Mens Basketball

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Men's basketball: Men beat NMSU

BillyJack Davidson | December 4

Saturday, Dec. 2 saw the University of New Mexico Lobos and the New Mexico State University Aggies men’s basketball teams meet for the first time since November 2022. Last November, a conflict between UNM students and former members of the NMSU basketball team ended in the death of Brandon Travis – a UNM student. Head Coach Pitino commented on the conflict during a press conference on Friday, Dec. 1 and how that would affect Saturday night’s game. “It was obviously a huge tragedy, but I don’t think it had anything to do with the rivalry,” Pitino said. UNM’s Athletic Director Eddie Nuñez and NMSU Athletic Director Mario Moccia felt the rivalry could resume safely with security precautions, according to the Albuquerque Journal. Saturday night, The Pit was filled to capacity as the Lobos  put on a show-stopping performance, winning 106-62 and taking their seventh game in the season, almost doubling their opponents' score.

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Sports

Men's basketball: Lobos defeat Fresno State in final home game 94-80

Thomas Bulger | March 1

  On Tuesday, Feb. 28, the University of New Mexico men's basketball defeated the Fresno State University Bulldogs 94-80 in their final home game of the season. They improved to a 8-9 record in conference play. It was senior night at The Pit: Emmanuel Kuac, KJ Jenkins, Josiah Allick, Jaelen House and Morris Udeze were honored before the game. They received flowers and a framed photo of one their highlights. Fans celebrated the players with a standing ovation and a "thank you seniors" chant. Besides Udeze, all players have an extra year of eligibility they earned for the year they lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Sports

Men's basketball: Lobos dominate Western New Mexico

Thomas Bulger | December 9

The University of New Mexico men's basketball team defeated the Western New Mexico University Mustangs 102-63 on Tuesday, Dec. 6. The Lobos improved to an 8-0 record and are one of ten undefeated teams in the nation. There were five Lobos with double digit scoring, and all 12 Lobos who played scored in the game. This included Mac Manzanares and Safi Fino-A-Laself who each scored their first points as a member of the Lobos. Morris Udeze led the team in scoring with 18 points, and Josiah Allick grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds. Off of the bench, Birima Seck had a career night, scoring 11 points and getting eight rebounds in just 11 minutes of play.

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Sports

Men's basketball: With the team 7-0, now’s the time to pay attention

Thomas Bulger | December 4

Nearly a month into the season, the University of New Mexico men's basketball team are 7-0 and are one of only 14 remaining undefeated teams in Division 1 basketball. While the Lobos haven't played a lot of prestigious programs, they have played against a lot of competitive teams. After a win against St. Mary's College, UNM looks poised to make a run in the conference — and maybe make the NCAA tournament.

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Sports

Men's basketball: Team sweeps at Lobo Classic

Thomas Bulger | November 28

The University of New Mexico men's basketball team hosted the Lobo Classic over the weekend where they played Jacksonville State University, North Dakota State University and Northern Colorado University over three consecutive days from Nov. 25-27. Each team faced each other once in a round-robin tournament. It was the first time The Pit hosted a midseason tournament since the 2007-08 season. The Lobos finished first in the tournament with 3 wins and 0 losses. They advanced to an overall record of 6-0. The last time the Lobos started out 6-0 was the 2012-13 season. Morris Udeze had a great tournament and was named the Lobo Classic MVP. He also made the NCAA all-tournament team. 

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Sports

Men's basketball: Lobos win close game against South Alabama

Thomas Bulger | November 14

The University of New Mexico men's basketball team played the University of South Alabama Jaguars on Friday, Nov. 11, coming out victorious 80-74 in a game that went down to the wire. Jaelen House and Morris Udeze both scored 21 points. Jamal Mashburn Jr. had 16 points and hit the game-winning 3-pointer off a pass from Josiah Allick; Allick almost had a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds.

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Sports

Men's basketball: Lobos win season opener 89-81

Thomas Bulger | November 10

The University of New Mexico men's basketball team defeated the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds for their season opener on Monday, Nov. 7. The Thunderbirds play in the Western Athletic Conference; they finished the 2021-22 season with an overall record of 23-12. Tevian Jones led them in scoring with an impressive 28 points and timely scoring which kept them in the game. The Lobo backcourt had an amazing scoring performance with Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Jaelen House earning 24 and 23 points, respectively. House also had six steals and seven assists. Morris Udeze had 14 points, making 7 of his 11 shots.

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Sports

Men’s Basketball: Men’s team looks promising in exhibition game

Thomas Bulger | October 31

The University of New Mexico Lobo men’s basketball team defeated the Colorado State University Pueblo Thunderwolves 85-52 in their exhibition match on Saturday, Oct. 29. The team looked strong with their new lineup that looks to fix some of the issues that plagued them last season. Jaelen House led the Lobos in scoring with 20 points; he also had three assists along with a steal and only played for 16 minutes. Jamal Mashburn Jr. got the team off to a hot start and set the tone for the game; he had 11 points.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Mathis heading west to play for Oregon Ducks

Robert Maler | June 6

Former University of New Mexico men's basketball player Anthony Mathis recently announced he had entered the NCAA transfer portal. He didn't stay there for very long. Multiple reports have confirmed that Mathis has given a verbal commitment and apparently found a new basketball home — his old one.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Former top-100 recruit officially named a Lobo

Robert Maler | April 19

Former ESPN top-100 basketball recruit JJ Caldwell was officially announced as an addition to the University of New Mexico men's basketball team on Friday, according to a release. The release said Caldwell will join the team as a junior, transferring to UNM after previously playing with the Texas A&M Aggies. He is immediately eligible to play and will begin the final two years of his eligibility at the start of the 2019-20 campaign.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos unable to advance; lose to No. 2 Utah State

Robert Maler | March 15

Utah State University men's basketball coach Craig Smith said it's something he speaks to his team about on a constant basis, but it's not what you may be thinking. "Next best action," Smith said. When things are not going right for the Aggies, he said his players are urged to think "NBA" and try to find a way to reverse the trend.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos overcome woeful first half to bounce Wyoming out of MW Tourney

Robert Maler | March 12

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Lobo men's basketball played a first half that may have been the worst of the season before a sophomore transfer decided enough was enough and willed his team to victory to advance in the 2019 Mountain West Basketball Championship. Former UCONN product Vance Jackson was wide open for a corner 3 and called for the ball early in the second half. His teammate didn't see him though and instead the Lobos threw up a contested shot that was off the mark.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos endure second-half surge to defeat Boise on Senior Night

Robert Maler | March 7

Senior night. Words that, when paired together, can elicit a wide array of emotions — from a feeling of nostalgia to a burning desire to put a punctuation mark on one's time at college. And University of New Mexico men's basketball senior guard Dane Kuiper was able to put a stamp on his final regular home game, sending he and fellow senior teammate Anthony Mathis off with a 73-72 victory over the visiting Boise State Broncos.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos post solid win, crushing Rams on the glass

Robert Maler | March 3

The University of New Mexico men's basketball team has known for a while that its only path to the NCAA Tournament is to win the Mountain West Championship later in the month. But that doesn't mean the final three regular season games aren't still important — and the Lobos treated Saturday's bout against Colorado State as such, winning 77-65 to improve to 6-10 in conference play and 12-16 overall. The win puts UNM in a tie with Boise State for 9th in the conference and keeps alive the possibility of climbing higher in the seeding prior to the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Despite difficult season, Lobos still have potential

Robert Maler | February 25

For many fans, the University of New Mexico men's basketball team has failed to live up to expectations this season — as high hopes and tremendous upside turned to mediocrity and relative embarrassment at times. The team returned a pair of seniors in Anthony Mathis and Dane Kuiper as well as sophomores Makauch Maluach and Vladimir Pinchuk — all of whom seemed to flourish under the leadership of then first-year UNM head coach Paul Weir. That quartet was joined by a slew of transfers, a couple of whom came from some high-profile programs. Vance Jackson came to UNM via UCONN, JaQuan Lyle transferred from Ohio State and the long-awaited debut eventually saw Carlton Bragg, who had previously played as a Kansas Jayhawk, take the floor.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos unable to finish strong, lose seventh home game of season

Robert Maler | February 18

The University of New Mexico men's basketball team looked pretty good in California for at least one half when it faced Fresno State a couple of weeks ago, but saw the game slip away thanks to some lengthy scoring droughts and spotty play. New Mexico (11-14, 5-8 MW) probably liked its chances if it could be more consistent this time around — play just a little bit better for a little bit longer. The Lobos did, and held a led deep in the second half, but saw the same outcome duplicated when it fell to the Bulldogs 81-73 on Saturday night at Dreamstyle Arena aka The Pit.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos exploit Spartan weaknesses from 32-point win

Robert Maler | February 17

San Jose State stood toe-to-toe with the University of New Mexico men's basketball team for a while, but the Lobos eventually wore the Spartans down and cruised to a 32-point blowout on Wednesday evening. New Mexico (11-13, 5-7 MW) registered the first points of the game after sophomore point guard Keith McGee drilled a 3-pointer to open the scoring. But Noah Baumann answered right back to tie things up, one of eight first-half ties along the way.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Wolf Pack exact revenge on Lobos in Reno

Robert Maler | February 10

85-58. It was the score of the game on Jan. 5 earlier in the season. One that favored the New Mexico Lobos and embarrassed the then-unbeaten No. 6 Nevada Wolf Pack. But it was also reportedly a score that was shown to the Wolf Pack players during practice leading up to Saturday's rematch in Reno, Nevada — an apparently effective tactic that motivated the players in a rematch they had probably been eyeing for a while.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: UNM comes alive in second half for big win over San Diego State

Robert Maler | February 7

Dreamstyle Arena aka The Pit has historically been a tough place for opponents to get a win, but that hadn't been the case for the University of New Mexico men's basketball team so far this season. New Mexico (10-12, 4-6 MW) entered Tuesday evening's game against San Diego State with a losing record, 5-6, at home. And the Lobos started to fall behind early — another undesired trend — trailing by double digits within the first five minutes of the game.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobo game ends in series of unfortunate events

Robert Maler | January 27

The Lobo men's basketball team overcame a sizable halftime deficit and even took a late lead — appearing to be in line for an improbable come-from-behind victory before a series of unfortunate events erased all of that. New Mexico (9-11, 3-5 MW) fell behind early — something Lobo fans have probably grown accustomed to by now — trailing 22-8 to Utah State a little more than halfway through the first half. There wasn't a lot to be cheerful about outside of a 9-0 run that encompassed back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers — one from point guard Keith McGee and a pair of triples from sophomore Makuach Maluach. That spurt and eight free throws accounted for all but 10 of New Mexico's 27 first half points. Senior guard Anthony Mathis was held scoreless, the team shot just 27.6 percent and UNM was probably fortunate to be trailing by just nine points at the half. But something happened after halftime and UNM looked like a completely different team. Head coach Paul Weir said the team spoke at halftime about playing basketball the right way — something that didn't happen in the first half. Despite what he described as looking young and not playing fundamentally sound in the opening frame, the team And for at least 20 minutes, the team exhibited the heart, grit and and passion that Lobo fans have been clamoring for all year. UNM big man Carlton Bragg poured in a turnaround jumper to open the scoring in the second half, but Utah State's Sam Merrill drilled a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 10 points — something he and his teammates did on five more occasions over the first seven minutes or so of the second half, denying the Lobos opportunities to mount a comeback. New Mexico had played much better in the second half up to that point, but still found itself trailing 50-40 with 12:51 to play after Merrill knocked down yet another 3-pointer.