Lobos Rally to Down San Jose State 83-77 in Conference Opener
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team rallied from down 13 points early to post an 83-77 victory over San Jose State in the Mountain West opener at The Pit. The Lobos (7-2, 1-0) recorded the largest comeback win of the Richard Pitino era, while snapping the Spartans’ (4-6, 0-1) three-game win streak.
Donovan Dent led New Mexico with 20 points and five assists. Mustapha Amzil added 19 points, while Nelly Junior Joseph had his third double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Tru Washington had 13 points to round out four Lobos in double figures.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Spartans jumped out to a 15-2 lead over the first five minutes of the contest. The Lobos used a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 17-13 with 12:00 to go. The Spartans held a 20-16 lead at the midway point of the half. A 15-3 UNM run cut the San Jose State lead to 20-19 with 7:45 left in the half before the Lobos took their first lead of the game, 28-27, with 3:40 left to play. The teams traded the lead over the final few minutes of the half, with the Lobos taking a 39-38 lead into the break as Washington made a corner three at the buzzer. Joseph led UNM with 12 first-half points.
In the second half, San Jose State scored the first five points to take a four-point lead in the first minute before the Lobos answered with six straight to retake the lead, 45-43. The Spartans led 59-50 with 12:20 left and held a 64-57 lead at the midway point of the half. UNM would tie the game at 71-71 with 4:55 to play with a 6-0 run. A Washington put-back with 2:35 left gave the Lobos back the lead, 77-75 before taking a 79-75 lead with 1:00 to go. Dent’s baseline jumper beat the shot clock to give UNM an 81-77 lead with 21.4 left as they closed out the 83-77 win.
LOBO NOTES
• New Mexico is 16-10 all-time in Mountain West openers (11-0 at home)
• UNM’s 15-game win streak in December (dating back to 2021-22) is the longest active streak in the nation (after Kansas’ 24-game December win streak was snapped Wednesday night at Creighton)
• Braden Appelhans made his first career start (in place of an injured CJ Noland)
• Dent remains the only player in the nation with at least 10 points and five assists in every game this season
• UNM’s largest lead of the night was six (the final margin), snapping a streak of 36 straight wins in which the Lobos had led by double-digits at some point in the game (last win when UNM failed to have a double-digit lead was the 81-79 overtime win over Boise State in 2022-23)
• The Lobos trailed for 31:16 of the game, the most time they have trailed in a win since trailing for 32:21 in a 67-64 victory over San Francisco in Las Vegas in 2022-23
• UNM rallied from down 13 to win, its largest comeback since rallying from down 14 to defeat Utah State 66-64 in the 2019-20 regular season finale
QUOTABLE
“Sometimes you have one of those games where you just have to find a way to pull out a win. We were walking around in mud in the first half and our energy level was not very good. Credit to San Jose and Coach Miles, they were ready to go. We found a way, down 13, to cut down that lead and get stops and rebounds and make free throws when we needed to. We are appreciative of the fans and grateful for the win.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
The Lobos continue the homestand Saturday with the Rio Grande Rivalry matchup with New Mexico State. Game time is 7:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale at GoLobos.com/tickets. The game is expected to sell out, so fans should buy their tickets before they are gone.