Dent leads Lobos in thumping of Rice
Sophomore point guard gets double-double in second round of Ball Dawgs Classic
There’s been little debate that Donovan Dent was the future of the Lobo basketball program from the moment he set foot on campus as a freshman. That future, it appears, has arrived. The sophomore point guard registered a double-double to lead the University of New Mexico to a 90-56 rout of Rice in Wednesday’s second round of the Ball Dawgs Classic in Henderson, Nev. He scored a team-high 18 points to go with 11 assists and zero turnovers while filling in for injured senior Jaelen House.
House is still dealing with a hip injury that has forced him to miss the last four games. He is with the team in Nevada but has spent the time in a sweatsuit.
Dent hasn’t just filled House’s shoes — he’s carving a name for himself with his evolving game that now includes a reliable midrange jump shot.
“I’m really falling in love with this system we’re running with Coach P,” Dent said. “Everything’s falling in place with it.”
Dent has scored 35 points with 18 assists in the two games this week. He has also averaged 33 minutes during the tournament, more than any other Lobo.
The Lobos led for all but one minute of Wednesday’s game, stretching a 13-point halftime lead into a 75-50 lead midway through the second half when coach Richard Pitino emptied his bench. House was the only scholarship player not to get into the game.
Five Lobos finished in double figures. True freshman Tru Washington had 14 points with six rebounds in his best game yet. Jamal Mashburn Jr. and JT Toppin each had 13 while Nelly Junior Joseph had 10 points and seven rebounds.
As Joesph’s athletic ability slowly returns to form, it’s the 6-foot-9 Toppin who’s stealing the show in the low post. In two games this tournament he has made 17 of his 20 attempted shots, sank all six of his free throws and grabbed 17 rebounds. He and Dent have formed a solid one-two punch with Toppin developing a knack for cutting hard to the rim when Dent draws in the defense.
“I told [Dent] that although we’re better with House, take advantage of this opportunity,” Pitino said. “He does it in such an effortless way. He’s such a good passer, he’s so terrific in those high ball screens and guys are feeding off it. They know they’re going to get open looks.”
The Lobos held Rice to 28% shooting in the second half and forced 17 turnovers for the game. As the lead grew
to more than two dozen points, every player had an impact. That includes reserve Isaac Mushila, an offseason transfer from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He scored the first points of his Lobos career when he grabbed a missed 3-point try by teammate Quinton Webb and dropped in a point-blank bucket.
He finished with five points and seven rebounds, his best outing as a Lobo.
“I told them before the game, I said, for all you transfers that are not playing well just remember you’ve had really good careers elsewhere,” Pitino said. “It’s human nature for it to take a little time when you transfer.”
Mushila, Joseph, Jermarl Baker and Mustapha Amzil were the team’s offseason Division I transfer acquisitions and each has had issues settling in this season. Baker hit two early 3-pointers but didn’t score again after the 15:19 mark of the first half. Amzil and Mushila have had little impact since their arrival.
“We need those guys; we need the veterans to really run this team,” Pitino said. “The young guys have been doing it but we need the veterans to act like they’ve been there before. They did that for sure [Wednesday].”
The Lobos made five 3-pointers but are a modest 8-for-31 during the tournament. They’ve offset that by shooting better than 60 percent from inside the 3-point arc in those games.
NOTES
The only Lobo not to score was Braden Appelhans, who missed an open 3-point shot from the corner and air-balled a short baseline jumper. … UNM is shooting 81% from the free throw line this week, converting 34 of 42 attempts in the tournament. … The Lobos got 30 points from its bench against the Owls (1-4). … The Lobos (4-1) will take Thursday off and meet Pepperdine on Friday afternoon in the final round. The Waves (3-4) have lost their first two games in the tournament, including a 90-82 loss to Indiana State on Wednesday . ... Pitino will gather the team for a workout Thursday afternoon and allow players to spend time with family who came to Las Vegas to see the tournament. Dent said his family rented a home and is cooking a big Thanksgiving dinner.