The University of New Mexico Lobo men’s basketball team is heading to Indianapolis next week for the National Invitation Tournament semifinals, after defeating the Saint Joseph’s University Hawks. Despite being down at the half, the Lobos wore down their opposition and went on to win 84-69 in the NIT quarterfinals.
The Lobos looked to clip the Hawks’ wings quickly as they laid claim to an early 9-3 lead and were ahead for over 13 minutes, but Saint Joseph’s stayed the course — after trailing 28-22, the Hawks went on a 18-4 run to take a 39-32 lead. The Lobos finished the first half on a small 5-0 run, but trailed 39-37 at the break with work to do.
UNM looked rejuvenated coming out of halftime, taking control of the game with physicality, building a 15 point lead — courtesy of a 17-4 run with less than 8 minutes to go — and scoring 22 free throws compared to Saint Joseph’s 8. UNM also had 40 points in the paint to the Hawks’ 32.
Lobos guard Luke Haupt had a very balanced performance with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
“I thought in the first half, we were getting to the basket at ease, and then they made an adjustment and we got out of our rhythm a little bit,” Haupt said. “The second half, we got back to being really aggressive downhill, and we got a lot of guys that it's hard to guard when you decide you're gonna go take it to the rim.”
Saint Joseph’s University trimmed a 15-point deficit to 8 with over 4 minutes to go, but they weren’t able to create much of a dent or scare late in the game.
Lobos forward Tomislav Buljan had a monster night, as he led UNM in scoring with 27 points and 11 rebounds.
Lobos Head Coach Eric Olen was proud of his team and for the opportunity to head to Indianapolis for the NIT semifinals next week.
“It's a privilege to be playing this time of year,” Olen said, “We're gonna be one of the last eight teams playing basketball, and that's hard to do whichever tournament you're in. So, I'm just proud of our guys.”
The Lobos basketball team will now head to Indianapolis, Indiana to take on the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane in Hinkle Fieldhouse for the NIT semifinals on Thursday, April 2.
Alex Joe is a freelance videographer for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @DailyLobo
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
