Lobos rout WNMU for 3rd straight victory

The University of New Mexico Lobos needed a break after engaging in Saturday’s dog fight.

They helped themselves to one Monday evening, as they hit almost 60 percent of their shots from the field and rolled to an 88-63 win over Western New

Mexico University in The Pit.

UNM used an early 20-0 run to establish a 15-point lead the Mustangs never challenged, and the margin grew to as much as 77-44 in the second half.

The win is the third in a row for the Lobos (4-1), who handed Western New Mexico (4-1) its first loss of the season.

Five players reached double figures, and nine Lobos saw at least 10 minutes on the floor as head coach Richard Pitino substituted liberally in the second half.

Jamal Mashburn Jr. continued his early-season dominance, as he scored 19 points on the strength of a 7-for-11 performance from the field. Meanwhile, guard K.J. Jenkins led UNM with 20 points, knocking down four of seven shots from the perimeter. The Lobos collectively made good on nine of 19 shots from distance.

The night did not get off to a good start, as WMNU scored the first five points of the game. That was as good as it got for the Mustangs, as UNM scored the next 20 points over a 7-minute, 40-seconds stretch to build a 20-5 lead.

Gethro Muscadin, who was coming off his first career double-double in an 81-78 win over Montana State on Saturday, scored six of his 10 points during the Lobos’ run. The Mustangs went scoreless for an 8:08 stretch that encompassed the run, and didn’t score until Andrew Leon

ard hit a 3 with 10:15 left in the half to make it 20-8.

Western New Mexico got within 31-21 on Leonard’s 3 with 3:56 left before halftime, but UNM scored the next eight points to push its lead to 39-21 on a Jenkins triple at 2:01 of the opening half.

After making their first two shots, the Mustangs missed 26 of their next 35 in the half. Overall, WNMU was just 24-for-64 from the field.

Senior Jordan Doss led the Mustangs with 18 points, and Tony Avalos, a junior from Las Cruces Organ Mountain (formerly Oñate), added 17.

Junior forward Jay Allen-Tovar scored 14 points for the Lobos, and sophomore Javontè Johnson has seven of his 10 points in the second half.

New Mexico heads to Las Vegas, Nev., for Thanksgiving as it takes part in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational. The Lobos open the tournament against the University of Alabama-Birmingham at 5 p.m. Thursday.