Cumber and Augmon Record Double-Doubles in Win Over Utah State
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Viané Cumber and Aniyah Augmon recorded double-doubles and three Lobos finished in double figures as New Mexico edged out Utah State 71-67 on Wednesday night.
Cumber finished with a team-high 21 points for her third game this season scoring 20-plus points and brought down a team-high 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Cumber was also a spark from behind the arc, making five three-pointers for her third game with five or more threes this season and the sixth time with three or more three-pointers this season.
Augmon recorded her first double-double of the season and the fourth of her career behind a career-high 10 assists and 13 points, the 11th time this season that the Lobo junior has reached double figures in the scoring column. Augmon was also one of four Lobos to be credited with three steals, her 21st-career game with multiple steals, nine of which came this season.
Nyah Wilson rounded out the Lobos in double figures, finishing with 16 points, with perhaps no basket bigger than the three-pointer she hit with 1:17 remaining to put UNM up 66-64 for the final lead change. Wilson was also one of the Lobos with three steals, a career high for the Lobo junior.
UNM was credited with 12 steals and committed a season-low seven turnovers, scoring 21 points off of USU’s turnovers. In addition, the Lobos tied their season high in made three-pointers with 11 and also assisted on a season-high 21 of their 26 baskets with Augmon’s 10 assists more than the entire USU team total.
The Lobos got out to a 10-5 lead with Cumber and Wilson accounting for five points apiece, with UNM scoring the final four points of the quarter behind a Paris Lauro three and an Augmon free throw for the 16-10 score through the first.
Wilson scored seven points to start the game with Cumber starting off with five points and four rebounds, with the Lobos scoring eight points on fast-break opportunities.
UNM cooled off in the second quarter with the Aggies scoring the first eight points of the quarter to take the lead and the teams traded baskets for ties at 18, 20 and 22 before Utah State went ahead 27-22. A Lara Langermann three-pointer as time expired closed the deficit to two heading into the half.
Out of the break, the Lobos hit four consecutive three-pointers with Cumber responsible for two and Paula Reus and Augmon making one to give the Lobos a 37-30 lead less than 2:30 into the third. UNM’s lead reached double digits on Wilson free throws, expanding to 14 at 46-32 on another Cumber three-pointer at the 4:51 mark. USU narrowed the lead to six with 1:31 remaining in the quarter with Lauro stopping the 8-0 Aggie run with a jumper. However, Utah State made two free throws to end the quarter with UNM holding a six-point lead of 50-44.
UNM made five three-pointers and shot 52.9% from the floor in the third quarter with Cumber leading with nine points on three three-pointers.
After USU cut the lead to 52-48, a 7-2 Lobo run that included four points from Augmon and a three-pointer by Cumber pushed the lead to nine with 5:39 remaining in the game. Utah State made another run to take a 62-61 lead on a three-pointer with 2:19 left, to which the Lobos answered on the next possession on a Charlotte Kohl layup. Another Aggie basket allowed the lead to change sides, but Wilson drained a corner three in front of the Lobo bench with 1:17 to play to put UNM back in front 66-64.
A Wilson steal on the next possession led to a jumper by Cumber to extend the lead to two possessions and after an Aggie three-pointer missed, Augmon grabbed the rebound and was fouled to send the Lobo to the line. Augmon split a pair, and after the Aggies split a pair of free throws on their end, Augmon drew another foul and made both to push the lead to six with six seconds remaining. USU made one more basket with the Lobos calling their final timeout to advance the ball, and inbounded the ball to Wilson who dribbled out the remaining three seconds for the final score.
Down the stretch, UNM made its final three shots, with Cumber assisting on two of them and making a basket, and Augmon went 3-4 from the line to secure the win.
After shooting 21.3% in the first 20 minutes, the Lobos responded to shoot 48.5% in the final 20 minutes, led by 14 points from Cumber, 12 from Augmon and nine from Wilson. Cumber went 4-6 from three-point range in the second half with the Lobos shooting 53.8% (7-13) from behind the arc.
With the win, the Lobos improve to 11-5 on the season, 2-1 in the Mountain West and extend their win streak over the Aggies to 15 games and 17 of the last 18 games. Coach Mike Bradbury improves to 14-0 all-time against Utah State.
The Lobos head to Colorado State to face the Rams on Saturday at 1 p.m. on the Mountain West Network.