Head coach Ritchie McKay pulled forward Danny Granger off the court with 45 seconds left in the game against Colorado State on Saturday.
The senior sat on the bench, put his head in his hands and cried, wiping his eyes with the bottom of his jersey.
"I told myself I wasn't going to cry," he said. "It didn't happen, though."
Saturday's 72-61 win over the Rams was likely the last game at The Pit for Granger, guard Troy DeVries and forward Alfred Neale. The only way the three seniors will see their fans there again is if they don't make it into the NCAA tournament. That would mean the Lobos will play in the National Invitational Tournament, where the top-ranked teams get a home game.
"We definitely don't want to come back here because we want to play in the NCAA tournament so bad, but it's such a tremendous place to play," DeVries said. "It's special."
The Lobos were down seven points in the second half before they went on a 30-6 run, with the seniors contributing 20 of those points. All three players were in double figures at the end of the game.
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After the win, McKay thanked his seniors in front of a sold-out Pit crowd of more than 18,000 people. He offered the microphone to Neale, who refused, shaking his head and looking at his shoes.
The waterworks started for Granger again as he thanked supporters for sticking by the Lobos while they were down the last few years.
He said he got choked up thinking about the fans.
"I think I got upset because of the fans in Albuquerque," he said. "I mean, they're so great. I'm just upset that I won't be able to play in front of them again."
DeVries said he can honestly say he is friends with every member of this year's close-knit team.
"I'm going to miss everything about the college basketball experience," he said. "That's what it's about - relationships. You build a lot of them. It's going to be tough to finish playing college basketball."
McKay said it has been his privilege to coach his seniors.
"They're young men," he said. "They're not kids anymore."
