Lobos Down (RV) Utah State on Senior Night
BOX SCORE (PDF) | PHOTO GALLERY | POST-GAME NOTES | POST-GAME QUOTES
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team executed its fourth-best second-half comeback in program history of 14 points to send its seniors off with a victory over (RV) Utah State, 66-64, on Saturday night inside Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit. With the win, the Lobos clinch the seventh seed in the Mountain West Tournament and will take on San José State on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. MT in Las Vegas.
The Lobos improve to 18-13 on the season, 7-11 in Mountain West play while (RV) Utah State, which entered Saturday’s game riding the longest active win streak in the league (6), falls to 23-8, 12-6 MW. Utah State clinches the second seed in the tournament and will play its first game on Thursday, against the winner of the New Mexico/San José State game.
The New Mexico defense held the Aggies 13 points under their season scoring average of 77.1 as the Lobos improved to 15-3 inside The Pit to close the regular season.
Utah State led by five points in the first half with 3:42 left on the clock before the Lobos went on an 8-0 run to take a three-point lead. The run was sparked by a free throw and a three from junior Makuach Maluach, who started his 54th consecutive game on the night, to bring the score within one, 30-29 Utah State with 2:50 left.
With 1:41 on the clock, redshirt-junior Zane Martin turned a steal from redshirt-junior Vance Jackson into a fast-break dunk to put the Lobos back on top for the first time since the 10:47 mark, putting the Lobos in the lead 31-30. Jackson followed with a jumper to make it 33-30 before the Aggies scored a driving layup for the one-point halftime score, 33-32 Lobos.
UNM is now 14-3 on the season when leading at the half, 6-2 in conference play. The Lobos were led by senior Corey Manigault with a game-high nine points at the break. Manigault went 4-for-9 from the floor in the first half. It was Manigault who ultimately clinched the Lobo victory with a steal and a fast-break layup with 21 seconds left in the game.
In the second half, Utah State came out with renewed energy, embarking on a 13-0 run over 3:55 to get out to a seemingly out of hand 14-point lead 52-38.
The Lobos responded immediately with a 9-0 run on threes from Maluach, Jackson and redshirt-junior Keith McGee, forcing Utah State head coach Craig Smith to call a timeout. The threes came within a span of 1:12 and brought the game back within five points, 52-47, with 10:11 on the clock.
The squads battled back and forth and Utah State led by as many as eight before the Lobos posted an 8-0 run over 2:19 to tie it up, 57-57 with 3:34 left. Just before Martin made the jumper to tie it, Utah State called a timeout up by two in attempt to halt the Lobo momentum.
Utah State worked their lead back to four on a three from senior Diogo Brito with 1:58 left but the Lobos tied it again 63-63 after Martin hit a jumper followed by an emphatic Manigault dunk.
The pair of shots were part of a 7-0 run that included a Manigault free throw to put the Lobos back up by one, 64-63, followed by another Aggie timeout. The senior came out of the break with a steal and a fast-break layup to put the Lobos up by three. UNM allowed Utah State just one more free throw after a Manigault foul stopped the clock with 1.3 left and Coach Weir called a timeout for the 66-64 final.
It was Jackson who led the Lobos with 17 points on the night to go along with four rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists, followed by Manigault’s 16 points. Redshirt-senior JaQuan Lyle accumulated eight points but tallied 10 assists for his third time this season. Two other Lobos racked up double figures including Maluach (10) and Martin (10) while Utah State was led by sophomore Neemias Queta who posted a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
The 2019 Mountain West Player of the Year Sam Merrill also racked up 18 points after the Lobos held him to just seven in the first half.
New Mexico has concluded its regular-season competition and is now headed to the 2020 Mountain West Championships in Las Vegas, Nev. to take on San José State on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. PT / 3:30 p.m. MT in the first round.