New Mexico heads into the Mountain West Basketball Championships as the fourth seed following the Lobos’ 71-66 victory over Nevada Saturday night in Reno, Nevada.
The Lobos were assured at least a sixth seed heading into the regular-season finale, but San Diego State’s 92-56 rout over UNLV ensured UNM would receive a first-round bye. UNM and Nevada will have a rematch in the tournament’s second round next Thursday.
“You need a win and a little bit of momentum going into the tournament,” Lobo head coach Craig Neal said in a statement. “We couldn’t get over the hump, but I thought this was a consistent showing of basketball by us.”
Guard Elijah Brown, who on Sunday was named the All-Mountain West First-Team and Newcomer of the Year in the media poll paced the Lobos in the scoring column with 17 points, but he connected on a mere 5-for-15 from the field. He added six points from the foul line. Guard Cullen Neal scored 17 points while forward Tim Williams, another All-Mountain West First-Teamer, netted 11.
Center Obij Aget posted his first double-digit game in nearly three weeks, scoring 12 points. He last scored 10-plus points on Feb. 13. He completed a double-double with a game-high 14 rebounds.
For all but six minutes UNM led the game, holding a 20-point advantage midway through the second half. The Lobos headed into the half up 41-28 and endured a second half where the Wolf Pack scored eight more points than UNM.
The Lobos also contained Nevada to a 36.8 field goal shooting percentage (25 of 68) while making 45.6 percent (26 of 57) of their own. UNM beat the Wolf Pack on the glass 44-30.
Nevada placed four in double-figure scoring: Guard Tyron Criswell with 20 points, Guard D.J. Fenner with 17, Forward Cameron Oliver with 13 and Guard Eric Cooper Jr. with 11. The Wolf Pack played without its leading scorer Marqueze Coleman, who could make his return from an ankle injury at the MW tourney.
J.R. Oppenheim is the assistant sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers men’s basketball and women’s soccer. Contact him at assistantsports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @JROppenheim.
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