Lobos 11-0 in The Pit; Down Fresno State, 78-64

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 11-0 inside Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit for the first time since 2005-06 with a 78-64 win over Fresno State (5-11, 1-4 MW) on Tuesday night. With the victory, UNM is now 14-3 overall, 3-1 in conference play.

Redshirt-junior Vance Jackson led the Lobos with 29 points and 13 rebounds for his second straight 25-point game and double-double this season. His 29 points landed him just one shy of tying his career-high 30 points, which he also scored against Fresno State last season, on Feb. 17, 2019.

Jackson was nearly perfect from the floor on Tuesday night going 9-for-12, 6-for-7 from behind the arc and 5-for-7 from the stripe.

Redshirt-senior JaQuan Lyle also had a standout performance, posting UNM’s first double-double in points and assists since Antino Jackson did so on Feb. 10, 2018, two seasons ago. Lyle racked up 14 points and 10 assists to go along with three steals. 

The pair led four Lobos to score in double figures including junior Makuach Maluach, who was 3-for-6 from 3-point range, and senior Corey Manigault who posted 10 points.

Head coach Paul Weir also reached a landmark, hitting his 75th career win with the victory.

UNM went down by as many as nine early in the first half after an 8-0 Fresno State run made it 14-5 Bulldogs just under five minutes into the contest. Fresno State kept the lead until the 8:10 mark when an 8-0 run, capped by a Maluach triple, tied it up at 22-22.

The teams posted three more first-half ties before the Lobos scored 11 straight points, kicked off by another Maluach three, including a trio of Lyle free throws and a layup by redshirt-sophomore Vante Hendrix. The run was capped by another three from Jackson to make it an eight-point Lobo lead, 41-33, with 2:00 left on the clock. Fresno State scored four straight for the four-point halftime score, 41-37 Lobos.

At the break, Jackson had 17 points and the Lobos were outshooting the Bulldogs 43.3 – 38.9 percent from the floor. 

UNM started the second half with six straight points to make it a 10-point game on a Maluach dunk at the 17:52 mark, 47-37. A Hendrix dunk again made it a 10-point Lobo lead with 12:35 left, 57-47.

With 5:35 left, Fresno State had reduced the Lobo lead to seven, but UNM embarked on a stellar 11-0 run over 3:33 to take its largest lead of the contest, 18 points (78-60), with just 2:02 to play. Over the final two minutes, Fresno State added four more points on a pair of layups for the 14-point final, 78-64.

Fresno State was led by freshman Orlando Robinson who posted 16 points and 12 rebounds. UNM held Bulldog senior New Williams, who scored 32 points on a Mountain West-record 10 3-pointers on Saturday, to just 10 points and a pair of threes.

The Lobos are set to return to action on Saturday, Jan. 11 when they host Air Force on STADIUM at 4 p.m. inside Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit.