Lobos Down OLLU 104-65 Tuesday Night

HOUSTON, Texas — In the battle of Patterson Brother vs Patterson brother on Tuesday night, Lobo junior Clay Patterson registered his first career 3-pointer against his brother’s team as the UNM men’s basketball team routed NAIA Our Lady of the Lake, 104-65. The Saints entered the game coming off of an upset over NCAA DI Texas State and drained 10 from behind the arc as a team, but they were no match for the Lobos’ 59.7 percent shooting from the floor.

With the win, UNM is now 2-0 on the season while the Saints, which competed in exhibition play Tuesday, remain 1-1.

All 16 members of the Lobo squad in attendance entered the game on Tuesday including UNM debuts for sophomore Logan Padgett, redshirt-freshman Daniel Headdings and freshmen Isaiah Marin, Nolan Dorsey and Eloy Medina.

The Lobos hit 100 points for the eighth time in head coach Paul Weir’s tenure and now average 88.0 points on the season, second in the Mountain West behind Colorado State (90.0).

The Saints got out to their largest and only lead of the game two minutes in with a 9-5 advantage on a three by junior Ruben Monzon. The Lobos followed with a 13-0 run to make it a nine-point game, 18-9, and the Saints came marching back to cut it to five, 28-23, with 8:37 left in the first half. UNM immediately exploded for a 15-0 run to take a 20-point lead, 43-23, and never looked back as the game never closed to less than double digits again.

Maluach to McGee with the MOVES! Lobos lead 36-23 with just over 6 mins left in the first half. #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/3bvR4e8HBf

— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) December 16, 2020

Four Lobos scored in double figures on the night including senior Makuach Maluach who led the squad with 17 points and finished just one point shy of 1,000 career points. OLLU was led by Ethan White who scored 25 points on 8-for-13 from the floor including three 3-pointers and also a 6-for-7 mark from the line.

Lobo newcomer Saquan Singleton registered his first double-double as a Lobo with 13 points and 10 rebounds while junior Rod Brown registered 16 points and junior Valdir Manuel collected 11, both for their first double-digit game as a Lobo.

The Lobos collected 48 rebounds on the night nearly matching their opening total of 49 on Sunday. UNM outrebounded 48-21 including 14 offensive boards and boasts the highest rebound average in the Mountain West with 48.5.

The Lobos scored 52 points in each half for their 104-point total. The last time UNM scored 50 points in the first half was on Dec. 30, 2018 against University of the Southwest and on Feb. 8, 2020, UNM registered 57 points in the second half against Wyoming.

The last time UNM scored 100 points was on Dec. 22, 2019 against Houston Baptist.

The Lobos dominated in the paint with 54 points to OLLU’s 20 while 53 points came off of the UNM bench. New Mexico led for 36:15.

UNM is set to return to action on Thursday, Dec. 17 against LeTourneau University in neutral competition at Rice. LeTourneau also competed Tuesday and came away with a 100-63 victory over Howard Payne University.

Postgame Notes

This was the first meeting between the two teams.

TEAM NOTES:

• New Mexico outshot the Saints 59.7-37.1 percent
• OLLU went 81.8 percent from the free throw line compared to 60.9 percent for the Lobos
• Both teams made 10 shots from behind the arc
• The Lobos scored 27 points off of 18 OLLU turnovers
• Lobos scored 50 points in both the first and second halves
  • The last time UNM scored 50 points in the first half was on Dec. 30, 2018 against University of the Southwest (50)
  • The last time UNM scored 50 points in the second half was on Feb. 8, 2020 against Wyoming (57)
• Last time the Lobos hit 100 points was Dec. 22, 2019 against Houston Baptist (107)
• Tuesday’s game marks the eight time in head coach Paul Weir’s career that the Lobos have registered 100 points
• UNM won by 39 points, the last time the Lobos won by 30 points was on Feb. 13, 2019 in a 92-60 victory over San José State

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:

• Tuesday’s game was a matchup between New Mexico native brothers: UNM’s Clay Patterson and OLLU’s David Patterson
  • Both Clay and David scored three points on one 3-pointer apiece. (David went 1-for-6 from behind the arc while Clay was 1-for-1)
  • Clay Patterson’s three was the first of the junior’s career
• Five Lobos made their UNM debuts on the night including sophomore Logan Padgett, redshirt-freshman Daniel Headdings and freshmen Isaiah Marin, Nolan Dorsey and Eloy Medina
• Sophomore Emmanuel Kuac registered a new career-high nine points
• Several Lobos finished perfect from the floor on the night including redshirt-freshman Bayron Matos (2-2), junior Rod Brown (6-6), junior Valdir Manuel (5-5) and freshmen Javonté Johnson (3-3) and Isaiah Marin (1-1).
• Freshman Javonté Johnson registered his first career 3-pointer and posted a new career-high seven points.
• Both Rod Brown and Valdir Manuel posted their first games scoring in double figures as Lobos