With Cullen Neal back in Albuquerque on the concussion protocol, New Mexico relied heavily on his backcourt mate Elijah Brown on Saturday.
Brown, the second-best scorer in the Mountain West, erupted for 33 points to lead the Lobos to a 83-64 victory over a struggling San Jose State team, helping to end a two-game UNM losing streak in the process.
“I thought our guys did a nice job, I’m really happy with their effort,” said head coach Craig Neal in a statement. “I thought we guarded pretty well. Any time you hold a team to 64, it’s pretty good.”
Brown matched a career high despite missing the first four minutes. A regular starter, Brown was not on the floor for the opening tip as a continuation of a disciplinary action. Yet playing fewer minutes did not diminish his offensive firepower as Brown went 10 of 15 from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range.
The ever-reliable forward Tim Williams added 22 points for the Lobos on a 10 of 15 shooting performance. He completed a double-double with 10 rebounds.
Jordan Hunter started in Neal’s absence, and he and fellow guard Tim Jacobs split time running the point, playing 18 minutes and 21 minutes, respectively. However, neither contributed much in the box score. Hunter finished with five points and two assists while Jacobs went scoreless with two assists.
Dane Kuiper, meanwhile, put forth his best game as a Lobo. He played 28 minutes and made the most of it with 11 points, four rebounds and a team-high four assists.
“We got Elijah and Tim in spots we needed to get them into,” Neal said in the release. “We got good play, and Kuiper was big today.”
The game was all Lobos (11-8, 4-2 MW) throughout the second half. Holding a five-point edge at halftime, UNM outpaced the home Spartans by a 46-32 margin to secure the win. The Lobos led for nearly 34 minutes.
Like games earlier this year, a high turnover number did not cause problems for the Lobos. They prevailed despite 19 miscues and 24 SJSU points off turnovers. UNM did cut short 17 San Jose State possessions and was able to convert 20 points off turnovers themselves.
The Lobos hit seven of their 10 3-point attempts and finished 54.5 percent overall from the field (30 of 55). They held the Spartans to 37.5 percent (21 of 56) on field goals and 33.3 percent (7 of 21) on triples. UNM also pulled down 39 rebounds to SJSU’s 29.
Forward Frank Rogers led SJSU (6-14, 1-7 MW) with 16 points and eight rebounds, while guard Brandon Clarke added 14 points and four rebounds off the bench. Nine of the 10 Spartans who saw playing time scored.
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J.R. Oppenheim is the assistant sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers men’s basketball and women’s soccer. Contact him at assistantsports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @JROppenheim.
