PHOTO BY NICOLAS PENA
Fresno, CA – Save Mart Center –
In the conference of Mountain West Madness, madness ought to be expected. And yet, Saturday’s string of conference results still proved to be wild. Colorado State led San Diego State from start to finish, completing an upset win in Moby Arena; Nevada edged Utah State for an 80-77 upset win in Lawlor; meanwhile, Wyoming shocked Grand Canyon in Phoenix, leaving “The Biggest Party in College Basketball” with an impressive upset win of its own.
And for much of Saturday’s match-up between New Mexico and Fresno State, Fresno State was intent on pulling another upset win in the league. The Bulldogs dominated the Lobos in the first half of action, building to a lead of twenty-two at one point – Aided by an offensive stall that plagued New Mexico from the jump, with Fresno State opening the game on a 9-0 scoring run. The Lobos struggled in the paint; from deep; with ball security; and in just about every facet of the game – All the while, Fresno State dictated pace and caught fire from seemingly every angle of the court.
New Mexico did manage to cut into the gap, gradually reducing the Fresno State lead to 12 by the halftime break. Still, New Mexico’s field-goal conversion rate (12 of 31 attempts made) proved to be a point of frustration for the Lobos early on.
As the 2nd Half opened, the Lobos quickly worked to shift this narrative, driving to the rim with aggression, crafting their shot selection with much more intention, and bringing a much-needed ferocity to the defensive end of play. Scratching and clawing, New Mexico gradually worked its way into stealing a lead, turning a smooth Uriah Tenette steal (much in the style of Lobo great Jaelen House) into an electric slam from Deyton Albury (see below).
What followed was a series of lead changes, momentary ties, and increasingly-intensified late-game madness. In the closing 9:45 of Saturday’s game (since UNM took its first lead), viewers experienced eight lead-changes and five ties. New Mexico’s Deyton Albury and star Freshman Jake Hall roared to life, combining for 41 points, 12 rebounds, and three steals on the night. Fresno State mirrored the effort with similarly explosive nights from senior guard Jake Heidbreder (formerly of Air Force) and star Freshman DeShawn Gory – The two combining for 43 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 made three-pointers.
With about 19 seconds remaining, the Lobos held an incredibly fragile one-point lead: Jake Hall calmly collected the ball, drove into the paint, then stepped back and drained a beautiful fadeaway shot to setup the Lobos’ unlikely comeback victory – An 80-78 result that set a New Mexico program record for the largest comeback win in school history.
In addition to Albury and Hall, veteran guard Luke Haupt had another solid showing for UNM, contributing 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal in the win. No other Lobos reached double-figures in the match-up, as usual stars Tomislav Buljan and Uriah Tenette had relatively quiet nights. Fresno State frustrated Buljan for much of the game, limiting the impactful big man to a mere two points in the first half (though Buljan finished the night with 6 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists). JT Rock and Antonio Chol combined to add an additional 16 points for New Mexico, including a quad of momentum-swinging threes (see one such three below).
For Fresno State, Freshman Wilson Jacques joined Heidbreder and Gory in double-digit scoring: The big man had an impressive 16 points and 10 rebounds on the night. Do-it-all guard Zaon Collins added 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. No other Bulldog players scored more than five points.
Couch Potato Sports Player of the Game:
- New Mexico: Deyton Albury (Guard, Sr.) – 21 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals
- Fresno State: Jake Heidbreder (Guard, Sr.) – 22 points, 4 assists, 3 three-point shots made
Next Up:
- With the win, New Mexico (21-6, 12-4 MWC) moves back into second-place within the Mountain West standings, tied with rival San Diego State, who visits The Pit next Saturday. Before then? A Tuesday night showdown in Reno, where Nevada (18-9, 10-6 MWC) is coming off an electric win over Utah State in the always-rowdy Lawlor Events Center. Tip-time is scheduled for 9 p.m. (Mountain Time) on the CBS Sports Network.
- With the heartbreaking loss, Fresno State falls to 12-15 (6-10 MWC). The Bulldogs will look to bounce back against a hot Colorado State team (17-10, 8-8 MWC). Game-time is scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m., (Mountain Time), on the Mountain West Network.
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