The Lobos took a 115-66 victory during their exhibition against Northern New Mexico on Saturday night. Scott Forman/The Lobo Lair
Isabel Gonzalez
@cisabelg
The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team stepped on home court for the first time this season and walked out with a 115-66 victory over Northern New Mexico during an exhibition on Saturday night.
The triple digit score shows how the Lobos did on offense. Senior Anthony Mathis led all scorers with 25 points. Keith McGee and Corey Manigault followed closely with 19 points each. But the offense is not what head coach Paul Weir has been trying to fix. The coach wasn’t particularly happy with the defense he saw during the Lobos’ season opener at CSUN last Tuesday. Although they pulled a win over the Matadors, the Lobos still allowed a close 87-84 final score.
On Saturday, the home team entered halftime with a 63-44 lead. Not bad, but not particularly impressive. The Lobos turned up the defense as the second half started. They didn’t allow their opponent to score until the clock read 13:26 and at that point they enjoyed a 79-46.
Mathis did not only get the highest score, he also finished the night with good shooting stats. He shot 5-6 from the field, made all 10 of his free throw attempts, and went 5-5 from beyond the arc.
Anthony Mathis gets the ball back and goes on to score a 3ptr 🔥 @UNMLoboMBB leads 48-30 (4:53) pic.twitter.com/i53ztajzLl
— The Lair New Mexico (@thelairnm) November 11, 2018
The exhibition was also a good opportunity for young talent. Close to the end of the match, fans began chanting that they wanted walk-on Clay Patterson to go on the court. Prior to their chants, Patterson had only registered 47 seconds. By the end of the night, he got to play for four minutes. Although he is eligible to play now, Weir is still deciding whether or not Patterson should redshirt this year. The other walk-on, Jordan Arroyo saw 14 minutes of play. He saw eight minutes during the CSUN game.
Freshman Tavian Percy scored for the first time as a Lobo and finished the night with seven points.
Tavian Percy scores for the first time tonight. pic.twitter.com/ffPLUWz3UT
— The Lair New Mexico (@thelairnm) November 11, 2018
Box score.
The Lobos return to regular play next Tuesday night as they host the Iona Gaels for their first official home game of the season.
Other notes
Freshman point guard Drue Drinnon was suited up on Saturday but did not play, as he is still healing from an ankle injury. He could be back as early as next week.
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