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Lobos Make it 10-0 with Exciting One Over UC Davis

BOX SCORE (PDF) | PHOTO GALLERY | POST-GAME NOTES | POST-GAME QUOTES

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team improved to 13-2, 10-0 at home, on Sunday afternoon to finish out the month of December undefeated with a 74-69 victory over UC Davis (5-10). UNM also extended its win streak to eight as senior Corey Manigault led the Lobos with his first double-double of the season, registering 20 points and a season-high 11 rebounds. 

“They [UC Davis] are a different level, a different caliber of opponent [than our most recent opponents] and [I knew] that they were going to come at us the way that they did,” head coach Paul Weir said. “They had a four-point loss at Utah, a six-point loss at Cal, it’s a good basketball team…I had a feeling that we were going to be in for a game like this and we were. You have to tip your cap to UC Davis for playing their hearts out and taking us right to the wire.”

Manigault’s 11 rebounds matches his UNM career high, to go along with four steals and two assists on the day. He also posted just one turnover in a UNM career-high 38 minutes.

“The energy the crowd brings is so crazy, I can’t even explain it,” Manigault said. “They push me to be the best player I can be.”

Manigault was one of five Lobos to register double figures on the day, followed by junior Makuach Maluach (14 points), redshirt-sophomore Vante Henrix (13) and redshirt-juniors Vance Jackson (12) and Zane Martin (10). The contest marks the third straight that five Lobos have scored in double figures.

Hendrix had an outstanding day that included several key plays. Not only did he seal the victory with a steal and a dunk with four seconds left, but he registered four second-half dunks, three of which put the Lobos up after being either behind or tied to change the momentum in the Lobos’ favor.
 


With the game tied at 64-64 with 3:24 left to play, it was Hendrix who registered the fast-break dunk to put UNM back on top, 66-64. Just 20 seconds later however, UC Davis’ leading scorer on the season, Joe Mooney, drained a three to put the Aggies up by one with 2:23 left, 67-66.

Mooney had accumulated four fouls with 13 minutes to go in the second half and therefore played 23 minutes compared to his usual 29.8 minutes per game. UNM also held the the senior, averaging 16.0 points per game, to just 13 points on the night. 

A Lobo foul at the 1:54 mark allowed the Aggies to shoot – and miss – a pair of free throws and Martin drilled a jumper to put UNM back up by one, 68-67. The Lobos did not again relinquish the advantage.

Maluach made a layup in the paint with 51 seconds on the clock to put UNM up by three, 70-67, and on the defensive end of the floor, Martin made a huge block that caused UC Davis to call its final timeout.

The Aggies reduced the Lobo lead to one just once more on a layup with 20 seconds to go, 70-69, but a pair of free throws, one from Martin and one from Hendrix, put UNM up by three before the final nail in the coffin that was Hendrix’ dunk at the four-second mark, 74-69.

The Lobos fielded just eight players on the night for just the fourth time this season (the first three against NM State and UTEP). Overall, UNM outshot UC Davis 43.6 – to 41.4 percent from the floor while shooting just 18.8 percent from behind the arc (3-16). UNM outrebounded the Aggies 42-34 and drew 24 fouls that UNM converted into 23 points from the stripe.

UNM also forced 20 turnovers, while committing 21, which the Lobos converted into 29 points compared to just 19 for the Aggies.

The Lobos led the game for 24:39 with the best scoring run of 8-0 coming in the first half en route to their 10th straight victory inside Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit this season. The last time the Lobos were 10-0 at home was in the 2009-10 season, when the Lobos eventually went 30-5 overall and earned a Mountain West Championship as well as a pair of NCAA Tournament contests.

With Sunday’s game, UNM has wrapped up non-conference play and will return to Mountain West action on Wednesday with a New Year’s Day contest on the road against San José State at 8 p.m. MT.