Lobos Post 89-81 Season Opening Win over Southern Utah
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M – The New Mexico men’s basketball team began the 2022-23 season with an 89-81 victory over Southern Utah on Monday night at The Pit. The Lobos (1-0) led wire-to-wire to earn the win over the Thunderbirds (0-1).
Jamal Mashburn, Jr. had 24 points and Jaelen House added 23 points, seven assists and six steals to lead the Lobos. Morris Udeze added 14 points and Josiah Allick grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in their New Mexico debuts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lobos started strong defensively, holding Southern Utah without a field goal over the first five minutes to take an early 8-2 lead. An 8-0 Lobo run gave UNM its first double-digit lead at 16-6, just before the mid-point of the half. The Lobos led by as many as 11 in the first half before taking a 39-33 advantage into the break. Mashburn scored 10 first-half points to lead UNM.
Southern Utah made its first six of seven field goals of the second half to tie the game at 48-48 with 15:30 to go. New Mexico answered with a 10-0 run to take a 58-48 lead with 13:00 to play. The Thunderbirds cut the lead to two at 63-61 with 8:15 to go before the Lobos would push the advantage back to nine at 73-64 with 5:30 to play. After SUU got within four at 73-69, five straight points from House made the score 78-69 with 3:45 to go. Southern Utah would get within three at 84-81 with 26 seconds left before the Lobos closed out the 89-81 victory at the free throw line.
House from long range! Lobos up seven!! #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/tE8VimrjPP
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) November 8, 2022
LOBO NOTES
• The Lobos opened the season with a victory for the 20th straight season
• Mashburn scored in double figures for the 22nd straight game, dating back to last season, and for the 32nd time in 33 games as a Lobo
• House posted his 11th career 20-point game
• Morris Udeze, Josiah Allick, Donovan Dent and Braden Appelhans all made their Lobo debuts
QUOTABLE
“It was a great win against a tough first opponent. We are going to have a lot of teams like that on the schedule that might not be the marquee names, so to speak, but that is a program that won 23 games last year and 20 the year before. They have some talent. They are well-coached. They made some crazy shots at the end. We did a really good job of adjusting. We didn’t know what they would do defensively. We adjusted well, throwing the ball inside and moving the ball side-to-side. There were a lot of good things and then House and Mash made big-time plays at the end. It was a great team win. It was great to be back in this building. The fans were awesome and this is going to be a great learning experience when we watch the film.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
The season-opening two-game homestand concludes on Friday when the Lobos host South Alabama. Game time at The Pit is 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network and the Lobo Radio Network. It will be UNM’s Salute to Service night as active military and veterans will receive free admission with ID.
