Men's Basketball: Lobos looking to continue momentum with three wins in row

The Wyoming Cowboys ride into Albuquerque Saturday evening as the Lobos return to WisePies Arena in search of their third-straight win.

The UNM men’s basketball team enters the game off huge back-to-back road victories. The team took an 84-71 win over the Colorado State Rams and an 81-70 triumph over the Boise State Broncos, teams that are known for being difficult to beat at home.

Lobo head coach Craig Neal kept the answer simple when asked how he felt after his team’s successful trips.

“Good,” he said. “It feels good. Happy for the kids.”

New Mexico (11-8, 4-3 Mountain West) became the only team in conference history to successfully take down San Diego State, Colorado State and Boise State on the road in a single season.

Senior forward Tim Williams has led New Mexico with an average of 18.4 points per game, the second-highest average in the conference. Redshirt junior guard Elijah Brown is the second highest scorer for the Lobos with 17.4 points per game.

Neal has harped on the need for the team to find a third and fourth consistent scorer. The Lobos’ recent success on the road was aided by several players stepping up in the offense.

Sophomore Dane Kuiper and freshman Damien Jefferson both saw double-figures in the win over Colorado State.

While Jordan Hunter and Sam Logwood had double-digit scoring nights against Boise State. Logwood was especially helpful in the last few minutes of the first half, scoring the team’s last 12 points over the final 2:48.

To take down the Cowboys, the Lobos will likely have to pay attention to a few things.

On Wednesday, Wyoming (13-6, 3-3 MW) got its first road win of conference play, taking down the San Jose State Spartans 80-70.

Wyoming’s biggest strength has been rebounding, as the team ranks 31st in the nation with 39.4 per game. The team crashed the boards on defense, hauling in 30.5 per game, fourth in the nation.

Offensively, the Cowboys have counted on sophomore guard Justin James, who scores 15.0 per game. But Wyoming has a handful of double-digit scorers, including Hayden Dalton (12.8), Jason McManamen (12.7) and Alan Herndon (10.3).

The schools have played each other about as even as possible, with the Lobos holding a slight 67-66 edge in the overall series. It is the first meeting with head coach Allen Edwards at the helm for Wyoming, which Neal said will present a different look.

“We’re going to face a really good team. It’s kind of a lot different than we’ve faced the last ten years that I’ve been here,” the head coach said. “I think they are sixth in the country in pace. They have some terrific players, guys back from last year’s team.”

Neal said everything in the Mountain West is “up in the air” at this point and his team has been very fortunate to be able to play and win on the road.

“Unfortunate that we didn’t take care of the two home games,” he added, referring to the back-to-back losses at WisePies. “But I think our guys are in a good place.”

The Lobos will be looking to protect home court on Saturday when the game starts at 6 p.m. The game will be available on CBS Sports Network and on 770 KKOB.

Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She mainly covers men’s soccer and basketball. She can be reached at sports
@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cisabelg.