Lobos Earn First MW Victory over SJSU; Maluach Scores 25

ST. GEORGE, Utah — The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team claimed its first conference victory of the season on Thursday afternoon with a 67-51 final against San José State. Senior Makuach Maluach racked up 25 points on the day to go along with six rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Maluach was one of two Lobos to score in double figures as he finished just one point short of his career high while also posting a new career-most steals. He was followed by junior Rod Brown who registered 15 points to go along with four boards.

This DUNK puts Maluach at 25 points in the game thus far, a new season-high for the senior! #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/bOYSj8Tlmo

— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) January 21, 2021

New Mexico (5-8, 1-8 MW) outshot and outrebounded SJSU (2-11, 0-9 MW) while holding the Spartans’ leading scorer, Richard Washington, to just three points on the day. Washington entered the game averaging 21.3 points per game in conference competition but saw reduced minutes on Thursday.

San José State was led instead by senior Ralph Agee (14) and junior Jalen Dalcourt (10).

The game started out slow with both teams shooting under 40 percent in the first half before the Lobos fired 51.9 percent from the floor in the second half en route to a 19-point lead in the final minutes of the contest.

New Mexico dominated the stat sheet in points in the paint (42-26) and second-chance points (12-5). New Mexico forced 15 turnovers while committing just nine, marking the first time the Lobos have had less than 10 turnovers since March 5, 2020.

UNM started out the contest on an 11-4 run to get ahead by seven points at the 13:40 mark. SJSU cut the lead back to three, a minute and a half later but that was as close as the Spartans would get for the remainder of the game.

Both teams were cold from behind the arc through the first 12:11 until Lobo freshman Isaiah Marin hit the first UNM triple of the game to give New Mexico its largest lead of 10, 19-9, with just under eight minutes left in the first half.

New Mexico’s largest lead of the first half was 12 before finishing with a 10-point halftime advantage.

The Lobos built a 16-point lead with 10:39 left in the second half but SJSU scored seven straight to reduce UNM’s lead to nine with eight minutes. New Mexico’s offense continued to dominate and the Lobos went up by as many as 19 through the final minutes.

UNM and SJSU will play game two of their series on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 12 p.m. in St. George, Utah on the Mountain West Network before the Lobos return to Albuquerque for practice.

Postgame Notes

• The Lobos now lead the series with the Spartans 17-3
• UNM has emerged victorious in the last three meetings

TEAM NOTES:

• For the second straight game, UNM used a new lineup which consisted of Singleton, Maluach, Wegscheider, Brown and Manuel.
• The Lobos outshot SJSU 42.9-40.0 percent and are now a perfect 5-0 when outshooting their opponent.
• New Mexico outrebounded the Spartans 39-33 marking the sixth time this season that the Lobos have done so but just the second time in conference play.
  • New Mexico is now 5-1 when outrebounding its opponent, 1-1 in league competition.
•  The Lobos outscored the Spartans in the paint by 16 points (42-26).
• UNM collected 17 points on turnovers, forcing 15 while committing just nine.
• The last time the Lobos had less than 10 turnovers was on March 5, 2020.
• Both teams made just three 3-pointers on the day and fired less than 20 percent behind the arc.
• The Lobos have struggled from the free throw line, but went 10-for-13 from the stripe (76.9 percent) compared to just 8-for-15 for SJSU.
• UNM led for 36:58. SJSU never led.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:

• Senior Makuach Maluach finished just one point shy of his career high with 25 points.
  • He started his 69th straight career contest
  • He also competed in his 112th career game
  • With his 25 points, he now posts 1,142 career points and ranks 28th in Lobo history.
    • Maluach is just three points away from passing former Lobo great David Chiotti (1,145)
      • Chiotti was on Weir’s staff as UNM’s director of player development when Maluach was a freshman
  • Maluach went 10-for-14 from the floor, matching his career-high made field goals in a game.
  • His four steals also marks a new career high
• Junior Rod Brown scored 15 points finishing just one point short of his UNM career high.
  • He also registered four rebounds and a steal.
• Sophomore Kurt Wegscheider earned his first start of the season, the third of his career