Rodney Prunty - The Daily Lobo

Sports

Lobo women’s basketball wins comfortably against UT Martin

Rodney Prunty | November 22

The University of New Mexico Lobos women’s basketball team was able to ease to a 77-45 victory on Thursday, Nov. 20, against the University of Tennessee at Martin Skyhawks. With the win, the Lobos now move to 5-1 on the season, a significant jump from the 3-3 record the team started with last season. Lobo guard Alyssa Hargrove spoke on the difference between this year’s team compared to last year’s team. “I definitely feel like with this team we can play a lot faster, I feel we have more options to get it up to so that’s been a big difference for me handling the ball,” Hargrove said. “Our defense as well, pressing the whole game is new for us so I think it’s a good adjustment, seeing how we're working through it has been good.”

Sports

Lobos find a way, defeating Rams 20-17

Rodney Prunty | November 17

Since 2010, the University of New Mexico Lobos football team has lost every match up with the Colorado State University Rams. That all changed on Saturday, Nov. 15, when the Lobos took down Colorado State 20-17 at University Stadium. This win not only brings about the end of the 13 game losing streak against CSU, but also marks the first winning season for UNM since 2016. It wasn’t the prettiest game for the Lobo offense, fumbling the ball away four times. Turnovers were not the offense’s only issue, as they underperformed on third down, converting five of 14 on the game. Lobo quarterback Jack Layne touched on the offensive struggles after the game.

Sports

Lobos coast to a win against East Texas A&M

Rodney Prunty | November 7

The University of New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team took care of business on Wednesday, Nov. 5 when they faced off against the East Texas A&M University Lions. The Lobos were in the driver's seat from the very beginning, making sure there was no chance for the Lions to even make it a game. Combine that with a terrible performance by East Texas A&M, and the Lobos eased to a 76-54 victory. This win marks the first as a Lobo for Head Coach Eric Olen, who was hired by UNM back in March of this year after the departure of former Head Coach Richard Pitino.

Sports

Lobos are bowl bound after defeating UNLV

Rodney Prunty | November 3

For the first time since 2016, the University of New Mexico Lobo football team earned bowl game eligibility. This comes after the Lobos went on the road and defeated the University of Nevada Las Vegas Rebels 40-35 on Saturday, Nov. 1. There was not much action early in the first quarter, but things started to pick up towards the quarter’s end. After the Lobo defense was able to force a turnover on downs, New Mexico’s offense was able to put the first points of the game on the board. UNM strung together a drive that ended when Lobo quarterback Jack Layne found running back Damon Bankston open in the endzone for a 30-yard touchdown pass.

Sports

UNM earns a decisive 33-14 win over Utah State

Rodney Prunty | October 27

A familiar face returned to the University Stadium sidelines on Saturday, Oct. 26, when the University of New Mexico Lobos football team took on the Utah State University Aggies. This face was none other than former Lobo Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall, who was hired in December 2023, but after just one season with the Lobos he left and headed to Logan, Utah, to become the head coach of the Aggies. Mendenhall’s departure left a bad taste in fans’ mouths, leading to this game being one of the most anticipated for the Lobos this year. The Lobos came in laser-focused and did not disappoint as they picked apart Utah State, sending Mendenhall’s Aggies back to Utah with a 33-14 loss, and fans home with the sweet feeling of revenge.

Opinion

OPINION: Bobbleheads of the week: NFL week two edition

Rodney Prunty | September 19

Where there’s a victor, there’s a loser, and sometimes, certain athletes contribute to their team’s shortcomings. These athletes are favorably called bobbleheads. NFL week two has come and gone and we saw blowouts, comebacks, thrilling conclusions and, of course, bobbleheads. Here are a few bobbleheads who should’ve stayed at home this week.

Sports

Lobo running backs shine in win over Bengals

Rodney Prunty | September 8

The ground game was on full display for the University of New Mexico Lobos football team on Saturday, Sept. 6. Running backs Scottre Humphrey, D.J. McKinney, and Damon Bankston made their presence known, giving Idaho State University Bengals problems all game. At the end of the day, the dominance of the running game was too much for the Bengals to handle as the Lobos secured a 32-22 victory and earned Head Coach Jason Eck his first win as a New Mexico Lobo. University stadium was filled with 17,639 fans, the largest crowd the Lobos have gotten for a home opener since 2018.

Sports

Lobos howl but Michigan prevails

Rodney Prunty | September 1

The University of New Mexico Lobo football team kicked off the 2025 season at the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Saturday Aug. 30. The Lobos came into the game as underdogs, led by their new Head Coach Jason Eck, hoping to spoil the University of Michigan’s freshman Quarterback Bryce Underwood’s debut. Instead, Underwood led Michigan's offense, throwing for 251 yards and a touchdown, helping the 14th-ranked Michigan Wolverines beat the Lobos 34-17. The Lobos struggled from the get-go, as the Wolverine offense made it to mid-field on the first drive, after which Michigan Running Back Justice Haynes took it 56 yards to the house. Following a Lobos three-and-out, Haynes was able to find the endzone again on a 5-yard touchdown run. The first quarter ended with the Wolverines up 14-0.

Sports

Isotopes split series against Las Vegas Aviators

Rodney Prunty | August 25

The Albuquerque Isotopes stole game four from the Las Vegas Aviators with a 8-7 win on Friday, Aug. 22 at Isotopes Park. The Isotopes came into the game down 2-1 in the series, as they won the opening game, but dropped games two and three. The Isotopes were able to return from the back-to-back losses and tie the series at two-a-piece. Similar to game three of the series, the beginning of the game did not start out so well for the Isotopes, who found themselves down 6-0 by the time the bottom of the third rolled around. This was mainly due to shaky pitching and sloppy play in the field; however, in the bottom of the third, the Isotopes started to pick things up with outfielder Zac Veen’s two run homer, making the score 6-2.

Sports

Isotopes drop game 2, bounce back with game 3 walk off

Rodney Prunty | May 19

On May 14 and 15, the Albuquerque Isotopes took on the Tacoma Rainiers for games 2 and 3 of the series. The Isotopes lost the series opener 9-1 to Tacoma on May 13 and looked to take a win and tie the series up 1-1 in game 2 on May 14. The Isotopes got off to a good start in game 2 as after a scoreless first inning by both teams. The Isotopes batted in 3 runs with the highlight coming from Sterlin Thompson who had a two run double.