Lobos Fall to Utah Valley 83-69 in NIT First Round
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team had its season come to an end with an 83-69 loss to Utah Valley in the opening round of the NIT on Wednesday night at The Pit. The Lobos (22-12) had their most wins and made their first postseason appearance since 2013-14, while the Wolverines (26-8) advance to play Colorado in the second round.
Morris Udeze, in his final collegiate game, posted his 15th double-double of the season with 18 points and a career-high 19 rebounds. His 19 rebounds are a Lobo record for a NIT game, eclipsing Luc Longley’s 18-rebound game vs. Saint Louis in the 1990 semifinals at Madison Square Garden.
Jaelen House added 14 points and five assists, while grabbing four steals. His four steals gave him 86 for the season, setting a new UNM single-season record, breaking the previous mark of 84 by Hunter Greene in 1986-87.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lobos got off to a slow start offensively, as Utah Valley took a 4-0 lead over the opening 2:30. UNM would go on an 8-0 run to take a 12-9 lead with 13:00 to go in the half. Another UNM scoring drought allowed the Wolverines to take a 14-12 lead at the midway point of the half. The UVU lead stretched to 13 at 36-23 with 5:00 left in the half. Utah Valley led by as many as 15 in the first half before taking a 46-33 lead into the break. Morris Udeze had 14 points and nine rebounds to lead the Lobos in the first 20 minutes.
In the second half, Utah Valley pushed the advantage to 20 early at 55-35 with 16:40 to play. The Wolverines held a 66-48 lead at the midway point of the half. A 7-0 Lobo run cut the deficit to 66-53 with 9:20 to play, but that was as close as the Lobos would get as Utah Valley closed out the 14-point win.
LOBO NOTES
• Mashburn finished in 8th place on the Lobos’ single-season scoring list with 651 points
• Udeze moved into 7th place on the Lobos’ single-season rebounding list with 326 rebounds
• Udeze’s 15 double-doubles this season are 8th most in a season in UNM history
• Josiah Allick reached the 1,000 career point milestone, the fourth Lobos to accomplish the feat this season
QUOTABLE
“Obviously a bad ending to a really good season. I talked to the team that you have to take the emotion out of it. Even though we didn’t play well and they played terrific, we have to understand what our weaknesses are and I would say it is certainly defense; individually, collectively and coaching, all of it has to be better. You can’t win that way, especially on nights like tonight when the ball isn’t going in. You sit back and reflect on what we are building. We did some amazing things this year. Be proud of it, but we have to become a better team. It was a fun a season. We have a lot to be proud of and to build upon.” – Richard Pitino