The Pit is back.
With over 15,000 fans in the arena, the Lobos showed why they are a top 25 team on Wednesday night, as New Mexico moved to 13-0 with an 88-69 victory over the Rams (8-6) down in Albuquerque.
Led by Jaelen House, who scored a game-high 29 points and dished out five assists, UNM attacked relentlessly and really was able to get in a groove offensively against a shorthanded Colorado State team. Missing Tavi Jackson, Jalen Lake and Josiah Strong, CSU just did not have the depth to play 40 minutes against a squad that can run you off the court like UNM.
The Lobos finished with 28 fast break points, which was 22 more than the Rams were able to produce. Really though, for a team that normally makes its living inside the 3-point arc, UNM surprisingly did most of its damage from deep. After coming in averaging just five made threes per game, the Lobos went 15-of-25 from 3-point range in the win over the Green & Gold.
The hot shooting, particularly in the first half, was a big reason why UNM was able to take command of the game almost immediately. After CSU scored the first 5 points of the night, the Lobos came back with a 17-0 run over a span of only about three and a half minutes. From that point on the closest that the Rams ever got was a deficit of 7 points (19-12).
By halftime UNM’s lead ballooned to 25 points, and although the Rams never laid down, they kept fighting and trying to get back into the game, the Lobos were never in a position where they were sweating in the second half. CSU cut the lead to 16 at one point but that was the closest things ever got down the stretch.
Considering the environment and the state of the roster — CSU was essentially in a heavyweight fight with one arm tied behind their back — the outcome was not all that surprising. This would have been a really challenging matchup with the Rams at 100 percent, let alone missing three key guards from the rotation.
That said, while a loss, even a double-digit one was not a shocking outcome, it was a good reminder that the Mountain West slate is not going to be any easier than the challenging non-conference schedule that the Rams played over the first six weeks. It might even be harder.
UNM and San Diego State are both legitimate top 25 programs, but the majority of the conference has at least shown glimpses of being dangerous at one point or another. Even San Jose State is a double-digit win team under Tim Miles. So if the Rams don’t play much better on both ends of the floor, it’s going to be tough to be competitive in what is looking like a deep league so far.
As far as the positives go, CSU did a pretty good job of establishing a presence in the paint, particularly when Patrick Cartier was on the floor. The former Division II All-American showed why he can be one of the most effective post scorers in the league with the way that he was able to consistently finish over and around bigger defenders. He tied for the team lead in scoring with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting when it was all said and done. In total the Rams finished with 36 points in the paint, which was good enough for a +12 advantage in the final stat book.
Although he was limited by early foul trouble in this one, John Tonje had a nice scoring night, finishing with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting overall. Isaiah Rivera quietly had 12 points, six rebounds and four assists as well.
Finally, Isaiah Stevens paced CSU with seven assists. Unfortunately he really struggled shooting the ball though and made just four of his 15 attempts from the floor. His five turnovers were also uncharacteristic as UNM’s House seemed to really give him fits defensively.
It’s always going to be tough to win when your best player struggles to find a flow on offense. But when the other team is also as hot as the Lobos were, it basically becomes impossible.
We’ll see if the Rams can rebound when SJSU comes to Moby Arena on New Year’s Eve.
