Joseph’s Game-Winner Lifts Lobos to 82-81 Overtime Victory Over Nevada
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The 1,000th Lobo basketball game at The Pit proved to deliver another magical moment, as Nelly Junior Joseph’s buzzer-beater lifted New Mexico to an 82-81 overtime victory over Nevada. The Lobos (12-3, 4-0 MW) stayed unbeaten in Mountain West play while handing the Wolf Pack (8-7, 0-4 MW) their fourth straight loss.
Joseph, who won the game with his 15-foot jumper as time expired, finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. Donovan Dent also scored 20 points, while adding six assists. Mustapha Amzil added 14 points for New Mexico.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lobos took an early 6-4 lead after the opening four minutes of play. UNM used strong defense to extend the lead to 10-4 with 13:00 left in the half. The Lobos led 15-12 at the midway point of the half and extended the margin to 22-14 with 8:00 to play. The Wolf Pack used a 6-0 run to close within two at 22-20 with 6:00 left and tied the game at 28-28 with 3:20 in the half. Nevada took a 37-33 lead in the final minute before taking a 37-34 lead into the break. Joseph had 12 points and seven rebounds to lead UNM in the first half.
In the second half, the Lobos used early threes from Filip Borovicanin and Mustapha Amzil to take a 40-38 lead in the first two minutes after intermission. After Nevada took a four-point lead, a 8-0 Lobo run gave them a 51-47 lead with 11:15 to play. UNM led 52-49 at the midway point of the half before the teams traded the lead for several minutes. The game was tied, 62-62, with 4:00 to go before the teams traded the lead again over several possessions. With the game tied 66-66 with 1:40 to play, a Dent layup and a pair of Joseph free throws gave UNM a 70-66 lead with 55 seconds left. After Nevada made a pair from the line, the Wolf Pack got a stop to get the ball back down 70-68 with 13.8 seconds left. The Wolf Pack drew a foul with 1.1 left and made both shots to force overtime.
In overtime, Nevada led 76-73 with 2:00 left before a Noland triple tied the game with 1:45 to go. A Nevada basket-and-one with 50 seconds to go gave the Pack a 79-78 lead before Dent was fouled with 42.3 left. He made both to give the Lobos an 80-79 lead, but Nevada answered with a pair at the line to take an 81-80 lead with 30.4 to play. After a jumpball gave the Wolf Pack the ball with 18.3 seconds left, the Lobos stole the ball to set up Joseph’s game-winner as time expired.
LOBO NOTES
• The Lobos tie their best start to a Mountain West season at 4-0 (also started 4-0 in 2012-13)
• It marked the first time in over 20 years that New Mexico won on a buzzer-beater shot as time expired
• New Mexico shot 0-4 from deep in the first half, marking the first time this season that it failed to make a three in a half
• Dent moved into 11th place on UNM’s career assists list with 374
• UNM is now 804-196 in the 1,000 games at The Pit
QUOTABLE
“It certainly was a great way to honor a historic and amazing building. The building is great, but would be nothing without our unbelievable fans. We are fortunate to make a big play at the end. I thought CJ made a big three late. The trap, when they didn’t have a timeout, was huge and then Nelly got the steal. We were fortunate Nelly hit that shot at the end. Nevada is really good. Anytime you beat a well-coached team like that, you are fortunate.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
The Lobos will visit Wyoming next Tuesday, Jan. 7 (8:00 pm, CBS Sports Network) before returning home to host San Diego State on Jan. 11. The game against the Aztecs will air on CBS and tip-off will be either 1:00 or 2:00 pm. (to be determined after the NFL determines the time of CBS’ wild card games that weekend).