The University of New Mexico men's basketball team had their final home game of the regular season where they defeated the Fresno State Bulldogs on Wednesday, March 6. It was also senior night for four players who got time to shine on the court for their final game at The Pit. The Lobos took the game 79-58, ending with a 21-point lead.
Head Coach Richard Pitino expressed how proud he was of his team on an emotional night.
“Great way to send off the seniors,” Pitino said. “Defensively, we were terrific tonight – rebounded the ball extremely well, which only got better in the second half. I’m really proud of the guys. Sitting at 22-8 and 10-7.”
The Lobos defense showed tremendous pressure at the rim against the Bulldogs, finishing with 54 rebounds and 10 blocks a team. 16 of those rebounds were from JT Toppin (15) who recently received the Mountain West Freshman of the Week award for the ninth time this season.
The game started off hot from senior Jamal Mashburn Jr. (5) who opened up the game with a three-point basket and followed it up with an assist to Toppin who also scored a three-point basket. Mashburn Jr. wasn't the only senior to start off hot on the court as Jaelen House (10) was able to steal a pass off the Bulldogs and drove it all the way for a layup.
The Bulldogs’ Isaiah Hill (3) made a couple great shots from the three-point line, but Mashburn Jr. was able to make his own shots to even it out. Both sides started playing scrappy, but the Lobos led 19-9 going into the media timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Lobo freshmen started to show off their skill. Tru Washington (#3) was able to steal the ball only for the Bulldogs to steal it back, but the shot was blocked by Toppin.
The Bulldogs’ Hill and Enoch Boakye (13) were able to shift the momentum for their team with a fast pass into a dunk.
The Lobos were able to execute back-to-back great plays between guards Donovan Dent (#2) and Washington, to Nelly Junior Joseph (23) and Toppin, who each got a dunk. Toppin would also go on to have a big block on the Bulldogs Isaac Taveras (1) who tried a stylish layup.
The Lobos ended the half with a three-pointer by House and the Lobos up by 13 points. House was called for a technical foul, but Fresno State's Hill was called for a flagrant foul and was not allowed to return to the court for the remainder of the game. The Lobos held the lead going into the second half at 37-24.
The start of the second half saw both the Lobos and Bulldogs go on to trade empty plays – each holding the other at bay for the first few minutes – but the Lobos were able to bring the fire back and ran away with the game. Toppin was able to start it off with a rebound into a dunk, and then went on to have three more dunks – two of them assisted by Dent – and slammed home back-to-back by Toppin.
The Bulldogs’ attempted to come back as Xavier DuSell (53) made a great long-distance three-pointer, but it wasn't enough – especially with Lobos’ Mustapha Amzil (22) and Mashburn raking three-pointers. The Lobos were up 63-42 going into the media timeout.
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Washington had a steal that he passed to Jemarl Baker Jr. (0) for a three-point shot. From there, the Lobos held on to a large lead for the rest of the game.
House was able to pick up a long shot behind the three-point line that got the crowd of over 13,000 Lobo fans in The Pit on their feet cheering. Braden Applehans (1), Quinton Webb (11) and Isaac Mushila (12) got time on the court in the last five minutes as well.
After the game, Baker Jr. talked about how it was nice to see familiar faces from his former team in Fresno State, but he’s ready for the NCAA.
“We’re definitely ready for the NCAA level. We still have progress to make, but we got a great group of guys,” Baker Jr. said.
The Lobos’ time on the court is not over quite yet, though. They will go on to have their final regular season game against Utah State on Saturday, March 9.
BillyJack Davidson is a beat reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @BillyJackDL
BillyJack Davidson is a beat reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached on Twitter @BillyJackDL
