ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team recorded its largest margin of victory of the season, downing New Mexico Highlands 97-47 on Monday night at The Pit. The Lobos (6-2) won their third straight game while the contest counted as an exhibition for the Division II Cowboys.
Six Lobos scored in double figures with Jake Hall leading the way, scoring 21 points in just 16 minutes of action. Uriah Tenette and Antonio Chol each scored 12 points for UNM. Timeo Pons had 11 points off the bench, scoring his first collegiate points. JT Rock had career highs of 10 points and nine rebounds, just missing his first career double-double, while Tajavis Miller also added 10 points off the bench.
The Lobos shot 19-50 from behind the arc, setting a school record for 3-point attempts and finishing one shy of the school record 20 made 3-pointers (set vs. Santa Clara in 2004-05).
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lobos used an early 12-0 run to take a 17-6 lead with 13:20 left in the half. The lead grew to 25-8 with 11:00 to play as UNM held the 25-10 advantage at the midway point of the half. A 6-0 NMHU run cut the margin to 11 with 8:20 to play before the Lobos answered with a 16-2 run to take a 41-16 lead with 2:45 left. UNM took a 44-21 lead into the break as Hall had 15 first-half points to lead the Lobos.
In the second half, the Lobos opened the half on a 10-0 run to lead 54-21 with 17:15 left before the surge pushed to 18-2 to give UNM a 62-23 lead with 15:40 to go. The UNM lead grew to 69-26 with 12:30 left before holding a 72-29 lead at the midway point. The Lobos led 82-42 with 5:00 left and closed the game on a 12-0 run to cap the 50-point win.
LOBO NOTES
• New Mexico had 26 assists on 29 field goals, a 89.6 assist rate, which was the program’s highest in nine seasons (90.0, 18 on 20 FG vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 2016-17)
• The Lobos’ had six double-figure scorers for the second time this season (UC Riverside) after not accomplishing the feat at all last season
• Hall became the first Lobo freshman since Kenny Thomas in 1995-96 to have back-to-back 20-point games (Thomas had 24 vs. San Diego State and 26 vs. Hawaii in January of 1996)
• The 50-point margin of victory was UNM’s largest since a 52-point over Western New Mexico last season
• New Mexico extended its home win streak to 16 games, its longest since a 16-game home win streak spanning the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons
• UNM won its 25th straight game against non-Division I competition
QUOTABLE
“I thought it was a good performance for us. We had a mature approach and we did a nice job of competing regardless of score. Tonight was about the approach. It is easy to overlook games like this and give away an opportunity for our team to take a step. I thought we took a step in the right direction tonight.” – Eric Olen
UP NEXT
The Lobos’ homestand will conclude on Saturday when they host Santa Clara (7-1), who at No. 32 in the NET will be the highest rated team to visit The Pit in the non-conference this season. Game time is 7 p.m. and tickets are on sale at GoLobos.com/tickets.