Hobson, Lobos outgun Aztecs 88-86

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – Led by Darington Hobson, the No. 15/23 New Mexico Lobos survived an 88-86 overtime thriller versus the San Diego State Aztecs Saturday, snatching a share of the Mountain West Conference lead in the process.

"We needed revenge," Hobson said. "We [are] back up in the hunt to defend our championship and it was a great team win."

The Lobos (21-3, 7-2 MWC) entered the day a game behind the BYU Cougars. But UNM leapfrogged BYU after the Cougars lost at UNLV. All three teams have a 7-2 conference record.

Saturday, Hobson was nothing short of phenomenal. He scored 29 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, dished out six assists and didn't commit a single turnover.

"He had one of those special nights that special players have. He is very, very gifted. He played all but a few minutes," Lobos Head Coach Steve Alford said.

The Lobos got off to a fast start in the game thanks to the sharp shooting of Roman Martinez and the dominating inside presence of A.J. Hardeman.

Then, SDSU got very physical and were able to grind out a small lead midway through the first half.

But the Aztecs rough style may have done them more harm than good when a blow to Hobson's head galvanized the Lobos.

With his eye swelling considerably, a dazed Hobson elected to stay on the court and the Lobos flourished. UNM finished the half on a 22-11 run punctuated by a half-court buzzer beater that officially traveled 55 feet from Hobson's hand to the hoop.

"Oh Darington, he's the man, he just gets it done," Hardeman said. "We all follow after him."

The Cherry and Silver fed off Hobson's energy for the entire second half, building their lead to 11

With 2:05 to go into the game, SDSU went into desperation mode and started shooting a flurry of 3-pointers. Unfortunately for the Lobos, all four of the Aztecs long shots went in.

"I dunno…they must a said a great prayer before the game because that was crazy," Hobson said.

After all those Aztec 3s and some untimely Lobo misses at the foul line, SDSU found themselves down only two with 00:06 on the clock.

SDSU got the ball in cleanly to their ace D.J. Gay, who was fouled hard by Hobson while shooting a 3-pointer.Gay had a chance to seal the game if he made all three free throws, but he only made two.

With a single second on the clock, Hobson couldn’t repeat his half-court magic and the game went into overtime.

The Lobos trailed for most of the extra period, but Hobson hit a 3-pointer in the final minute of overtime to erase the deficit.

If that wasn't heroic enough, Hobson drew a foul and hit two free throws with 00:03 left to give the Lobos the win.

"That is one of the best games I've ever played in," Hobson said.

It's safe to say that it wasn't bad for the 14,586 in attendance either.