No. 25 Lobos Post 95-75 Road Victory at San Jose State
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The No. 25 New Mexico men’s basketball team won its fourth straight game with a 95-75 victory over San Jose State on Wednesday night at the Provident Credit Union Event Center. The Lobos (17-3, 5-2 MW) never trailed as they handed the Spartans (8-11, 1-5 MW) their first double-digit loss of conference play.
All five Lobo starters scored in double figures, led by Jaelen House’s 18 points. Jamal Mashburn, Jr. scored 17 points on 7-11 shooting, while Donovan Dent had 17 points and six assists. JT Toppin had 14 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season, tying the UNM freshman season record, while also tying a career-high with five blocks. Nelly Junior Joseph added 10 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lobos jumped out to an early 13-5 lead over the opening four minutes of the game. The Spartans cut the margin to 17-16 with 11:00 to go as UNM held a 20-16 lead at the midway point of the half. The Lobos extended the lead to 30-21 with 6:15 to play and held a 32-24 advantage at the final media timeout of the half. New Mexico used a 7-0 run to take a 37-24 lead with 2:30 to play and led by as many as 16 late in the half before taking a 43-32 edge into the break. Dent had nine first-half points to lead the Lobos.
In the second half, the teams traded baskets over the opening few minutes before UNM extended the lead to 53-37 with 17:00 left. A 6-0 Spartan run cut the margin to 10, 58-48, with 15:00 to go and they got within single digits at 61-52 with 12:30 to play. UNM led 68-54 at the midway point of the half and held a 75-60 edge with 7:45 to go. A 6-0 Spartan run cut the margin with 75-66 with 6:00 to go. After the Spartans cut the margin to nine, an 8-0 Lobo run, capped by back-to-back threes by House, gave them an 83-66 lead with 4:30 to go. UNM would lead by as many as 22 points late as they closed out the 20-point victory.
LOBO NOTES
• All five Lobo starters scored in double figures for the second time this season (Utah State)
• New Mexico (11 steals) had double-figure steals for the 10th time this season
• UNM has won four straight Mountain West games by double figures, the longest streak since a seven-game streak in 2011-12
• The Lobos won back-to-back Mountain West road games for the first time since a three-game streak from the end of the 2017-18 season and the start of the 2018-19 season
• UNM never trailed in a Mountain West game for the first time since Feb. 5, 2022 (at Air Force)
QUOTABLE
“When you watch the film, you can see how good they are. San Diego State came down to a final shot. Fresno State, they lost at the buzzer. Wyoming, they lost at the buzzer. Boise State was a close game here. Nobody has done this to them in the conference, all of their games have been really, really close. Our guys were locked in and played with great energy and spirit. Over the 40 minutes we just exploded offensively at times.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
New Mexico returns home on Sunday to begin a two-game homestand when it hosts Nevada. Game time is 8 p.m. and the game will air on FS1. Tickets are on sale now at GoLobos.com/tickets.