Notwithstanding the closer-than-desirable nature of many of UNM's games thus far, the Lobos have run up a perfect 11-0 home start to their 2019-2020 season, good enough for the best such record at the Pit since near the end of the Ritchie McKay era in 2005-2006 (a 12-0 home streak put to rest by BYU on Feb. 1, 2006).
The 14th edition of the New Mexico Bowl was like most football games at Dreamstyle Stadium in 2019: a blowout. However, instead of a University of New Mexico meltdown, the thrashing came via a Central Michigan Chippewas collapse as the San Diego State Aztecs claimed a 48-11 victory on Dec. 21 in front of a modest announced crowd of 18,823.
Fresh off a week-long break, the University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (13-2, 2-0 MW) took on the University of California-Davis (5-10, 0-0 Big West) on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 29, coming away with a 74-69 victory. With the win, UNM improved to 10-0 at home, maintaining the lofty reputation of Dreamstyle Arena, better known as the Pit.
After an eight-year tenure as the head coach of the University of New Mexico football team, Bob Davie and Athletics Director Eddie Nuñez "mutually agreed to part ways" on Nov. 25. Davie will leave more than fresh memories of a woeful 2-10 season behind — he’ll also head out the door with a $825,000 severance check. The Board of Regents approved a contract buyout on Tuesday, Dec. 10 that will burn a nearly million dollar-sized hole in the University’s pocket over the course of 30 months. Nuñez confirmed the buyout to reporters following a closed-door session with the Regents
The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (9-2, 2-0 MWC) traveled to Laramie on Saturday afternoon to face the University of Wyoming (3-7, 0-2 MWC), recording a 79-65 victory and preserving their undefeated record in conference play. The Lobos dominated around the rim Saturday, outscoring Wyoming 44-24 in the paint and out-rebounding the Cowboys 47-29. Thanks in part to senior forward Carlton Bragg’s early foul trouble, Corey Manigault recorded nine first-half points to go with four rebounds.
The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team (6-2) met their match in a tight game against Boise State (5-4) last night, losing 82-83 in overtime. During Thanksgiving weekend, the Lobos played in a small tournament in Cancun, Mexico. UNM beat Missouri 71-68 but ended up losing to #23 West Virginia 60-73. Coming out of that loss, the New Mexico women traveled to Idaho to play the mountain west opponents.
The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (8-2, 1-0 MWC) triumphed 80-78 Wednesday night against Boise State (4-3, 0-1 MWC), now having recorded a victory in their conference opener for the ninth consecutive season. Boise State got off to a hot start from the field, shooting 9-for-11 in the game’s opening minutes, including an opening 8-0 run. For much of the first half, UNM played catch-up, managing just 24 seconds with the lead in the first half.
Local celebrity and UFC fighter Holly Holm hosted a workout training for her Albuquerque community on Nov. 23, benefiting IncredAble Adaptive MMA at the Jackson Wink MMA Academy. According to IncredAble’s website, their mission is to "empower and provide youth and teens, who experience a variety of environmental, physical and cognitive challenges with the skills and benefits of Mixed Martial Arts." The class cost $40 to attend, and all of the proceeds went toward funding the program.
The University of New Mexico’s football team lost it's final game of the Bob Davie era, falling to Utah State, 38-25. The loss extended the Lobo losing streak to nine consecutive games, finishing off their 2019 season. Before the game began, the 21 seniors leaving the program were honored with a ceremony. This included a brief moment of silence in memory of Nahje Flowers, the Lobo defenseman who took his own life in November.
A huge 20-point, 14-rebound double-double from senior forward Carlton Bragg proved to be the difference in the University of New Mexico men’s basketball (7-2) team’s 72-63 triumph over the University of Montana Grizzlies (3-5) on Sunday afternoon. With the win, UNM improved to 7-2 and maintained their perfect record at home going into the start of conference play later this week. UNM’s shooting struggles continued Sunday as the Lobos shot just 43.1% (22-for-51) from the field and 62.9% from the line (22-for-35), including a nine-minute stretch in the first half where UNM failed to record a good field goal.
For the University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (6-2, 0-0 MWC), this week’s Roman Legends Classic told a tale of redemption. After getting routed by the 18th-ranked Auburn Tigers 84-59 Monday night, the Lobos bounced back Tuesday and locked down the Wisconsin Badgers 59-50 while securing their first win over a Power 5 conference team since 2012.
The University of New Mexico Athletic Director Eddie Nunez announced on Monday that head coach Bob Davie will be “parting ways” from the UNM football team at the conclusion of the 2019 season. "After meeting with Coach Davie this morning, we both agree that the time has come for a new direction for our football program," Nuñez said in a press release issued on Monday afternoon. "I'm appreciative of the work that coach Davie has done at UNM." The parting of ways comes after another unsuccessful season for the football program. The Lobos overall record is 2-9 with a losing streak of eight of those games after Saturday’s loss against Air Force (44-22).
On Tuesday, the University of New Mexico (5-0) played its fifth game at the University of Texas at El Paso (3-1). After a heated first quarter, the Lobos broke ahead and kept their distance to win the game 93-78 at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso. The win continued the Lobo’s undefeated title after the UNM women brought down New Mexico State University over the weekend. The team defeated their Aggie rivals 86-67 with Jaedyn De La Cerda dominating in shooting for the Lobos. De La Cerda sunk 26 points and left the court with the most assists of anyone in the game.
Fresh off their first loss of the season Thursday night to UTEP, the University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (5-1, 0-0 MWC) bounced back with a last-minute 78-77 win against in-state rival New Mexico State University (2-3). A pair of late free throws by senior forward Carlton Bragg sealed UNM’s victory in a battle between the state’s only Division I programs. Thursday night’s matchup brought all the usual Rio Grande rivalry drama, with seven ties and 12 lead changes throughout the close contest. Neither team held a double-digit lead during the entirety of the game.
The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team suffered their first loss of the season to the University of Texas-El Paso Miners in their first away game of the season — going down 66-63. UNM’s (3-1, 0-0 MWC) highly-touted offense sputtered against UTEP (4-0, 0-0 CUSA), scoring just 63 points after averaging over 90 points per game on the season. UNM’s offense got off to a slow start and faced a 10-1 deficit after ten unanswered UTEP points. This came just a game after the Lobos defeated McNeese State 14-4 last Saturday.
UFC fighter and Albuquerque native Holly Holm is taking time away from traveling to host a workout training benefiting IncredAble Adaptive MMA at the Jackson Wink MMA Academy. The event is centered around Holm guiding community members through workout techniques she uses to train as an MMA fighter. "Holly will take you through a 90 minute workout and show you some of the same moves she uses to stay fit," a press release describing the event said. "This is an event where you can go at your own pace or challenge yourself to keep up."
This season, University of New Mexico senior Ahmari Davis ran over 100 yards in three different games. During New Mexico’s game against Hawaii, he rushed for 200 yards total. According to Davis, that was also his favorite game of the season. “Certain games you feel it more than others, and I could say, that game I really just felt it.” Davis said about playing against Hawaii. “I felt my speed was coming back. I felt aggressive. That morning, I prayed and felt protected. I just felt like having fun that game. I ended up with 200 yards and two touchdowns. It was great.” Davis starts as running back for the football team. This season was his second year on the team and at UNM. He spent his freshman and sophomore year at Laney College in Oakland, California, Davis' home city.
The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team came away with a 93-78 victory against the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay on Wednesday night at Dreamstyle Arena, aka The Pit. UNM (3-0, 0-0 MWC) remains undefeated, as its high-powered offense once again led the way. Senior guard JaQuan Lyle opened the game with a three pointer but was taken out after committing five turnovers in the first five minutes. The first half was a back-and-forth affair — Green Bay seized the lead with a 15-6 run, which UNM answered with a 19-6 run of their own.
On Tuesday, the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team (3-0) defeated the Houston Cougars (1-1) at the Dreamstyle Arena. This was their third game of the season after previously winning their first two games against Northern Arizona and the University of California, Riverside. Starting the game were Lobo sophomores Ahlise Hurst and Jayla Everett, junior Antonia Anderson, and seniors Najala Howell and Jordan Hosey. In the first three quarters, the Lobos outscored the Cougars. Although New Mexico lead for three quarters of the game, Houston outscored UNM 26-11 in the final quarter. UNM left the game with their third win of the season, with the final score of 81-71.
A strong record continues for the University of New Mexico women’s soccer team. They managed to secure another win against San Jose State during the week’s tournament play but couldn’t overcome Boise State. In Boise, Idaho, the Mountain West Conference tournament took place with New Mexico (11-7-1, 7-4-1) playing both the Spartans (7-9-4, 5-5-2) and the Boise Broncos (17-4-0, 9-3-0) in the quarter and semi-final games.
Solutions by The State News
