Lobos Post 76-67 Road Win at No. 23 San Diego State
SAN DIEGO – The New Mexico men’s basketball team recorded its first ranked victory of the season with a 76-67 win at No. 23 San Diego State on Saturday night at Viejas Arena. The Lobos (16-2, 3-2 MW) led almost the entire game to hand the Aztecs (13-4, 4-1 MW) their first conference loss of the season and snap their 16-game home win streak.
Jaelen House scored a season-high 29 points to lead the Lobos, including 21 in the second half. Jamal Mashburn, Jr. added 22 points while Morris Udeze had his third straight double-double with 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Javonte Johnson scored a season-high 10 points for his first double figure game of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lobos jumped out to an early 8-3 lead after the opening 2:30 of the game. A 6-0 UNM run extended the Lobos’ advantage to 16-9 with 13:15 to play as they led 19-13 at the midway point of the half. New Mexico would lead by as many as 11 at 26-15 with 8:00 to play in the half before a 6-0 SDSU run cut the lead to five. UNM would extend the lead to 11 at 34-23 with 3:15 to play before taking a 38-28 lead into halftime. Mashburn had 15 first-half points to lead UNM, while Johnson set his season high in the first half with 10 points.
In the second half, the Aztecs opened strong and cut the lead to 43-40 with 15:55 to play. SDSU tied the game at 45-45 with 13:30 to play before the Lobos led 48-47 at the midway point of the half. The Aztecs took their first lead of the second half, 49-48, with 9:20 to go, but the Lobos retook the lead with 8:05 left on a five-point possession by House, as he made a pair of technical free throws followed by a three-pointer to give UNM a 53-49 lead. It became a 15-1 run that have UNM a 63-50 lead with 5:15 to play. The Aztecs wouldn’t go away and used a 10 -1 run to cut the advantage to 64-60 with 2:55 to play. Back-to-back hoops by Udeze and Mashburn gave UNM an eight-point lead with 1:20 left and the Lobos sealed the 76-67 victory at the foul line in the final minute.
Jaelen House caps a five point possession!! Two technical FTs and a triple!! #GoLobos
Watch on @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/VBi39dvWrv— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) January 15, 2023
LOBO NOTES
• The Lobos snapped a five-game road losing streak against ranked opponents, posting their first road ranked win in a decade (since a 91-82 win at No. 22 Colorado State in 2012-13)
• UNM defeated a ranked Aztec team for the first time since the 2014 Mountain West Tournament final
• Mashburn scored in double figures for the 39th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the Mountain West and second-longest active streak in the nation
• Johnson became the eight different Lobo to have a double-figure scoring game this season
• Udeze had double figure rebounds for the third straight game
• Richard Pitino has now recorded at least one ranked win every season since 2014-15 (at Minnesota)
QUOTABLE
“Experience is so important. San Diego State, last year, threw us around in here. The guys that were here last year; Mash, House, KJ, Javonte, they took some pride. I told them we needed to match their level of toughness because San Diego State always brings that. I thought we really set the tone defensively. Morris was terrific rebounding the basketball. Overall, we were ready to go. We settled in, built a lead and were able to finish it out.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
New Mexico will return home next week for a pair of Mountain West games at The Pit. The Lobos host San Jose State on Tuesday night and Boise State on Friday night. Tickets for those games are available at GoLobos.com/tickets, including a $30 off January three-pack that also includes the Jan. 27 game against Air Force.