The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team is on the up after Saturday’s blowout win over San Jose State, as the Lobos defeated their opponent, 80-47, at Dreamstyle Arena.
Five scorers for the Lobos were in the double digits. Behind freshman guard Makuach Maluach’s 15 points, junior guard Chris McNeal and Anthony Mathis had 12 points each, senior guard Antino Jackson had 11 and senior forward Joe Furstinger, who nearly had a double-double with nine rebounds, scored 10 points.
As a team, UNM also made 13 3-pointers and shot 46.7 from the field. On the other hand, the Lobos held SJSU to 31.8 percent shooting on the night.
The Lobos, though, also forced 20 turnovers, which they translated into 28 points.
“I thought we played much better defense and were able to get some stops, particularly at the start of both halves,” UNM head coach Paul Weir said in a press release. “We were a little more contained and a little more control-oriented.”
SJSU scored first, though that would be its only lead, which lasted 15 seconds. From there, UNM answered back with a layup from freshman forward Vladimir Pinchuk to tie the game up.
Nearly 8 minutes into the game, the Lobos hit three 3-pointers in a row, with Maluach hitting the shot that gave his team their first double digit lead, 18-6.
By the end of the first half, UNM had a 39-23 lead.
In the second half, the Lobos kept up the pressure, though not necessarily a full court pressure, all while their offense kept churning. A Furstinger layup put the Lobos up by 20 points, 46-26, a little over three minutes into the second half and, from there, they only built on their lead.
The Lobos went on to win 80-47 at home.
Up next for UNM is another home conference game, this time against Wyoming. The game is set for Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m.
Matthew Narvaiz is a senior sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primary covers men’s and women’s basketball and baseball. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
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