Lobos Down CSU Pueblo 85-53 in Preseason Exhibition
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M – The New Mexico men’s basketball team posted an 85-53 victory over Colorado State Pueblo in a preseason exhibition Saturday night at The Pit. The Lobos pulled away in the first half to post the 32-point victory in their final preseason contest.
Four Lobos scored in double figures, led by Jaelen House, who scored 20 points on 8-11 shooting, including 4-5 from deep. Donovan Dent scored 16 points and had seven rebounds in his Lobo debut, while Jamal Mashburn, Jr. scored 11 points and Josiah Allick had 10 points in his first UNM game.
The Lobos shot 50.0 percent from the floor, including 56.3 percent from 3-point range, in the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After the game was close early, the Lobos used an 12-2 run to take a 24-12 lead with 10:30 to play in the half. New Mexico pushed the lead to 12 before CSU Pueblo took advantage of a Lobo scoring drought to cut the lead to 26-21 with 6:45 in the half. Back-to-back threes from the House sparked a 15-0 run that gave UNM their largest lead at 41-21 with 3:30 left. The Lobos pushed the advantage to 49-25 at the break as House had 15 first half points.
New Mexico extended the lead to 31 at 63-32 over the first three minutes of second half and led 68-39 at the under-12 timeout. CSU Pueblo would get within 23 with five minutes to play before the Lobos closed out the 85-53 victory. UNM allowed CSU Pueblo just five points over the final 7:28 of the game.
LOBO NOTES
• Six players (Morris Udeze, Josiah Allick, Braden Appelhans, Donovan Dent, Quinton Webb, Mac Manzanares) made their first UNM appearance
• The Lobos improved to 27-0 against non-Division I opponents in preseason exhibitions
• UNM had nine blocks, including five from Birima Seck
QUOTABLE
“That was great for us because there is just something about playing in front of fans and having that gameday routine. I wish we could play more of these to get ready for the year. I thought the crowd for an exhibition game was great and this building is going to get more and more filled as the year goes on. Hopefully they saw a team that plays hard and competes, and it was great to have everyone get some minutes. Mission accomplished and now we have to get to work. We didn’t reveal a lot today because I think our first few games are really challenging.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
The 2022-23 New Mexico basketball season officially begins Nov. 7 with the season-opener against Southern Utah. Game time at The Pit is 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast online on the Mountain West Network and on the radio on the Lobo Radio Network.