PHOTO BY JOE GRIMANDO
Albuquerque, NM – The Pit –
FINAL: Colorado State 82, New Mexico 74
The narrative is one alike a broken record by now: Wednesday night, New Mexico faced off against another historic foe in The Pit… For potentially the last time, as Colorado State will leave the Mountain West to join the newly-reformed Pac-12 Conference in the next season. Yet, this narrative wasn’t the one that took center stage for the evening.
Among the other narratives – There are New Mexico’s hopes of making a third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, having lived on the “bubble” for what has seemingly been the entire new year. There are also the hopes of winning a second straight Mountain West regular-season championship title – A feat that is still very much within the realm of possibility. Then there is Senior Night, the closing home-stand that signals a bittersweet end to the regular season, and an ode to the players that choose to immortalize their jerseys within the legacy of one final program.
On this particular Senior Night, the Lobos honored six players – Luke Haupt, the dynamic “glue guy” (so named by Head Coach Eric Olen) that seems to shape to the mold of any role required of him in crunch time; Deyton Albury, the Lobos’ explosive and passionate field general, quick and crafty off the ball; Tajavis Miller, New Mexico’s handsy ball-hound that troubles opponents with his quick and aggressive efforts on defense; Chris Howell and Milos Vicentic, who have each missed recent playing time due to injury; and Tomislav Buljan, one of New Mexico’s three sensational “Freshmen”, granted one year of collegiate eligibility after playing semi-professionally overseas.
Whatever the narrative, Colorado State came into Wednesday’s match-up in The Pit with three goals: Spoil, win, advance. The mindset of March Madness. The Rams (20-10, 11-8 MWC) have recently been dubbed the hottest team in the Mountain West, as they’ve won eight straight games since a loss to Wyoming in late January. And they certainly looked the part.
Early on, Colorado State caught fire from behind the arc, draining 7 three-point baskets in the first half alone, and frustrating a struggling New Mexico defense with seven forced turnovers and a steady 62% field-goal percentage. This helped the Rams to build a sizable lead at the halftime break, shooting to a tune of 40-25.
A quick New Mexico run opened the second half of play, as Deyton Albury cut the Rams’ lead to ten. Unrelenting, Colorado State held on the gas, using a trio of threes to quickly build to a lead of 19. Notably, ten of Colorado State’s eleven made three-point attempts were drained by CSU’s bigs – Kyle Jorgensen led the way with five, while teammate Rashaan Mbemba matched what was previously his season total of threes (3).
By comparison, New Mexico was 6/25 from three-point range, and a combined 28/61 on field-goal attempts. One bright spot for the Lobos? Deyton Albury. The senior point guard – Healing from an eye injury sustained in Saturday’s game against San Diego State, had a fantastic second half, at times willing the Lobos back into contention and injecting the Pit crowd with new life, single-handedly. Albury finished with 22 points, perfect from the free-throw line (5/5), and nearly perfect on successful field-goal attempts (8/9).
The rest of UNM’s shorthanded rotation struggled on both sides of the ball, though three other Lobo players were able to reach double-figures. Tomislav Buljan, a double-double machine, earned another after posting 14 points and 12 rebounds on the night. Luke Haupt and star guard Jake Hall each contributed an additional 13 points. And while New Mexico found rhythm in the second half, driving into the paint more consistently, and clamping down on the defensive end – The clock was not on their side. With 38 seconds remaining in the game, New Mexico used a long-range three from Albury to pull within four. But, Colorado State remained calm, composed, focused, and used a series of free-throw opportunities to ice the game and steal the 82-74 win in The Pit.
Rams forward Kyle Jorgensen led CSU in scoring (19 points, 4 rebounds, 5 threes), ahead of Carey Booth and Brandon Rechsteiner (13 points each). Jase Butler and Augustinas Kiudulas rounded out the double-digit scoring group for the Rams, each posting 11 points in the effort.
Couch Potato Sports Player of the Game:
- New Mexico: Deyton Albury (Guard, Sr.) – 22 points, 4 steals, 3 assists, 5/5 FT
- Colorado State: Kyle Jorgensen (Forward, So.) – 19 points, 4 rebounds, 5 made threes
Next Up:
- With the loss, New Mexico (22-8, 13-6 MWC) falls into a second-place tie within the Mountain West standings (alongside San Diego State), for the umpteenth time. Despite the loss to CSU, the Lobos still have a chance of clinching a share of the Mountain West regular-season title, paying a visit to league-leading Utah State (24-6, 14-5 MWC) in a huge regular-season finale on Saturday. The Lobos have locked-up a top-three seed for next week’s Mountain West Tournament, but are still positioning for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. Tip time is scheduled for 2 p.m. (Mountain Time) on the Mountain West Network.
- With the upset win, Colorado State (20-10, 11-8 MWC) has now won eight straight games. The Rams are now in a four-way tie for fifth place within the league standings, alongside Nevada, Boise State, and UNLV. The Rams will face Boise State (19-11, 11-8 MWC) on Saturday afternoon, with tip-time scheduled for 2 p.m. on the Mountain West Network.
Thank you for reading – You can find more content from our writers at the following:
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