Lobos rally, hit key free throws late to remain undefeated
With leading Lobo scorer Udeze struggling, transfer forward Allick comes through with 15 points and 15 boards
LARAMIE, Wyo. — By the skin of their teeth.
Or fangs, as it were.
The 22nd-ranked University of New Mexico men’s basketball team remained undefeated with a nail-biting 76-75 win over Wyoming in the Arena Auditorium on Saturday afternoon.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. hit a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left to put the Lobos in front with what proved to be the game-winning points. He finished with a game-high 20 while Josiah Allick overcame a cold start to produce his best game as a Lobo with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
It’s the most rebounds for a Lobo in three years.
Allick missed his first five shots but made his final seven, helping offset the worst game of forward Morris Udeze’s tenure as a Lobo. Udeze, who came in leading the team in scoring, was held without a point. He grabbed four rebounds and committed three turnovers, logging a season-low 13 minutes as he battled foul trouble from start to finish.
“We just had to stay the course,” said Lobos coach Richard Pitino. “In the first half, I thought we were a little out of it. I think when you saw all their injuries, we needed to understand that they were still going to fight.”
Coupled with No. 2 UConn’s loss to Xavier on Saturday, UNM (14-0 overall, 2-0 Mountain West) is now one of just two Division I teams without a loss entering the new year. Top-ranked Purdue (13-0) is the other.
The Lobos also surpassed their win total from all of last season and moved within three wins of equalling the best start in school history.
UNM was pushed to the brink by a depleted Wyoming roster that was missing preseason conference player of the year Graham Ike and then lost one of its top scorers early in Saturday’s game when guard Noah Reynolds exited with an injury in the first half when UNM’s Sebastian Forsling hit him with an inadvertent elbow to the back of the head.
To top it off, the Cowboys’ top offensive threat, preseason all-conference guard Hunter Maldonado, fouled out in the waning moments with the outcome on the line.
That said, Wyoming (5-9, 0-2), which dropped its fourth consecutive game, had a chance to take a late lead, but forward Max Agbonkpolo’s wide open 3-point try with nine seconds remaining was off the mark.
A final desperation heave from beyond half court by Wyoming’s Brendan Wenzel was off target.
“We had to find a way,” Pitino said. “They all can’t be beautiful. Sometimes you need to go on the road and make one more play than them. [Mashburn] makes big free throws and Josiah gets a big rebound. I’m really proud of our guys to be sitting at 14-0.”
The Cowboys led most of the way, opening an 18-7 lead in the first half and rallying with one big shot after another after the Lobos battled their way back.
The Lobos countered with solid guard play from Mashburn, Jaelen House and K.J. Jenkins. Jenkins came off
the bench to score 14 points while House had 16 points before fouling out late in the second half.
Picked second in the Mountain West before the season, Wyoming remains one of just two teams below .500 in the 11-team league.
NOTES
Road warriors: After home teams won all five games to open Mountain West play on Wednesday, road teams took four of the five games on Saturday. The lone exception was Utah State’s win over Fresno State in Logan, Utah.
Traffic jam: The Lobos are in a four-way tie of 2-0 teams atop the MWC along with San Diego State, Nevada and San Jose State. All four have a road win to their credit. Among the winless clubs at the bottom of the standings are Wyoming, UNLV, Colorado State and Air Force.
Up next: The Lobos head to Fresno State (5-8, 1-1) on Tuesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m.
UNM’s next home game is Jan. 7 against UNLV. As of Saturday, only 1,500 tickets were left.
The Lobos will also host Oral Roberts on Jan. 9, then head to San Diego State in what will be its toughest road game of the year on Jan. 14.