The University of New Mexico Lobos tacked on another dominant win on Wednesday, Feb. 5, when they faced off against the Colorado State Rams. The Lobos launched an aerial attack on the Rams and were able to respond to the physical style of play, coming away with a 87-65 win.
The Lobos had an impressive shooting night, especially from beyond the arc. They finished 9-14 (64.3%) on 3-point attempts. Three of those nine makes came from guard CJ Noland.
Noland shot the lights out, scoring 19 points without missing a shot. He was 7-7 from the field and nailed two free throws on top of it. He accomplished this despite only playing for 22 minutes.
“I put in work every day, so it's really good to see them finally go through,” Noland said.
In the first half, both teams didn’t get production from their best players. Donovan Dent went into the break with only 5 points on 1-7 shooting and two turnovers; the Rams' leading scorer guard Nique Clifford had 4 points on 2-11 shooting at the half.
“He’s a really good player,” Noland said about guarding Clifford. “I just tried to slow him down and just use my body on him.”
However, only Dent was able to snap out of the slump. He came out of the half energized and quickly returned to his usual self. He was finding open teammates while making crafty finishes and midrange jumpers.
Dent finished with 19 points, four assists, six rebounds, two steals and even a block. Clifford, however, finished with only 9 points.
“I got on him and he responded very, very well,” Head Coach Richard Pitino said about Dent's halftime adjustment.
Nelly Junior Joseph and Tru Washington also filled up the stat sheet. Junior Joseph finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and five blocks. Washington had 15 points and three steals while also bringing the energy on defense.
“If you have your big doing it, it just takes your team to the next level,” Noland said.
The Rams were determined to make the Lobos earn it from the foul line. Junior Joseph got fouled seven times and made 10 of his 13 free throws. This came from the Rams' willingness to double-team in the post while also collapsing in whenever a Lobo player drove the ball.
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The Lobo defense was energetic and aggressive, but got beat quite a few times because of mental errors and well-designed set pieces from the Rams. The Lobos were effective at guarding the ball and even ended the night with nine steals and seven blocks, but they gave up multiple buckets to back cuts or miscommunications on off-ball screens.
“We had to switch our ball screen coverage because they were hurting us; they had some time to prepare,” Pitino said.
Despite generally having a height advantage, the rebounding battle was surprisingly even. The Lobos had 35 rebounds, compared to the Rams' 34. The Lobos also gave up 14 offensive rebounds compared to only grabbing nine themselves.
On Saturday, Feb. 8, after they won on the road against the Air Force Falcons, the Lobos will return to The Pit on Feb. 12 to play the Wyoming Cowboys.
Jaden McKelvey-Francis is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
