ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team posted its second straight win to open the season, downing Northern Arizona 94-65 on Saturday afternoon at The Pit – Powered by Nusenda. The Lobos (2-0) led wire-to-wire as they topped the Lumberjacks (0-2) in the first matchup between the schools in 17 seasons.
Jake Hall led UNM with 23 points, 20 of which came in the first half. Uriah Tenette had 18 points and Hudson Mayes added 16 points for the Lobos. Chris Howell had a career-high nine assists to go with no turnovers as New Mexico tied a school record for fewest turnovers in a game with just two on the afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game remained close early, with the Lobos leading 8-6 after four minutes of action. A 6-0 Lobo run pushed the lead to 14-7 with 14:15 left, before the Lumberjacks closed to within two at 14-12. UNM used a 11-0 run to take a 25-12 lead with 8:00 to play before the margin grew to 32-16 with 6:00 left. The Lobos led by as many as 19 late in the first half before taking a 46-30 lead into the break. Hall had 20 first-half points to lead New Mexico.
In the second half, the Lobos pushed the lead to 56-35 over the first four minutes. A 6-0 UNM run made it a 62-38 game with 13:30 to play and another 6-0 run pushed the margin to 70-43 at the midway point of the half. The Lobos used six straight on back-to-back threes from Fynn Lastring to lead 90-62 with 1:45 left before closing out the 94-65 victory.
LOBO NOTES
• New Mexico’s two turnovers tied the school record for fewest in a game, matching the two turnovers in a 68-58 win over Colorado State on Jan. 13, 1983
• The Lobos have not trailed at any point in the first two games of the season, marking the first time since 2014-15 that they have accomplished that feat
• Hall became the first Lobo to score 20 points in a first half since Donovan Dent at Nevada in March of 2025
• Hall’s 53 points over the first two games are the most by a Lobo through two games of a season since Lamont Long scored 60 points (29/31) in the first two games of the 1998-99 season
• Hall’s 9-9 from the line was the best perfect free throw game by a Lobo since Donovan Dent went 9-of-9 from the line at Wyoming on January of 2025
QUOTABLE
“It was good to get a positive result here at home. I think we made some progress in some areas, and definitely taking care of the ball was one of those. We will look at what else we did well and what we need to clean up as we get ready for Tuesday.” – Eric Olen
UP NEXT
The Lobos will conclude their three-game season-opening homestand on Tuesday by hosting Little Rock. Game time is 7 p.m. and the game will air on MW+ and the Lobo Radio Network. Tickets are available online at GoLobos.com/tickets.