Hendrix Scores 20; Lobos Fall at No. 4 SDSU
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The Lobos had a one-point lead with four minutes left in the first half, but No. 4 San Diego State executed an outstanding comeback in the second to down The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team, 82-59, on the road on Tuesday night. The Aztecs remain the only undefeated team in the nation and secured the 2020 Mountain West Regular-Season Championship with the win.
No. 4 San Diego State improves to 25-0 on the season, 14-0 in Mountain West play, while UNM is now 17-9 overall with a 6-7 mark in league competition.
The Lobos were led by redshirt-sophomore Vante Hendrix who recorded a career-high 20 points to go along with four rebounds and four steals. Hendrix was the only Lobo to register double figures on the night while UNM was led by redshirt-senior JaQuan Lyle and junior Makauch Maluach on the boards. The pair registered six rebounds apiece.
SDSU had four players rack up double digits including a pair of 20+ point scorers in junior Matt Mitchell (22) and senior Yanni Wetzell (20). Mitchell was also the only player on the floor to record a double-double with 12 rebounds.
The Lobos dominated from the floor in the first half, outshooting the Aztecs 45.2 – 39.4 percent. UNM got out to an early five-point lead, 10-5, just three minutes into the contest on a dunk from senior Corey Manigault. SDSU responded with a 5-0 run over the next 2:08 to tie it up at 10-10 before a Maluach layup and a Hendrix three again put UNM up by five, 15-10, at the 11:38 mark of the first half.
The Aztecs tied it again 15-15 at the 10:22 mark and the squads battled it out through the remainder of the first half. UNM’s last lead was 28-27 with 4:08 left in the first on a dunk from redshirt-junior Zane Martin. An SDSU 6-0 run made it a five-point game in favor of the home team but through the final stretch of the first half, Hendrix posted another Lobo dunk, SDSU hit a pair of free throws and Hendrix finished with another from behind the arc for just a two-point SDSU advantage at the break, 35-33.
The first-half Lobos exhibited a well-balanced scoring and defensive effort in which Manigault and Hendrix led with just eight points apiece. UNM was outrebounded by just one in the first half, 19-18, including a 10-8 offensive board count. Neither team led by more than five in the first half, posted nearly-matching runs and the Lobos led for 9:15 compared to just 6:14 for the last undefeated team in the nation.
Zane Martin with the DUNK to put the Lobos back up by one, 28-27 with 3:32 left to play in the first half. #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/cltkiNl2Pc
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) February 12, 2020
It was in the second half however, that the momentum shifted drastically to the other side of the court. Neither team scored for the first minute and a half but it was SDSU that struck first with a fast-break layup from Mitchell to start off the half.
Martin hit a jumper for UNM to cut SDSU’s lead back to two before the Aztecs began to take control of the game with a 7-0 run to get out to a nine-point lead, 44-35. The game got out of hand quickly from there despite a Lyle three, one of just two for the senior on the night, making it a six-point game at the 16:42 mark.
The Lobos would cut it to six just once more 2:38 later but would get no closer as another 7-0 run for SDSU gave the Aztecs a double-digit lead they would not again relinquish.
UNM’s careful first-half squad unraveled in the second as SDSU mounted a 20-point lead over the next five and a half minutes.The Lobos struggled through the remaining time on the clock but the Aztecs remained on top by at least 21 for the rest of the contest en route to securing the 2020 MW Regular-Season title.
The Lobos entered the contest sixth in the nation in made free throws (420) but did not draw a single attempt in the first half. The squad finished 7-for-9 from the stripe compared to 14-for-1 for SDSU.
The second half numbers tell a very different story than the first as UNM’s shooting from the floor was just 26.5 percent compared to 51.6 percent for the Aztecs. On the night, the Lobos finished shooting 35.4 percent to 45.3 percent for SDSU. After a two-point, first-half deficit, SDSU outscored the Lobos 47-26 in the second half en route to the 82-59 final score.
The Lobos will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 15 when they host UNLV on CBS Sports Network at 4 p.m. MT. UNM looks to defend its 14-1 record at home in the contest.