Lobos Snap Streak With 72-63 Win at Dixie State

ST. GEORGE, Utah — The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team snapped a six-loss streak on Wednesday night with a 72-63 victory over Dixie State on the road. The Lobos were led by junior Saquan Singleton who racked up a UNM career-high 17 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists and four blocks.

Singleton led all scorers on the evening and was one of three Lobos to score in double figures. Freshman Isaiah Marin posted a career-high 13 points followed by senior Makuach Maluach who collected 12. Redshirt-junior Rod Brown finished just two points shy of his second double-double of the season with 12 boards, six of which were offensive, and eight points.

UNM (4-6, 0-6 MW) shot 42.2 percent from the floor and went on a 14-0 run with 10:44 left in the second half to help seal the win. The largest Lobo lead, 16 points, came with 9:55 left after Dixie State (4-3, 0-0 WAC) led for 11:55 early.

Despite making just a pair of threes on the night, the Lobos dominated in the paint 46-22 points and outscored the Trailblazers 45-37 in the second half.

In a very defensive-minded first half, the Lobos and the Trailblazers combined for just 20 points, 10-10, over nearly half of the first half (8:49). Over the next two and a half minutes, Dixie State built an eight-point lead, it’s largest of the night, with 6:03 left before the Lobos went on an 8-0 run to tie it with four points from Maluach, two from Brown and another two from Singleton on a fastbreak layup to knot the score 24-24 with 3:01 left in the half.

With 59 seconds left on the clock, Maluach again tied the score at 26 points apiece and the Lobos took a one-point lead just 26 seconds before halftime, 27-26, on a free throw from freshman Javonté Johnson.

The game had seen 10 lead changes and three ties over the first half including 10:59 in the lead for Dixie State to just 5:56 for UNM.

Five minutes into the second half, the Lobos remained ahead by just one, 33-32, when junior Valdir Manuel hit a jumper and sparked a 14-0 run that was bookended by Manuel jumpers and included four points from Singleton and back-to-back threes from freshman Marin within 37 seconds.

The Lobos led by a more comfortable 15, 57-32, with 10:44 left to play.

UNM kept the double-digit lead nearly the rest of the contest and as the Trailblazers fouled and attempted to gain on the Lobos, New Mexico hit 13 of their last 14 free throws over the final 4:32 to finish with the nine-point victory.

On the night, the Lobos outshot the Trailblazers 42.2-33.3 percent and outrebounded 50-39. New Mexico also accumulated a season-high 11 blocks on the night including four each from Singleton and Manuel.

The Lobos are scheduled to return to action on Saturday, Jan. 16 when they travel to Las Vegas, Nev. to resume conference play with a pair of contests against UNLV at the Thomas & Mack Center. Saturday’s game is scheduled to tip at 3:30 p.m. MT on CBS Sports Network.

Postgame Notes

• New Mexico is now 1-0 in series history with Dixie State

TEAM NOTES:

• The Lobos’ win marks the end of a six-loss streak
• UNM’s lineup consisted of Francis III, Singleton, Maluach, Brown and Matos
  • The lineup is now 1-4 on the season
• Three Lobos scored in double figures on the night including junior Saquan Singleton (17 points), freshman Isaiah Marin (13 points) and senior Makuach Maluach (12 points)
• UNM outshot its opponent 42.2-33.3 percent
  • The percentage marks the second highest over the last seven games
• UNM outrebounded Dixie State 50-39
  • This marked the second-most rebounds on the season after UNM broke the program rebound record with 79 on Dec. 17 against LeTourneau
• The Lobos connected on just two-of-12 shots from behind the arc but dominated in the paint, outscoring the Trailblazers 46-22 down low
• New Mexico racked up a season-most 11 blocks on the night
  • Last time the Lobos totaled 10 or more blocks was on Jan. 11, 2020 against Air Force
• UNM made 16 free throws on the night, second most of the season
  • The Lobos made 13 of their last 14 free throws over the final 4:32 of the game
• The largest Lobo lead came at the 9:55 mark of the second half (16)
• The longest Lobo run came with 10:44 left in the game (14-0)

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:

• Junior Saquan Singleton’s 17 points marks a new UNM career high
  • Singleton also posted six rebounds, four assists and four blocks going 7-for-10 from the free throw line and 5-for-8 from the floor
• Freshman Isaiah Marin’s 13 points marked a new career high, surpassing his previous career-high of five
  • Marin went a near-perfect 2-for-3 from behind the arc while going 4-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the stripe
  • Marin also tied his career-best four rebounds
• Redshirt-junior Rod Brown posted his second double-digit rebound game of the season, bringing down a new UNM career-high 12 boards
  • Half of Brown’s 12 rebounds were offensive
  • Brown finished just two points short of his second double-double of the season
• Senior Makuach Maluach started his 66th career contest
  • He also competed in his 109th career game
  • With his 12 points, he now posts 1,095 career points and ranks 28th in Lobo history.
    • Maluach passed former Lobo great Ike Williams (1,086)
• Junior Valdir Manuel helped lead UNM with four rebounds on the night for a new UNM career high