Lobos Suffer 83-73 Loss at UNLV
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team suffered an 83-73 loss at UNLV on Tuesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Runnin’ Rebels (8-6, 1-1 MW) used a strong second half to record the win over the Lobos (13-3, 1-2 MW).
JT Toppin and Jaelen House each scored 16 points to lead the Lobos, while House also dished out a season-high six assists. Jamal Mashburn, Jr. scored 13 points, while Mustapha Amzil had 10 points off the bench. Tru Washington had nine points and tied a career high with five steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Runnin’ Rebels jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the game’s opening minute and led 13-4 at the first media timeout. A 6-0 UNM run cut the margin to 13-10 with 13:45 left in the half before UNLV led 21-18 at the midway point of the half. New Mexico took its first lead, 23-21, with 8:50 left in the half and led by three, 31-28, with 5:00 to go. An 11-2 Rebel run gave UNLV a 39-33 lead with 1:55 to play before the Lobos scored five straight to close within one, 39-38, in the final 30 seconds of the half. UNLV would take a 40-38 lead into the break as Amzil had 10 points off the bench to lead UNM in the opening 20 minutes.
In the second half, UNLV pushed the lead to eight, 50-42, with 16:20 to play in the game and held a 61-46 lead after an 11-2 run with 12:00 left in the game. The Rebels extended the lead to 69-48 with 9:10 to play in the game. The Lobos would close to within 13 with 5:30 to play and cut the deficit to 73-64 with 4:27 to go. That was as close as the Lobos would get as the Rebels held on for the 83-73 win.
LOBO NOTES
• UNLV won for the ninth time in the past 10 meetings in the series
• The Rebels’ 10 turnovers were the fewest by a UNM opponent this season
• Amzil had his third double-figure game in the last five games, after none in the first 11 games of the season
QUOTABLE
“It was really the third game in a row that coming out of halftime, we just didn’t have the pop we had in the first half. I thought we played, in conference, three really good first halves, but, for whatever reason, we aren’t coming out ready in those first four minutes. It starts with me and our coaching staff to get them ready. It felt a little similar to Colorado State, where they made a run and then we came back a bit. Give them credit, they played well, but I know we are better than this.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
The Lobos will return home to host No. 19 San Diego State on Saturday. The game against the Aztecs will tip off at noon and air on CBS. Less than 500 tickets remain for sale for that game and a limited number of student tickets are still available to claim.