Udeze and House Shine in Senior Night Win over Fresno State
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team completed the home portion of its regular season schedule with a 94-80 victory over Fresno State on Tuesday night at The Pit. The Lobos (21-9, 8-9 MW) recorded its 15th home win of the season while earning their first win over the Bulldogs (10-19, 6-12 MW) since 2020.
On his senior night, Morris Udeze dominated with a 25-point, 9-rebound performance. Fellow senior Jaelen House added 24 points and five assists, while senior KJ Jenkins added 11 points off the bench. Jamal Mashburn, Jr. had 13 points and Javonte Johnson had 10 points as five Lobos scored in double figures.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams opened the game strong offensively, with the teams trading the lead throughout the opening five minutes of play. A 10-2 UNM run gave the Lobos an 21-14 lead with 12:40 left in the half. New Mexico led 26-19 at the midway point of the half before Fresno State cut the lead to 38-36 with 3:50 to play in the half. The Lobos would extend the lead to 50-42 at halftime as UNM shot 63% from the floor in the opening half. Udeze and House each had 15 first-half points to lead New Mexico.
In the second half, after Fresno State scored the first five points to close to 50-47, UNM answered with a 12-0 run to take a 62-47 lead with 16:00 to play. The Bulldogs would use an 11-0 run to cut the gap to 64-60 with 11:45 left to play before the Lobos led 68-62 at the midway point of the half. UNM would extend the lead to 84-66 with 5:30 to play and closed out the 14-point win while allowing the fans to give ovations to Udeze, House and Jenkins as they exited the game.
SENIORS MAKING PLAYS!!! #GoLobos
📺@FS1 pic.twitter.com/eEwAzsYf1H— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) March 1, 2023
LOBO NOTES
• The Lobos won on Senior Night for the sixth straight time and the 14th time in the past 15 home finales
• New Mexico’s 94 points were the most allowed by Fresno State in the five-year tenure of Justin Hutson
• The Lobos tied their season high for first half scoring with 50 (Northern Colorado, UTSA, at San Jose State)
• Jaelen House became the 37th player to score 1,000 career points as a Lobo
• Mashburn moved into 24th place on the Lobos’ all-time scoring list at 1,163 career points at UNM
Ladies and Gentlemen … DONOVAN DENT!!!!! #GoLobos
📺@FS1 pic.twitter.com/OMX9TT0KPb— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) March 1, 2023
QUOTABLE
“It was an amazing bounce-back from the last game. I am proud of our guys to be able to bounce back and play as well as we did. I thought we were phenomenal offensively. We were way better in the second half defensively. To have Morris leave here with 25 and nine is awesome. He is a special kid. It was great to leave our fans with a regular season win. 21-9 is terrific and let’s see if we can get one on the road at Colorado State.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
New Mexico will conclude the regular season on Friday when it visits Colorado State. Game time in Fort Collins is 9:00 p.m. and the game will air on FS1.