Lobos Down South Alabama 80-74 For Second Win
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M – The New Mexico men’s basketball team picked up its second win of the season with an 80-74 victory over South Alabama on Friday night at The Pit. The Lobos (2-0) held off the Jaguars (1-1) at the end of a back-and-forth second half to remain unbeaten on the season.
Four Lobos scored in double figures, led by 21 points each by Morris Udeze and Jaelen House. For Udeze, who also had seven rebounds, it was one point shy of a career high, while House recorded seven assists for the second straight game. Jamal Mashburn, Jr. had 16 points, while Josiah Allick had 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lobos used an early 9-0 run to take a 12-2 lead as all five starters scored in the opening four minutes of the contest. UNM held a 21-15 lead at the midway point of the half before the Jaguars tied the game at 32-32 with 3:45 left in the half. The Lobos took a 36-35 lead into halftime as Udeze scored 11 first half points to lead UNM.
South Alabama scored on the opening possession of the second half to take their first lead before the Lobos answered with five straight points to go back in front. An 8-0 Jaguar run gave them their largest lead at 48-43 with 15:46 to play, but New Mexico answered with a 12-0 run to retake the lead at 55-48 with 13:45 left. The game runs continued with a 10-2 run by USA to hold a 58-57 lead with 11:00 to go. The game was tied at 60-60 at the midway point before the Lobos took a 65-60 lead with a 7-0 run. New Mexico led 75-70 at the final media timeout and had the ball with a 76-74 lead with 33.4 seconds left. Allick found Mashburn for a deep three as the shot clock expired to give UNM a 79-74 lead and seal the victory.
MASH CALLED GAME!!!! #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/LPW3PcFdOc
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) November 12, 2022
LOBO NOTES
• House had consecutive 20-point games for the third time in his career
• Mashburn scored in double figures for the 23rd consecutive game, the longest active streak in the Mountain West
• Udeze had his third career 20-point game, first as a Lobo
• Udeze scored in double figures for the second straight game
QUOTABLE
“It was a great win. I thought South Alabama is a terrific team. That’s a team that could win a conference championship. They have talent and they are hard to guard. I told our team that we need to play our best basketball as the game goes on and I thought the middle part of the second half and the end was when we played our best basketball. It feels great to be 2-0 and there is so much we can get better at. We made winning plays at the end when we needed to. Josiah’s kick to Mash, and Mash didn’t have a great first half, but he had the poise to make that big three. I’m proud of our guys.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
The Lobos open their road schedule on Tuesday with a visit to SMU. Game time in Dallas is 6 p.m. MT (7 p.m. CT) and the game will air on ESPN+.