Guard Elijah Brown scored a career-high 31 points Sunday night in Las Cruces, leading New Mexico to an 83-74 victory over in-state rival New Mexico State.
Brown, two days removed from a 16-point effort in the season opener, surpassed his previous best in just the first half. His performance helped the Lobos break 80 points for the second time in two games. UNM captured an 86-57 victory over Texas Southern on Friday.
In what many on social media called a scary moment in the second half, Lobo forward Devon Williams was taken off the court on a stretcher after he collapsed. Head coach Craig Neal said in a postgame radio interview that Williams was taken to a hospital with a neck injury.
Lobo guard Cullen Neal joined Brown in double figures with 18 points as UNM shot 45 percent from the field (27 of 60).
UNM found itself down 23-14 in the first half before an 11-2 run knotted the game at 25 apiece. After Brown's buzzer-beater gave UNM a 39-38 halftime edge, the Lobos went on a 9-4 run coming out of the locker room to take the lead for good.
The team grabbed its eighth straight win over the Aggies in Las Cruces.
NMSU had three players reach double figures with forward Pascal Siakam scoring 23 points. He also had a game-high nine rebounds. Guard Ian Baker added 19 points, and guard Braxton Huggins finished with 14.
UNM returns to action Wednesday night against Loyola-Chicago. Tipoff is 7 p.m. at WisePies Arena.
J.R. Oppenheim is the managing editor for the Daily Lobo. Contact him at managingeditor@dailylobo or on Twitter @JROppenheim.
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