

“I have to tip my hat to McNeese, I thought they played terrific tonight,” Weir said. “They made a ton of great shots, a lot of high level shots… This team was a good test for us and I think we needed a game like that. Hopefully in the long run, games like this will serve us well.”

New Mexico went on an 11-2 run to make it a one-point game, 19-18 McNeese, at the 11:48 mark before a pair of free throws put the Cowboys up three.

Redshirt-junior Keith McGee tied the game at the 10:20 mark on a dunk, assisted by Caldwell, before redshirt-junior Vance Jackson gave the Lobos their first lead on a pair of free throws, 25-23, with 8:27 left in the first half.

JJ Caldwell feeds the ball to Keith McGee who slams down the dunk to tie the game at 23! #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/v1c9bvmFSo

— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) November 16, 2019

Jackson, who has been quiet so far this season, hit a three with 4:49 left in the half to put the Lobos ahead by two en route to a five-point Lobo advantage at the half.

On the day, McNeese outshot the Lobos 50.0 percent to 47.5 percent from the floor. The Lobos shot just 43.8 percent in the first half but followed it up with 51.9 percent in the second half. The Cowboys also outshot UNM from three as they went 44.8 percent from behind the arc compared to 40 percent for the Lobos.

UNM outscored the Cowboys in the paint, however, by a commanding margin (40-28), as well as in second-chance points (18-9), fast-break points (32-10) and points off the bench (43-23).

The Lobos are set to hit the road for a pair of road trips, the first will feature a contest against UTEP on Tuesday, Nov. 19, in El Paso before the Lobos take on in-state rival NM State on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m.