After 11 years, it’s a new era for the University of New Mexico volleyball program. Jon Newman-Gonchar was named the head coach of the Lobos, the UNM Athletics Department announced on Tuesday. Newman-Gonchar most recently served as associate head coach at Arkansas for the last three years, but has a history in college volleyball that predates that tenure.
The University of New Mexico women's basketball team played a tight one on Saturday afternoon, but overcame a late deficit to hand the Wyoming Cowgirls their first home loss of the season. New Mexico (15-2, 5-1 MW) had to withstand a 3-point barrage from its opponent — Wyoming hit 12 of them on the afternoon — as the teams traded blows in a game that featured 16 lead changes.
Wyoming has had a rough season so far and the University of New Mexico men's basketball team decided to keep things that way, crushing the Cowboys and administering a 30-point stomping to them on Saturday at Dreamstyle Arena. It was the second time in the past three games that Wyoming was on the wrong end of a one-sided game, falling by nearing an identical score against San Diego State on Jan. 8. The Cowboys lost that game 84-54 and suffered a similar fate against UNM, losing by an 83-53 margin. New Mexico ( 9-9, 3-3 MW) got off to a relatively quick start and saw all five starters score within the first six minutes of the game. A few seconds later the Lobos held their first double digit lead after senior guard Anthony Mathis buried a pair of free throws to the score 14-4 at the 13:58 mark.
The Wyoming Cowboys haven't won in conference play and have yet to win a true road game this season. On Saturday, the University of New Mexico men's basketball team will try to keep it that way. For all the recent problems the Lobos have faced, Wyoming has almost certainly had things worse. And New Mexico (8-9, 2-3 MW) probably couldn't ask for a better opponent to "get right" against and end its current three-game slide. The Lobos have an opportunity to even up both its overall record and in Mountain West play if they can secure a win against Wyoming, which is tied for last place in the conference standings.
No game is easy to win, even at The Pit. Even though the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team was able to play a near-flawless first-half against the visiting San Diego State Aztecs, basketball is still a game of trends. And despite a near-comeback from the Aztecs in the second half, which saw them outscore UNM (14-2, 4-1 MW) over the final two quarters, the Lobos turned the tide when it mattered most and sealed their 70-62 victory after scoring the final eight points of the game.
The needle seemed to be pointing straight up for the University of New Mexico men's basketball team a little over a week ago — but three straight losses has seemingly erased any memory of that figurative instrument. New Mexico had a losing record after 11 games and looked unimpressive in its non-conference slate to that point. But a blowout win over the University of the Southwest and two wins to begin Mountain West play seemed to harbor hope that the squad was beginning to come together.
The University of New Mexico women's basketball team got back in the win column after losing for the first time in nearly two months, topping the Colorado State Rams 70-58 on Saturday afternoon. New Mexico (13-2, 3-1 MW) lost for the first time since Nov. 11 after falling 66-57 to UNLV on Wednesday night, ending an 11-game winning streak. But the Lobos regained their footing by opening its two-game home stand with the win, dropping Colorado State to 1-3 in conference play and 7-8 overall. UNM head coach Mike Brabury said he was appreciative of the support from the 5,809 in attendance, especially considering the women played at the same time as an NFL playoff game and the UNM men's basketball game.
Many people are still trying to make heads or tails of the University of New Mexico men's basketball team — as the squad dropped its second consecutive conference game with a 91-76 road loss to the Colorado State Rams. New Mexico (8-8, 2-2 MW) has shown fans and basketball experts plenty of highs and lows already this season. From an unimpressive 6-6 non-conference start that included getting swept by rival New Mexico State for the second year in a row — to a 2-0 start in Mountain West play that showcased an 85-58 beatdown over then No. 6 Nevada — the Lobos have been consistently inconsistent so far.
A shoddy second half was the University of New Mexico Lobos’ demise, as it fell to the visiting UNLV Rebels 80-69 at Dreamstyle Arena on Tuesday evening despite an initially promising first half. It’s the first conference loss for the Lobos, who had won their first two Mountain West games against the likes of Air Force and then-sixth ranked Nevada. Meanwhile, for UNLV (9-6), it’s the team’s first 3-0 start in conference play in 20 years and its first win over the Lobos since the 2016-17 season.
The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team showed what it was capable of on Saturday — unceremoniously dismissing undefeated Nevada 85-58. Now the team will have to live up to the standard it set. Despite the lop-sided victory, the Lobos didn’t necessarily do anything extraordinary against the Wolfpack from a statistical standpoint. Sure, Nevada had an off night — even though New Mexico’s defense probably had something to do with it. But taking care of its own business apparently put the Lobos on the right path.
In the first week of conference play, Senior guard Anthony Mathis was named Mountain West Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday. It’s Mathis’ first of his career.
The Lobos engineered an 85-58 dominating performance over the No. 6 team in the country, handing the Wolfpack their first loss of the season and putting the Mountain West Conference and the nation on notice.
The New Mexico women's basketball team rattled off another win — its 11th in a row — after holding on for a 66-64 road win over the Nevada Wolfpack. New Mexico (12-1, 2-0 MW) got off to a hot start, scoring the first six points of the game. Freshman guard Jayla Everett tallied the first points with a jumper after the teams traded turnovers in the opening minute. She tacked on a pair of free throws a few minutes later to give UNM a 6-0 lead at the 6:30 mark. The Wolfpack responded by going to work in the paint, stringing together a 9-2 run to take their first lead of the game after a Terae Briggs layup.
In the team’s first game back in nearly two weeks, the University of New Mexico Lobos dominated the Air Force Falcons 78-57 at Dreamstyle Arena. It was the conference opener for both teams. The Lobos, at times, struggled on the offensive end (they turned the ball over 19 times). But in the end, it was their defense that pulled them through for the victory. UNM forced a whopping 29 Air Force turnovers, which in turn, led to 31 fast break points and 22 points off turnovers for the home team. 19 of those 29 turnovers were steals, with Aisia Robertson leading the way with five.
In the past two years, the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO), which handles all reported instances of discrimination based on a protected status (race, age, gender, etc.) at the University, opened two inquiries regarding his conduct toward players, according to documents obtained by the Daily Lobo.
The pace of Wednesday night's game was supposed to be played at a high tempo. And for at least one team — it was. The University of New Mexico women's basketball team won its eighth consecutive game and improved to 9-1 after taking down the Sacramento State Hornets by a score of 85-53 thanks to an concerted effort from several Lobos. New Mexico freshman guard Jayla Everett led the way for her team, posting a game-high 19 points to pace a trio of Lobos who finished the night with double-digit scoring performances.
The University of New Mexico men's basketball team got off to a good start on its three-game trip away from home, but went sideways in a hurry en route to getting thumped by New Mexico State and St. Mary's. New Mexico (4-3) will hope to right the ship now that it is back in the friendly confines of Dreamstyle Arena aka The Pit, hosting the Colorado Buffaloes in the first of a four-game home stand.
Students often find it difficult to attend college and balance priorities — and student-athletes make it that much more challenging when they decide to throw playing a sport into the mix. Muñoz, who decided to pursue communication as a major while minoring in marketing said she knew right away that the University of New Mexico was the right fit for her.
It looked very much in doubt about midway through the first quarter, but the University of New Mexico women's basketball team turned up the defensive intensity to shift things in its favor and won its fifth straight game by taking down UTEP at Dreamstyle Arena on Wednesday. New Mexico (6-1) was down early, struggling to take care of the ball and, even when it was able to do so, couldn't seem to put the ball in the hoop. UTEP had no such trouble.
Chants of “Judas” and “You’re a sellout” filled the air of the Pan American Center in Las Cruces on Tuesday evening. Other ill-natured chants about the University of New Mexico men’s basketball team filled the air, too. Inevitably, the negativity directed at UNM and its head coach had a grueling effect on the outcome of the game: A 100-65 thrashing on the road courtesy of rival New Mexico State. It was the largest margin of victory in the series since a 37-point win from UNM more than 50 years ago.
Solutions by The State News
