No. 25 Lobos Pull Away from Nevada for 89-55 Victory
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The No. 25 New Mexico men’s basketball team won its fifth straight game, all by double digits, with an 89-55 victory over Nevada on Sunday night at The Pit. The Lobos (18-3, 6-2 MW) posted their largest margin of victory in a conference game since 2011-12, while handing the Wolf Pack (16-5, 3-4 MW) their most lopsided loss since 2014-15.
Jaelen House led the Lobos with 21 points, six assists and six steals, the only 20/6/6 game in Mountain West play over the past 14 seasons. He was one of five Lobos in double figures, as Jamal Mashburn, Jr. added 14 points and Nelly Junior Joseph had a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Donovan Dent added 11 points and Mustapha Amzil scored 11 off the bench.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lobos opened the game on a 10-0 run over the opening four minutes of play and held a 19-8 edge with 12:00 left in the half. An 8-0 UNM run made the score 23-8 at the midway point of the half and the margin remained 15, at 30-15, with 6:00 left. A flagrant foul on Nevada with 4:30 to play helped the Lobos push the lead to 36-17, their largest of the half, with 3:15 to go. A late 7-0 run by the Wolf Pack allowed them to cut the halftime margin to 14 at 38-24. Joseph had 10 points and six boards to lead UNM in the first half.
In the second half, UNM scored the first five points to take a 19-point lead with 18:40 left, and led 49-32 with 15:20 to play. The Wolf Pack used a 10-2 run to cut the margin to single digits at 53-44 at the midway point of the half before back-to-back threes from Tru Washington and House pushed the advantage back to 15 points. Back-to-back threes from Mustapha Amzil and House pushed the lead to 20 at 68-48 with 6:00 to go. A 17-2 UNM run made the score 85-53 with 1:40 to go as the Lobos closed out the 34-point win.
LOBO NOTES
• The 34-point victory was the Lobos’ largest margin of victory in a MW game since an 81-42 win at Air Force in 2011-12
• New Mexico has won consecutive Mountain West games by at least 20 points for the first time since 2007-08 (91-51 vs. Colorado State, 100-55 vs. Wyoming)
• UNM has won five straight Mountain West games by double figures, the longest streak since a seven-game streak in 2011-12
• Nelly Junior Joseph had his fourth double-double of the season (38th career) and his first in Mountain West play
• The Lobos never trailed for the second straight game
• UNM snapped a nine-game losing streak against Nevada, as the Wolf Pack was the only MW team UNM hadn’t yet defeated in the Pitino era
QUOTABLE
“It was a great performance all around by our guys. Nevada has been really, really good and was coming off a really good game against Colorado State. It was a team effort for 40 minutes. We got better as the game went on, which is great to see. Jaelen House was phenomenal, not just the shot making but the steals. Offensively we were great and defensively we turned them over.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
The Lobos will conclude the two-game homestand on Wednesday night when they host Boise State. Game time is 8:30 p.m. and the game will air on FS1. Tickets are on sale now at GoLobos.com/tickets.