Dent’s 40-Point Night Lifts Lobos to 78-71 Win Over VCU
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team capped its non-conference schedule with a 78-71 victory over VCU on Wednesday night at The Pit. The Lobos (9-3) used a 40-point effort from Donovan Dent to snap the Rams’ five-game win streak.
Dent became the first Lobo to score 40 points in a game in three seasons, and the first to do accomplish the feat at The Pit in nine years. Nelly Junior Joseph posted his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Mustapha Amzil added 15 points for UNM.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lobos used a strong early defensive start to lead 6-1 after the first three minutes. A 6-0 Rams run gave them their first lead at 14-13 with 12:00 to go in the half. The Lobos answered with their own 6-0 run to lead 19-14 lead with 8:45 to go. UNM took a seven-point lead at 23-16 with 7:00 to play before holding a 28-25 lead with 3:45 left in the half. After the Rams cut the lead to one, UNM ended the half on a 6-0 run to take a 37-30 lead into the break. Dent had 15 points to lead the Lobos in the first half.
In the second half, the Lobos took a double-digit lead, 46-34, with 17:20 left, and forced a VCU timeout at 15:35 after taking a 51-36 lead. A 6-0 VCU run cut the margin to 51-42 with 14:00 to play before the Rams closed the gap to 56-52 with 11:40 to go. UNM led 64-54 with 9:20 to play before the Rams cut the margin to 64-61 with 6:00 to go. A 7-0 UNM run made it a 12-point game again, 73-61, with 4:30 to play. The lead was 73-65 with 1:00 to go before the Lobos closed out the seven-point win.
LOBO NOTES
• Dent had the Lobos’ first 40-point game since Jaelen House scored 42 points at Air Force in 2022
• It was the first 40-point game by a Lobo in The Pit since Elijah Brown had 41 points vs. Fresno State in 2016
• Dent is the only player in the nation with three 25-point games and three 10-assist games this season
• VCU (No. 42 KenPom) was the first top-50 KenPom opponent to visit The Pit in the non-conference since 2017-18 (Arizona)
• UNM posted two top-50 KenPom wins (also defeated UCLA) in the non-conference for the first time since 2013-14 (Cincinnati, Marquette)
• The Lobos finish with a 33-4 non-conference record over the past three seasons, third-best win percentage in the nation (behind Purdue and Utah State)
QUOTABLE
“The effort was really good. We rebounded and defended really well at times. We had a high level of desire to just go get the win. We knew we needed to have it. We had to take advantage of this opportunity against a team picked to win their league. The guys did a great job of working hard all week. We put the ball in Donovan’s hands and just made plays. When he is like that, he is really hard to stop.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
After a 10-day holiday break, New Mexico returns to Mountain West play with a pair of road games to close out December, visiting Colorado State on Dec. 28 and Fresno State on Dec. 31. The Lobos return home on Jan. 3 to host Nevada in the 1,000th game in The Pit.