Lobos Defeat Spartans Behind Three in Double Figures
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— Three Lobos finished in double figures as UNM outscored San José State in all four quarters, including holding the Spartans to nine points in the third quarter, and led for 35:41 in the 72-51 victory Wednesday night.
The trio of double-digit Lobos were led by Viané Cumber with 17 points, followed by Nyah Wilson’s 16 and Aniyah Augmon’s 12, with the three combining for eight of UNM’s 11 three-pointers. In addition, Augmon led with a game-high five assists with Cumber and Wilson contributing two apiece, and each had a steal with the Lobos finishing with five.
On the boards, Hulda Joaquim recorded consecutive double-digit rebounds, finishing with a game-high 11 (five offensive) with the Lobos grabbing 13 offensive rebounds which turned into 15 second-chance points.
UNM outscored SJSU 20-9 in points off turnovers, committing just eight turnovers to the SJSU’s 19, 15-6 in second-chance points, 24-22 in paint points, and had the edge in shooting percentage (38.1%-37.0%), three-point percentage (45.8%-27.3%), made free throws (13-5), steals (5-4) and rebounds (38-34).
A Paula Reus layup started an 11-0 run for UNM in the first quarter as the defense held SJSU 6:51 without a point. Following a small 4-0 run by the Spartans to cut the margin to five, a Reus three followed by a Cumber three pushed the lead to 11 with less than 90 seconds remaining, to which the Spartans matched for a 17-12 Lobo lead through the first 10 minutes.
Reus opened the game with seven points in the first quarter to lead all scorers with Augmon tallying five points, three rebounds and two assists in the frame.
A personal 7-0 run by Wilson to start the second pushed the lead back up to double digits at 12, with the lead later reaching 14 at 30-16 on a Cumber three-pointer, and again on a Charlotte Kohl layup off of a Cumber assist. The Spartans closed on a 5-1 run, although the Lobos maintained a 10-point lead of 33-23 at the break.
The Lobos shot 44.0% from the floor and 55.6% from 3-point range, while holding SJSU to 27.6% and 18.8% from 3-point range in the first two quarters.
Following a Spartan basket to start the third quarter scoring, the Lobos rattled off a 10-2 run to extend the lead to 16 at 43-27 with the Lobos scoring seven consecutive points in the run. Another 7-0 run that included a Joaquim offensive rebound that turned into a Cumber layup, a Joaquim layup and an Augmon three expanded the lead to 20, with the margin holding at the end of the third quarter as UNM led 52-32.
The Spartans narrowed the lead to 12 midway through the fourth quarter, but the Lobos answered right back with a 10-0 run for a 64-42 lead with 2:44 remaining. A Mackenzie Curtis three-pointer provided the final points for the Lobos and their largest lead of 23 with the Spartans closing the scoring on a layup for the 72-51 final score.
With the win, the Lobos improve to 18-8 on the season, 9-4 in conference heading into a bye on Saturday.