Lobos Down San Josè State For First Mountain West Victory
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team posted its first Mountain West victory of the season with an 86-70 win over San Josè State on Friday night at The Pit. The Lobos (8-13, 1-7) led wire-to-wire to down the Spartans (7-12, 0-7) and snap a seven-game losing streak.
Jaelen House had his first career double-double, scoring 18 points and dishing out a career-high 13 assists to become the first Division I player this season to have an 18-point/13-assist game. Jamal Mashburn, Jr. scored a game-high 23 points, his ninth 20-point game of the season. Jay Allen-Tovar had 18 points, KJ Jenkins had 13 points and Javonte Johnson scored 10 points as the Lobos had five double-digit scorers for the first time since November 22.
The Lobos shot 54.2 percent from the floor, their highest against a Division I opponent this season, while making 10 3-pointers for the fifth time in conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lobos jumped out to a quick start, making their first three attempts from the floor to take a 9-0 lead over the first two minutes. New Mexico extended the lead to 26-11 with 11:00 to play in the half before a 6-0 Spartan run cut the lead to nine with 7:30 to go. The Lobos pushed the lead to 17 late in the half before taking a 43-32 advantage into the break. Mashburn had 11 points to lead the Lobos, while House matched his previous career high of seven assists in the first half.
In the second half, after San Josè State got within eight early on, New Mexico pushed the lead back to 14 with 14:00 to go. The Lobos led 68-55 at the midway point of the half before pushing the lead to 16 at 76-60 with 6:00 to play. UNM would lead by as many as 18 in the final minute before closing out the 86-70 win.
Steal by Johnson ➡️ House who sets up the alley-oop dunk for Jay Allen-Tovar 😮#GoLobos | #WeAreNM pic.twitter.com/L11sbaPbxl
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) January 29, 2022
LOBO NOTES
• Jamal Mashburn, Jr. scored in double figures for the 20th time in 21 games this season
• Mashburn had his ninth 20-point game of the season
• Jaelen House scored in double figures for the 14th time this season
• House was the first Lobo with a double-double with assists since Saquan Singleton accomplished the feat last year against San Josè State
• Jay Allen-Tovar scored in double figures for the seventh time this season
• KJ Jenkins scored in double figures for the 10th time this season
• Javonte Johnson scored in double figures for the 10th time this season
• Saquan Singleton returned to the court after missing the last three games due to a toe injury
QUOTABLE
“It was a good win. The thing our guys have done after so many dramatic, devastating, close losses is they have stayed positive and confident. They see the big picture. They know we need to keep grinding. I thought Jamal and Jaelen, there haven’t been a lot of moments when they have both been great at the same time. Tonight, they were both really good. House passing the ball was terrific and guys made big shots. Defensively, we are still struggling a bit and got lucky on some shots. Overall, our offense saved us again.” – Head Coach Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
The Lobos will conclude its January schedule with a visit to San Diego State on Monday night. Game time is 8 p.m. MT (7 p.m. PT) and the game will air on FS1.