Lobos Down UTSA 94-76 to Improve to 9-0
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team remained unbeaten on the season with a 94-76 victory over UTSA on Saturday afternoon at The Pit. The Lobos (9-0) pulled away from the Roadrunners (5-4) in the second half to post their sixth double-digit win of the season.
Morris Udeze led the Lobos with 24 points and eight rebounds, whlle Jaelen House added 21 points and seven assists. Jamal Mashburn, Jr. had 18 points and Josiah Allick had 13 points as four Lobos finished in double figures.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game remained close early with it tied 7-7 after the opening three minutes before a 15-0 Lobo run gave them a 22-7 lead with 12:30 to go. New Mexico pushed the advantage to 26-10 just before the midway point of the half. The Roadrunners would use hot shooting from outside (5-7 from deep to start) to cut the advantage to 29-19 with 8:50 to play, but UNM answered with a 11-0 run to take a 40-19 advantage with 6:20 to play, its largest lead of the half. UTSA used a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 13 in the final minutes of the half before UNM took a 50-38 advantage into the break. House had 15 points and Udeze had 14 points to lead UNM in the first half.
In the second half, UTSA cut the advantage to 53-47 after a 9-1 run with 16:55 to go before UNM pushed the lead back to 11 at 58-47 at the first media timeout. UNM’s lead was extended to 68-53 with 12:00 to play and 70-57 at the midway point of the half. The Lobos largest lead was 24 points at 86-62 with 5:00 to go before closing out the 94-76 victory.
JOSIAH ALLICK ON THE BREAK!!!! #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/HQ616vvll1
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) December 10, 2022
LOBO NOTES
• UNM improved to 9-0 for the first time since 2012-13
• New Mexico is one of the final nine unbeaten teams in the nation
• The Lobos’ 36 free throws are T-9th most in a game in school history and the most since 2008
• The Lobos’ 46 free throw attempts are T-15th most in a game in school history and the most since 2008
• The Lobos had the same starting lineup for the ninth straight game to open the season
• Udeze has scored in double figures every game this season
• Mashburn scored in double figures for the 30th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the Mountain West
QUOTABLE
“I thought that was a rock-solid performance all around. We did a much better job in the second half of not only taking away their threes, but limiting their attempts. We are playing terrific offensive basketball. We are efficient, unselfish and executing in the half-court very well. It is great to be a 9-0 and it was an awesome crowd. Now we have a big one on Monday, so we have to get some rest, relax, watch a lot of game film and put together a great game plan for San Francisco.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
The Lobos will travel to Las Vegas to play San Francisco Monday in the Jack Jones Hoopfest. Game time at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay is 8:30 p.m. PT (9:30 p.m. MT) and the game will be streamed on the tournament website for a fee.