LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team opened play at the Mountain West Tournament with a 93-77 victory over San Jose State on Thursday night at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Lobos (23-9) advanced to the conference semifinals for the third straight season, while the Spartans (9-24) saw their season come to an end.
Tomislav Buljan led New Mexico with 25 points (tying a career high) and 14 rebounds on 10-of-11 shooting from the floor. Jake Hall had 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 5-of-6 from deep. Luke Haupt had 15 points and Deyton Albury added 13 points. Uriah Tenette, making his first start since December, had eight points and a career-high nine assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lobos jumped out to an early 8-0 lead over the game’s opening two minutes of play. The Spartans used a 6-0 run to take a 15-14 lead with 13:00 left. The teams traded the lead for several minutes with San Jose State leading 20-18 at the midway point of the half. The lead kept going back-and-forth, with the Spartans holding a 31-29 lead with 5:30 to play. The Lobos used a 7-0 run to take a 38-33 lead with 2:45 left in the half and pushed the margin to 43-36 at the break. Buljan led UNM with 10 points and eight rebounds in the first half.
In the second half, the Lobos pushed the margin to double digits in the first minute at 46-36 and held a 52-43 advantage with 16:00 to go. UNM used a 6-0 run to take a 58-47 lead with 13:45 to play and a 7-0 run to lead 65-52 with 11:30 to play. The lead grew to 85-63 with 4:30 to play before the Spartans used a 7-0 to cut the margin to 85-70 with 3:20 left. The Lobos would close out the 16-point win over the final minutes.
LOBO NOTES
• UNM’s 93 points are its most in a Mountain West Tournament game since 2014
• The Lobos’ 26 assists tie its school record for assists in a conference tournament game (also 26 vs. BYU in 2005)
• New Mexico’s 58.5% from the field (38-65) is UNM’s highest field goal percentage ever in a Mountain West Tournament game
• Buljan’s 10-of-11 shooting sets a UNM conference tournament record for field goal percentage (min. 5 FGM), breaking the mark of Donovan Dent (8-9 FGs vs. Boise State in 2024)
• Hall’s five threes ties UNM’s conference tournament record, now done seven times (last had been done in 2013 by Tony Snell vs. UNLV)
• Hall became the 28th freshman in Division I history to make 100 threes in a season
• Hall scored in double figures for the 18th straight game, giving him sole possession of the longest streak by a Mountain West freshman (UNLV’s Anthony Bennett had the previous record at 17 straight double figure games)
• Hall had his ninth game this season with at least five threes, setting a new school record
• Buljan had his conference-leading 15th double-double of the season and fourth consecutive
• Buljan had his nation-leading 15th game with at least five offensive rebounds
• Tenette’s nine assists are the most ever in a Mountain West Tournament game with no turnovers
• Tenette’s nine assists and no turnovers marks the first time a Lobo other than Donovan Dent had at least nine assists with no turnovers since 2019-20 (Dent accomplished the feat four times)
QUOTABLE
“Our guys played well. It was a great environment. I appreciate all the fans that came out to support us. It gave our guys a lot of energy and we kind of fed off the crowd. Now we have to get some rest and get ready for a great San Diego State team tomorrow.” – Eric Olen
UP NEXT
The Lobos advance to play (No. 2 seed San Diego State) in the Mountain West semifinals on Friday night. Game time is 9 p.m. PT (10 p.m. MT) and the game will air on CBS Sports Network and the Lobo Radio Network. The teams split the regular season series, each winning at home.