Open Announce

New Mexico Falls 81-56 at Utah State

by Steve Kirkland

LOGAN, Utah – The New Mexico men’s basketball team ended a two-game road trip with an 81-56 loss at Utah State on Tuesday night. The Lobos (11-17, 3-11) let the Aggies (16-3 7-9) get off to a quick start offensively and snap their four-game losing streak.

Jamal Mashburn, Jr. scored 13 points to lead the Lobos. KJ Jenkins had 12 points and Jay Allen-Tovar added 11 points for New Mexico.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Aggies made their first eight field goal attempts to take an early 20-7 lead after 5:30 of action.  Utah State led 24-9 at the midway point of the half and pushed the lead to 28-11 with 7:15 to play in the half. The Aggies used a late 8-0 to lead by 22 before taking a 38-21 lead into the break, holding UNM to a season low for points in a half. Allen-Tovar had seven points and five rebounds to lead New Mexico in the first half.

In the second half, Utah State opened the half on a 7-1 run to take a 45-22 lead with 17:45 to play. The Aggies pushed the lead to 27 with 10:44 to play and led 64-39 at the midway point of the half.  Utah State would lead by as many as 29 the rest of the way as it closed out the 81-56 win.

LOBO NOTES

• Jamal Mashburn, Jr. scored in double figures for the 17th game and the 27th time in 28 games this season
• Jay Allen-Tovar scored in double figures for the sixth straight game and the 13th time this season
• KJ Jenkins scored in double figures for the 12th time this season
• Birima Seck had Mountain West career highs of four points and five rebounds
• The Lobos shot 30 percent from the free throw line (3-10), their lowest FT percentage since 2007 when they went 0-5 from the line at Texas Tech

QUOTABLE
“Just a week ago, we beat the No. 1 team in our league. We have allowed fatigue, mentally and physically, to just zap our spirit. We are just not ourselves right now. Are we a great team when we are ourselves? No, we are a building team. We have to get back home and establish some type of identity. We were competing through that Wyoming game, even in the Colorado State game, but the last two games we did not compete at all. All we can do now is continue to learn and grow.” – Head Coach Richard Pitino

UP NEXT
The Lobos return home to host Air Force on Saturday at The Pit. Game time is 2 p.m. MT and the game will air on Stadium/Mountain West Network and on the Lobo Radio Network.