The Lobos came out inspired for their second half against Northern Arizona and easily handled the Lumberjacks, 81-70, Saturday at The Pit.
Danny Granger shot 7-for-7 and scored 16 of his game-high 24 points after halftime. He also had 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double.
As a team, UNM shot 60.9 percent (28-for-46) in the game.
"We'll take that any night," Granger said.
The game was tight in the first half when a running three-pointer by DeJuan Stevens from just past half court cut the Lobo lead to three heading into the locker room.
A 14-2 run to open the second half put the game out of reach, however, and the Lumberjacks never threatened again.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
For head coach Ritchie McKay, the first half was forgettable.
"I thought we looked like we just came off Thanksgiving," he said. "I thought we just got complacent. We had ample opportunities to put a good team away, and I think we just played OK. But I liked the way we responded coming out after halftime."
The Lobos had 10 more turnovers than the Lumberjacks - 25-15.
"We just didn't execute in the first half," David Chiotti said. "We just seemed a little flat defensively, and with the turnovers and us not playing how we're capable, they just kept the game close."
Chiotti said the main focus in the locker room at the half was to come out strong for the start of the second - precisely what the Lobos did.
"We knew we had to come out and dictate how the game went," he said. "That's how we came out. We dominated the first five minutes."
Granger said McKay challenged the Lobos to come out in the second half and play like they were capable.
"We knew we had to get a good jump on them," Granger said. "We took it right at them."
UNM also got solid contributions from its bench. Alfred Neale, who has played the sixth man all season, continued his strong play.
"Al's playing as well as any sixth man in the country," McKay said. "I love that role for him. He certainly knows how much we need him at both ends of the floor, and I was really pleased with his performance."
Neale had 11 points, including a dunk in traffic, and eight rebounds.
Bombale Osby was strong off the bench as well, nabbing six rebounds in 10 minutes. Osby, who enters the game to chants of "Booooom" from the crowd, didn't have a field-goal attempt in the game.
"Any points he gets is an added bonus for us," Chiotti said.
Chiotti compared the 6-foot-7-inch, 245-pound freshman to another star forward who doesn't shoot much.
"He's kind of like our Ben Wallace," Chiotti said. "We need him to just be that inside presence who throws his body around and grabs rebounds. He's an energy type player who gets us going."
