ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The first road test for Richard Pitino’s UNM Lobos yielded a positive result. The Lobos defeated SMU 84-63 Tuesday night to improve to 3-0 on the season.
The Lobos got strong play in the frontcourt from newcomers Josiah Allick and Morris Udeze. Allick scored 18 points with nine rebounds and two blocks while Udeze finished the game with 15 points and eight rebounds.
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The Lobos dominated the points in the paint with 40 to that 28 for SMU. UNM guards Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn Jr. combined for 34 points. House had 18 of those points with five assists.
The Lobos had a lot of movement offensively as they finished with 21 total assists compared to nine for SMU. Defensively, the Lobos forced SMU into 15 turnovers while committing 10 of their own. “I thought we did a really, really good job of defending, setting the tone, being a little bit more aggressive,” said Lobos head coach Richard Pitino. “We were scrappy. We stuck to the game plan. We continue to not turn the ball over. That’s huge.” Zhuric Phelps led SMU in scoring with 16 points.
Next for the Lobos is a game against rival New Mexico State at The Pit Saturday. The game has a 5:00 p.m. start time. SMU dropped to 1-2 on the season and will host Evansville Saturday.
