Sports

Sports

Baseball: New Mexico drops rubber match, loses road series to Fresno State

Matthieu Cartron | March 11

The University of New Mexico baseball team fell victim in its second straight Mountain West series of the year, losing two of three on the road to the Fresno State Bulldogs at Pete Beiden Field. New Mexico (6-8-1, 2-4 MW) narrowly escaped with a win in game one, clipping the Bulldogs in improbable fashion. In that first game, Fresno State (11-6, 2-4 MW) seemed to be well on its way to picking up a victory. The Bulldogs began Friday's scoring by going yard in the second inning to take a one-run lead and picked up another run via the long ball in the bottom of the fifth.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos and Aztecs battle for Mountain West Championship

Robert Maler | March 10

The University of New Mexico men's basketball team — which was a preseason prediction to finish in ninth place — wasn't supposed to be here. The Lobos were mired in mediocrity, staring at a 3-8 record after suffering an 89-73 loss to the Arizona Wildcats on Dec. 16 earlier in the season. There probably weren't many who believed the team had the talent to compete, but several months later, the narrative has changed. Head coach Paul Weir sat at the podium with two key players from Friday night's 83-68 triumph over Utah State. Weir said the decision to select senior Sam Logwood and junior guard Troy Simons to join him on the dais was a deliberate won, saying they embodied what this year's Lobo team is all about.

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Sports

Men’s Basketball: Lobo fans react to making MW championship

Matthew Narvaiz | March 10

LAS VEGAS — Just minutes away from the strip on Friday evening, the University of New Mexico men’s basketball team did something it hasn’t done since the 2013-14 season — advance to the Mountain West Tournament championship game. In fact the Lobos have been one-and-done victims in the tournament for the last three seasons, with no chance of winning a conference championship or advancing to the NCAA Tournament. And for seniors Sam Logwood and Joe Furstinger, players who have been with the program all four years without ever before experienced what the 2014-15 team did in taking home Mountain West strap, have now earned the achievement of playing in front of a sea of cherry and silver at the Thomas & Mack Center.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos crush Utah State to earn spot in MW title game

Robert Maler | March 10

It was a game of runs — but the University of New Mexico men's basketball team enjoyed more scoring spurts and inflicted more damage during them as the Lobos surged past Utah State Friday night to advance to the Mountain West Championship game. New Mexico turned the ball over on its opening possession, but Utah State returned the favor and UNM senior Sam Logwood threw down a dunk for the first score of the game. Utah State got a couple of early 3-pointers from sophomore guard Sam Merrill, a sharpshooter from the outside. His second make gave the Aggies an 8-6 lead just under three minutes into the game.

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Sports

Baseball: Fresno State to host UNM in three-game series

Matthieu Cartron | March 9

The University of New Mexico baseball fell below .500 on the season after losing 7-2 in a midweek matchup with Texas Tech, but will try to pick up momentum in Fresno, California, where it will play the Bulldogs in a three-game series The Lobos (5-6-1) have won only one of their last five games and have seemed to struggle so far this season to find their footing. But UNM has faced some tough opposition this season, including Oregon State, whom they lost to twice—the first time 5-2 and the second 15-3.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos knock off Cowboys to advance to conference semis

Robert Maler | March 8

LAS VEGAS — The University of New Mexico men's basketball team kept its postseason hopes alive by jumping out to a huge first-half lead over Wyoming in the Mountain West Tournament quarterfinals and keeping the Cowboys at bay the rest of the way. New Mexico wasted little time getting out of the gates in the second round matchup. Senior guard Antino Jackson collected the first two points of the game by finishing on a drive to the basket. After a Wyoming turnover and UNM offensive rebound, fellow senior Joe Furstinger was true on a jumper to put the Lobos up 4-0 in the early going. That trend continued as Wyoming struggled to make shots, missing its first three attempts from the field. The Cowboys were forced to call a timeout with 16:29 still remaining in the first half, already trailing 10-1. New Mexico continued to build on the lead thanks to its ability to capitalize of Wyoming's mistakes as the Lobos scored eight points on four turnovers. The margin grew to 22-9 — prompting another timeout at the 11:23 mark — but the Cowboys finally started settling in.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos to open MW Tournament play against Wyoming

Robert Maler | March 7

The 2018 Mountain West Men's Basketball Championship got underway on Wednesday and the University of New Mexico men's basketball team began the tournament in a good spot — enjoying a first-round bye and waiting for two other schools to compete for the chance to play the next day against New Mexico. New Mexico (17-14, 12-6 MW) earned a bye week by defeating Fresno State in its regular season finale on Wednesday, securing the No. 3 seed in the tournament in the process. That allowed the Lobos to sit back and watch Wyoming and San Jose State — two schools which UNM swept during the regular season — play in the final first-round game of the day. Seeding held on day one of the tournament as the No. 8 hometown UNLV Rebels outlasted No. 9 Air Force in overtime, 97-90, in the opening game and No. 7 Utah State downed No. 10 Colorado State later by a 76-65 margin.

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Sports

Women's Basketball: UNM falls to No. 3 Wyoming in quarterfinals, ending MW tournament run

Matthew Narvaiz | March 7

LAS VEGAS — Through its first six quarters of play in the 2018 Mountain West Tournament, the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team looked like the team that started 13-0 on the season — but just like the regular season, the momentum came to a screeching halt. New Mexico ran roughshod over San Jose State in the opening round, blasting the Spartans 84-54. Things appeared to be going the same way against Wyoming in the second round matchup, as the Lobos sprinted out to a 33-18 halftime advantage. In the second half, though, UNM faltered. And after scoring just 18 points and shot 29 percent in the first half, Wyoming dominated by scoring 51 points in the second half of play en route to a 69-66 win over the Lobos at the Thomas & Mack Center on Tuesday evening.

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Sports

Men’s Tennis: UNM places third in Mountain Pacific Invitational

Matthieu Cartron | March 6

The University of New Mexico men's tennis team took third in the annual Mountain Pacific Invitational after beating Brown University 4-1 on Sunday in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Mountain Pacific Invitational is an eight-team tournament that consists of singles competition only on day one, and doubles play being introduced into the fold on the following day — guaranteeing all schools a total of three matches.

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Sports

Women's Basketball: Lobos crush San Jose State 84-54 in MW Tournament opener

Matthew Narvaiz | March 5

LAS VEGAS — A well-balanced performance from the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team helped it grab a win in the first round of the 2018 Mountain West Tournament over the No. 11 seed San Jose State Spartans. UNM (23-9), the conference's No. 6 ranked team, got big performances out of its starters to dominate the Spartans (7-23) en route to an impressive 84-54 victory. Junior post Jaisa Nunn had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead the Lobos, while senior guards Tesha Buck and Cherise Beynon had 18 and 14 points, respectively. Beynon led New Mexico in rebounding with 11 boards on her way to a double-double.

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Sports

Women’s Basketball: Lobos to face San Jose State in first round of Mountain West Tournament

Matthew Narvaiz | March 4

On Monday, the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team will play in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament against San Jose State. UNM (22-9), after a 10-8 performance in the conference this season, entered the tournament as the sixth seed, whereas the Spartans are the eleventh seed—the lowest of all seeds in the tournament. The winner of the matchup between UNM and SJSU (7-22, 4-14 MW) will then move on to play third seeded Wyoming on Tuesday, since they locked in a bye for the first round. Entering Monday’s first round tip-off, the Lobos have had a late trail of success. In its last two games, UNM has won both while also getting big performances from some of its players in the process.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: A look at the swan song for three Lobo seniors

Robert Maler | March 4

Three seniors with very difficult career arcs played their last regular season finale in a Lobo uniform on Saturday at Dreamstyle Arena. They apparently didn't want the moment to end — opting to give the fans five additional minutes of basketball to appreciate their career contributions. The University of New Mexico men's basketball team led for almost the entirety of the game, but found itself tied up at the end of regulation after squandering a seven-point lead in the final minute of the second half. The Lobos got big contributions from everyone, but when the outcome was no longer in question — head coach Paul Weir gave fans an opportunity to show gratitude and his seniors a chance to savor the moment.

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Sports

Growing ABQ’s fighting community: Former Lobo athlete trades field for ring

Aleks Mihailovic | March 4

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on Sept. 26 and written by New Mexico News Port reporter Aleks Mihailovic.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos pull away from Bulldogs 95-86 to finish third in Mountain West

Robert Maler | March 4

Slated as a preseason selection to finish ninth in the Mountain West, the University of New Mexico men's basketball team finished the season far from it — knocking off the Fresno State Bulldogs in overtime on Saturday night to overtake third place in the conference standings. New Mexico ensured itself of a winning record this season, finishing the regular season 17-14 overall and going 12-6 in Mountain West play. The Lobos also extended their season-high winning streak to five with the 95-86 win over the Bulldogs, but three will be the important number moving forward. UNM will shift its attention to next week's 2018 Mountain West Men's Basketball Championship in Las Vegas Nevada, where it will compete as a No. 3 seed and hope to win three games in three days to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos and Bulldogs vie for MW 3rd seed on UNM Senior Night

Robert Maler | March 3

Three University of New Mexico men's basketball seniors will try to cap the regular season with a win on Senior Night in what will likely be the last game they ever play at the Pit. Joe Furstinger and Sam Logwood are Lobo veterans, while Antino Jackson, a senior transfer, was added to the roster in the offseason to handle duties at point guard. The three have played their part in turning things around after a rough start to the season and now have their team in the thick of things in the Mountain West. That trio will be recognized following Saturday's matchup against Fresno State, a release said.

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Sports

Women’s Basketball: Beynon, Buck and Nunn lead UNM to win over Fresno State on the road

Matthew Narvaiz | March 3

It took the entirety of the game, plus some, for the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team to pull out a victory on the road at Fresno State, 93-89. And the Lobos got scoring out a trio of players such as Cherise Beynon, Tesha Buck and Jaisa Nunn in the process. Beynon led UNM with a triple-double performance, putting up 22 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. It marked her third triple-double of her career. Buck, however, was a problem on offense for the Bulldogs. She scored a team-high 30 points while going 12-of-23 from the field. She also had two threes, though she took a total of 10 of them.

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos dealt 9-5 loss in conference home opener

Robert Maler | March 3

The University of New Mexico baseball team was dealt its first home defeat after Nevada broke the game open with a big inning and held on for the win on Friday night at Santa Ana Star Field. UNM sophomore pitcher Justin Slaten shouldered the loss as New Mexico (4-4-1, 0-1 MW) fell in its conference opener to the Wolf Pack by a score of 9-5. Nevada (4-4, 1-0 MW) got on the board in the top of the first inning, plating a run after Grant Fennell was able to double home Daniel Perry in the top of the frame.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos pummel Rams to ensure first-round bye in MW Tournament

Robert Maler | March 1

Things got out of hand quickly as the University of New Mexico men's basketball team thoroughly dominated Colorado State in the first half — and then coasted to victory to sweep the regular season series against the Rams. New Mexico (16-14, 11-6 MW) was unrelenting in its quest to lock up a first-round bye in the upcoming 2018 MW Men's Basketball Championship, jumping all over Colorado State in the early going. The Lobos had an answer in the second half for seemingly every run the Rams tried to make and picked up a 108-87 victory for a season-high fourth straight win. In the first meeting between the schools, Colorado State turned the ball over 24 times on the way to an 80-65 loss on Jan. 27 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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Women's Basketball: Four seniors play their last game at the Pit

Matthew Narvaiz and Cameron Goeldner | February 28

And then, it was their last. Four seniors, all guards, stepped onto the Pit floor for the last time, as players for the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team. Seniors Cherise Beynon, Laneah Bryan, Tesha Buck and Alex Lapeyrolerie had a mix of emotions, they said, but a positive outcome in a season in which they broke records, beat the unbeatable and have become a sisterhood. And that sisterhood will stand the test of time, Lapeyrolerie said.

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Sports

Women’s Basketball: Lobos cap senior night with a win over CSU

Matthew Narvaiz | February 28

In the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team’s final game at The Pit this season, a strong performance from senior guard Cherise Beynon led the Lobos to a win over Colorado State, 54-48, in front of a crowd of 5,088 screaming fans. Being their last game, it also doubled as “senior night,” in which four Lobos Beynon, Tesha Buck, Alex Lapeyrolerie and Laneah Bryan stepped onto the Pit floor. Lapeyrolerie, who tore her ACL in a game against Air Force a few games ago, also suited up in her uniform. And, to the crowd’s delight, was awarded her spot in the starting lineup. She looked out into the crowd and hugged her teammates before leaving the court shortly after to let the game get started.