Lobos Improve to 17-2 with 77-57 Victory Over San Jose State
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team opened a two-game homestand with a 77-57 victory over San Jose State on Tuesday night at The Pit. The Lobos (17-2, 4-2 MW) took control of the game in the first half from the Spartans (12-7, 3-3 MW) and pulled away to give UNM its largest margin of victory in a conference game in three seasons.
Jamal Mashburn, Jr. and Jaelen House each scored 20 points to lead New Mexico. Morris Udeze recorded his seventh double-double of the season, fourth consecutive, with a 17-point, 14-rebound performance. KJ Jenkins added 10 points off the bench for the Lobos.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game remained close early before a 9-0 Lobo run gave them a 13-7 lead with 13:10 to play. UNM would hold a 15-11 lead at the midway point of the half and push the advantage to 19-11 with 8:20 to play in the half. A 7-0 UNM run pushed the lead to 29-18 with 2:30 to play before the Lobos took a 32-23 lead into halftime. Mashburn had 11 points and Udeze had 10 rebounds to lead UNM in the first half.
In the second half, the Lobos pushed the advantage to 40-26 over the first four-and-a-half minutes and to 45-29 when San Jose State called timeout with 13:26 remaining. The Lobos led 51-38 at the midway point of the half and would continue to hold that margin at 60-47 with 5:40 to play. The Lobos would extend the lead to 70-50 with 3:50 to go before closing out the 20-point victory.
The alley-oop gives Morris Udeze his fourth straight double-double!! #GoLobos
Watch All-Access on @FS1 pic.twitter.com/IyN4myt74E— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) January 18, 2023
LOBO NOTES
• Udeze’s seven double-doubles are the most by a Lobo in a season since 2013-14 when Alex Kirk had 14 and Cameron Bairstow had eight
• Udeze became the first Lobo with four straight double-doubles since Joe Furstinger in 2017-18
• It marked the seventh time House and Mashburn each scored 20 in a game over the past two seasons
• Mashburn scored in double figures for the 40th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the Mountain West and second-longest active streak in the nation
• It was the Lobos’ first 20-point margin of victory in a conference game since a 97-68 win over Wyoming on Feb. 8, 2020
• The Lobos held San Jose State to 26.5% (9-34) shooting in the first half
• New Mexico had a +12 rebounding margin (42-30) against a SJSU team that entered the game with the best rebounding margin (+9.22) in the Mountain West this season
QUOTABLE
“It was a great win for our guys. I have a lot of respect for San Jose State. They had Boise (State) beat at Boise. They could have won that game easily. They are very much improved and Tim has done an amazing job. Our guys were great. In the first half, they were terrific defensively, maybe not as good offensively. We were way better offensively in the second half. We were smarter, moved the ball better and got some assists. I am proud of these guys to go from an emotional win at San Diego State and come back and be all business tonight against a San Jose State team we knew would be tough to beat.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
New Mexico will conclude the homestand on Friday night by hosting Boise State (15-4, 5-1 MW), the current first place team in the Mountain West. Game time at The Pit is 9 p.m. MT and the game will air on FS1. Tickets are available at GoLobos.com/tickets.