JUST ENOUGH: No. 1 Lobos start MWC tourney with win over SJSU
UNM’s C.J. Noland celebrates with the Lobos bench on Wednesday in the MWC Tournament Quarterfinals in Las Vegas, Nev. at the Thomas & Mack Center. UNM defeated San Jose State, 63-52, to advance to the semifinals for the second straight year. Photo courtesy of the Mountain West Conference.
LAS VEGAS, NEV. - Despite a sluggish start, the UNM men’s basketball team found a way.
As they have done all season, the Lobos (26-6) wore their opponent down the stretch. This time it was a 63-52 victory over San Jose State in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
The Spartans were one of only three teams that beat the Lobos during the MWC season en route to UNM’s first outright league title since 2012-13.
“That was a grind-it-out, find-a-way-to-get-it-done win,” UNM head men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino said.
UNM avenged their Jan. 14 one-point loss in San Jose State that sent head coach Tim Miles and the Spartans home for good in the 2024-25 campaign.
San Jose State was the first team to beat UNM in MWC play. After the Lobos’ loss to the Spartans in January, UNM ripped off eight-straight wins and didn’t lose for over a month.
“Tough physical battle. We knew New Mexico is so talented, so good it would be that way. I thought we met the moment in terms of physicality,” Miles said.
And the Lobos did it with defense and toughness.
UNM held SJSU to 35 percent shooting from the field and 6-of-22 from the 3-point line.
“Our defense has been terrific all year, creating steals and getting points off turnovers, like you saw 24 today. I think we've got pretty good size across the board,” Pitino said.
Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Donovan Dent scored 25 and had five assists. Of his 25, none was bigger than a banked 3-pointer from nearly half court at the buzzer of the first half on an in-bound pass from Mustapha Amzil.
The 3-pointer put UNM up 32-23 at the break and he finished with 15 first half points.
“Yeah, hitting a half-court shot anytime gives a team a lot of energy,” Dent said.
UNM would lead by as many as 15 in the second half and used an 8-0 run to take a 40-25 lead with 16:30 left in the game.
San Jose State would cut the lead to 46-35 with around 10 minutes to go in the game, but UNM used a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 14 with 4:45 left.
UNM’s Nelly Junior Joseph runs down the court in the Lobos 63-52 win over SJSU in Las Vegas, Nev. UNM will play Boise State on Friday in the MWC Tournament Semifinals. Photo courtesy of the Mountain West Conference.
UNM center Nelly Junior Joseph etched another dominant performance against a MWC foe. Joseph played all but 32 seconds of the game on Thursday and finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
It’s Joseph’s 16th double-double of the season, which ties him for seventh most in UNM men’s basketball history. It’s also his ninth game with at least 15 rebounds in a game, which is the most by any Lobo in the last 50 years.
Tru Washington finished with 11 points and two steals.
Pitino said he applauded Washington’s defensive effort again.
“Tru did a lot of good things. It's great to have that guy, put him on the ball, really, really disrupt and create some havoc,” Pitino said.
Sadaidriene Hall led all SJSU scorers with 13 points and eight rebounds. Robert Vaihola added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Utah State transfer Josh Uduje finished with 10 points, two steals and two blocks.
“So I'm just proud of the way the team just showed resiliency throughout the whole of the year,” Udeje said.
UNM has won five-straight MWC Tournament. The Lobos’ last loss was to Utah State in the 2023 quarterfinals. In those five-straight victories, UNM has outscored its opponent in all 10 halves of that streak
NEXT UP: No. 1 New Mexico Lobos vs. No. 5 Boise State
Time: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Location: Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev.
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Watch: CBS Sports Network