Shooting was an issue for the New Mexico men’s basketball team in its first two exhibition games.
UNM seemed to have come out of its slump in its season opener against the Idaho State Bengals in a 79-55 win on Friday night.
The Lobos shot 44.1 percent from the floor and 32 percent from behind the three point line. Second-year head coach Craig Neal said that he was pleased with what he saw from his guys.
“I’m really happy with our performance,” he said. “Openers are always hard, especially when we have a change with regards to new players and new faces.”
Neal said he wanted to get senior guard Deshawn Delaney going early as he had been struggling from the floor in their first two exhibition games.
Delaney wowed fans on the first play of the game as he received an alley-oop pass from sophomore guard Cullen Neal. He scored eight of UNM’s first 14 points, including three dunks.
He finished 5 of 6 from the floor, 2 of 2 from the free throw line, and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Cullen Neal couldn’t find his rhythm early but saw his shots drop late in the first half. He finished with a game-high and career-high 26 points, hitting 7 of 16 shots (5 of 10 from beyond the arc).
The Lobos led the Bengals 42-20 in the first half while shooting 51.6 (16-31) percent from the floor and 38.5 (5-13) percent from 3-point range. The Lobos stingy defense held the Bengals to 28.6 (8-28) percent and forced nine turnovers.
Junior college stand out Jordan Goodman played in Friday’s game even though Coach Neal said he didn’t expect him to play until after Dec. 1. Goodman played 10 minutes and finished with two points and two boards.
“It was good to see Jordan out there on the floor with a uniform on,” Neal said.
Kyle Tomasi is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @KyTo22.
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Men’s basketball vs Cal State Fullerton
Sunday
7:00 p.m.
TV: ROOT Sports
