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Game Recap: New Mexico 82, UT Arlington 80
Lobos go to 2-1 with buzzer beater over Mavericks.
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Donovan Dent gives fans a coast-to-coast buzzer beater in 82-80 win over Arlington.
ALBUQUERQUE, NM–The Lobos returned home to the Pit Thursday night to regain their winning ways after falling top Saint Mary’s on the road last week in Moraga, CA. The test, an underrated and undefeated UT Arlington Mavericks team. Who boasted length and shooting ability coming to Albuquerque on Thursday night.
Both squads had plenty of rust to shake off from long breaks, as the Lobos went 2-8 from the field in the first five minutes of play. They took their first lead of the game with two Jemarl Baker Jr. free throws, but it was a dog fight the rest of the way. With little success from beyond the arc (3-10) and plenty of fouls (11 UTA fouls, 7 UNM fouls), they had to battle it out.
Offensive creativity was still a problem for the Lobos in the first half, as they headed into the locker rooms with just 5 assists. But these types of things can be overlooked when your protecting the ball at an elite level with just 1 turnover in the first twenty minutes of play.
Also of note was the complete takeover of the game by UNM’s backcourt, as Jamal Mashburn Jr. (22 points) and Donovan Dent (16 points) combined for 38 of the Lobos first 48 first half points. The freshman was able to take a frustrating first ten minutes or so of tough contested drives with no foul calls and turn it into an offensive display in the final ten minutes. Mashburn Jr. made his money from all over the floor, mid-range jumpers, three points & free throw opportunities.
The Mavericks came out swinging in the second-half, shrinking the Lobos double-digit lead to as little as five points in the first five minutes out of half-time. Similar to the first-half the Lobos were taking highly contested shots and creating contact with no benefits to prove for it.
A run of scoring that gave the Lobos their double-digit lead back under the 10-minute mark was consistently chopped at by UT Arlington. As the Mavericks made it a one point game with under 30 seconds to play inside to nearly silence fans inside the Pit. But a clutch defensive effort by Baker on former SEC guard DeJuan Gordon with 15 seconds to play gave the Lobos back possession and a double bonus free throw opportunity.
The sigh of relief was short lived, as a clutch corner three-pointer from UTA freshman Makaih Williams tied things up at 80-80 to send it into overtime.
Things seemed destined for overtime but the Lobos’ superb sophomore guard Donovan Dent had his eyes on the prize.
When asked about how he felt regarding the opponent’s three point shot to tie things up in the closing seconds. He responded with “Pretty mad because it was over me, he hit a tough one but they gave the ball and I just ran with it.”
Indeed he ran with it, ran right to the basket for the game winner.
After the game he had this to say had this to say, cool calm and collected.
“You dream of it as a kid, hitting game winners in college.”
As Dent said, it’s something every kid dreams of, Lobo fans too. And with that buzzer beater, New Mexico has all of the winning momentum needed for their three-game road trip next week.
Player Spotlights
New Mexico G-Donovan Dent
Stat line: 25 points, 5 assists, 22 steals on 11-18 from the floor in 34 minutes
The super sophomore just keeps adding to his legend in Albuquerque with not only a great offensive performance but the winning buzzer beater to give his team the W.
UT Arlington: F-Shemar Wilson
Stat line: 29 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks on 11-13 from the floor & 7-9 from the FT line in 34 minutes
Wilson played big down low for the Mavericks Thursday night. As his fellow UTA stars were relatively quiet until the second-half. He also owned the glass when it came to offensive rebounds and second chance tip ins as a big reason his team stayed in this one in order to take it down to the wire.
Five Takeaways
- This team really needed a win helped by improved team chemistry. The Lobos have looked out of sync in their first two games of the season and even though the assist totals weren’t there, the lack of turnovers and obvious offensive rhythm found in the first half was a sight for sore eyes.
- Donovan Dent continues to embrace his new role as Mashburn Jr.’s scoring No. 2 and Pitino’s new floor general. His confidence is showing but his go to move of driving to the lane, drawing contact and heading to the charity stripe only yielded three FT attempts all game. He needs to learn to finish most of those opportunities to truly elevate his game to all-conference status.
- Mashburn Jr. separated himself as the best player on the court with a beautiful 22-point performance in just the first half. Scoring from all three levels, giving his team the offensive scoring power it needed to head into half time with a double-digit lead they never gave up.
- The Lobo freshman continue to impress and contribute, mainly JT Toppin in this one. As the 6-9 forward was responsible for numerous house awakening dunks in the first half, to give him 15 points and 11 boards to end the night. Tru Washington also came off of the bench to provide a small offensive spark when needed and defensive stops.
- New Mexico’s interior defense and defensive rebounding needs work. The Lobos gave up over 20 points to UTA’s Shemar Wilson. Who made his 30 piece by way of second chance points & tip ins around the basket. Going into conference play there are some interior heavy hitters in the Mountain West, they need to address this before it costs them seeding in March.
Next Up:
The Lobos will take their winning momentum on the road next week as they make a trip to Henderson, NV to take part in this year’s Ball Dawg Classic. Their first game of that multi-team event will be against MAC title contenders Toledo on Tuesday November 21st.
New Mexico’s matchup against the Rockets is set to tip-off at 9:15 PM MT. If you wish do so, you can view the stream behind a paywall at FloHoops here ($).
Larry Muniz covers college basketball as a writer for Mountain West Wire and WAC Hoops Digest. Also as a co-host of the college basketball podcast “Hoops Talk W/Jay & Larry”. He is also a USWBA Member.