New Mexico: 2023-24 Mountain West Men's Basketball Champions

 

On Wednesday, No. 6-seeded New Mexico entered the Mountain West Tournament firmly on the bubble—desperately needing at least two wins over No. 11 Air Force and No. 3 Air Force to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

When the final buzzer sounded Saturday, they became the first team in conference history to win four games in four days, earning a 68-61 victory over No. 5 San Diego State Saturday afternoon, clinching their fifth-ever MW Tournament title and first since 2017-18.

New Mexico also became the first No. 6 seed since 2002-03 (Colorado State) to win the MW Tournament—the only other No. 6 seed to win it. Though that previous bracket—with just eight teams (it did not have 11 until 2013-14)—lasted just three days.

The Lobos were led by dynamic All-Conference guards Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn, who combined to score 49 of the team’s 68 points. House, who had a team-high 28 points, shot 10-of-22 from the floor and 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Mashburn tallied 21 points on 6-of-16 shooting with three triples as well, while JT Toppin finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds on 6-of-8 shooting, hauling in multiple key (offensive) rebounds down the stretch.

San Diego State, playing in their seventh consecutive Mountain West Title game, missed 13 of its final 14 shots after taking a four-point lead with 7:08 left. Jaedon LeDee was its only double-figure scorer, posting 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting with six rebounds.

New Mexico shot just 37.5 percent from the floor and 30.0 percent from 3-point range; SDSU shot just 35.7 percent and 20.0 percent from 3-point range. New Mexico forced 10 SDSU turnovers that led to 14 points off turnovers, while its four TOs didn’t lead to any additional Aztec points.

Three straight House triples gave the Lobos a nine-point lead with 6:44 left in the first half. Mashburn followed with a triple of his own before House’s fifth field goal of the contest widened their advantage to 32-18.

House and Mashburn ultimately scored 28 of New Mexico’s 36 points—including 24 of their final 26—in the first half, as the Lobos entered up by six. New Mexico shot 44.1 percent compared to San Diego State’s 44.4 percent. New Mexico held LeDee scoreless for the game’s first 17:30, swarming him on every catch inside 15 feet.

Waters’ three-point play followed by an eight-foot floater gave San Diego State their first lead of the evening. After Parrish’s first 3-pointer of the evening put San Diego State up four, two consecutive Toppin’ putbacks knotted the contest up at 57.

JT Toppin’s shot-clock beating finish gave New Mexico a 61-59 lead with 2:29 remaining. The knockout blow came with 1:20 left, when House’s drifting three-point play gave New Mexico its first two-possession lead in since the 14:30 left in the first half.

New Mexico: 2016 New Mexico Bowl Champions

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Coach Bob Davie waited a long time for this moment. It had been quite a while for his New Mexico Lobos, too.

Davie earned his first career bowl victory when the Lobos, boosted by a pair of short touchdown runs from Richard McQuarley, beat Texas-San Antonio 23-20 Saturday in the New Mexico Bowl.

Davie had been 0-4 in bowls -- three when he coached at Notre Dame, then last year with the Lobos in this event.

"There wasn't a whole of jumping up and down and whole lot of screaming and a whole lot of carrying on afterward in the locker room," Davie said.

"But after the season that we had, it's more feeling. You don't experience this a whole lot of times," he said.

The Lobos' previous postseason win came in the 2007 New Mexico Bowl over Nevada. Before that, it was a victory in the 1961 Aviation Bowl.

In his fifth season at New Mexico, Davie completed the turnaround of a program that won three total games in the three seasons before his arrival.

The Lobos lost last year's New Mexico Bowl to Arizona.

"These players, I've talked to them in depth about enjoying the moment and definitely this afternoon was a great moment that doesn't come along very often," Davie said.

"It's another building block," he said. "That's what a college program is. You keep taking steps and you keep building and building and building. ... So there is no question that winning the last game is big."

Jarveon Williams ran for 125 yards for the Roadrunners (6-7), who lost in their first bowl appearance in the program's six-year history.

Despite the hype around New Mexico's triple-option threat and the Lobos leading the nation in rushing, the Roadrunners ran for more yards than the Lobos.

"We didn't make enough plays today," Williams said after his eighth game of running for at least 100 yards.

New Mexico quarterback Lamar Jordan rushed for 81 yards and threw a 34-yard pass to Dameon Gamblin that set up McQuarley's 1-yard burst for a 23-13 lead with 2:22 left.

Dalton Sturm threw two TD passes for Texas-San Antonio, including a 4-yard toss to JaBryce Taylor with 25 seconds remaining. The Roadrunners failed to recover an onside kick.

Six Lobos combined for 219 yards rushing. New Mexico was able to keep UTSA's big-play receivers mostly in check amid windy conditions.

Although the wind may have played a factor in some passes, Roadrunners coach Frank Wilson said there were other passes receivers dropped that they normally catch.


"We finished second. Period," Wilson said. "The weather didn't determine the outcome of the game."

THE TURNING POINT

The Lobos' fourth-quarter drive to a touchdown took more than seven minutes off the clock in a game that saw few passes.

"We didn't have a lot of offense," Davie said. "But when we needed it there in the fourth quarter after UTSA scored to make it a 3-point game, we had enough offense."

UP NEXT

New Mexico: The Lobos will try to capture their first Mountain West championship next year. Davie said a bowl win was key for Lobos recruiting to the next level. The Lobos open next season against Abilene Christian.

UTSA: Athletic officials from UTSA say they came to win the New Mexico Bowl but felt the bowl appearance would help get on potential recruits' radars, especially in Texas where some powerhouses are currently struggling. The Roadrunners will open next season against Houston.

New Mexico: 2013-14 Mountain West Men's Basketball Champions

LAS VEGAS -- No. 8 San Diego State grabbed the lead with 81 seconds left in a tight Mountain West championship game. The Aztecs couldn't close the deal.

No. 20 New Mexico took San Diego State's shot, steadied itself and won the league title and NCAA automatic bid with a 64-58 victory on Saturday.

The Aztecs (29-4) completed an 8-0 run over the Lobos (27-6) and took a 57-56 lead whenWinston Shepard stole Hugh Greenwood's inbounds pass and passed to Dwayne Polee II, who was fouled while successfully driving in to the basket. Polee completed the three-point play.

"I just saw the lane open up, so I just took what the defense gave me," Polee said.

Shepard said: "It felt good. We got the lead back, Our press was doing a good job on them. So of course we felt good."

A deep three-pointer by the Lobos' Kendall Williams with 24 seconds left gave New Mexico a 62-57 lead and cemented the win. The Aztecs will now wait to find out where they are going for the NCAA tournament.

"We know what we have got to do to get better," Polee said. "Like coach put it to us, we've got a two-day tournament every week. We can't let this linger. It hurts. We all came here to cut down nets, but we're not going to let this loss linger. We've got another big chapter in our book to move forward to next week, so that is what we are looking forward to."

San Diego State was led by Xavier Thames, who scored 15 points.

"We competed from wire to wire, but we didn't quite have enough to finish," San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said. "If we continue to play that way we'll have a chance to be playing after the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, and that's our goal now."

New Mexico: 2012-13 Mountain West Champions

The New Mexico Lobos defeated the UNLV Runnin' Rebels, 63-56, to win the 2013 Mountain West Conference Tournament.

The Rebels started the game off hot thanks to Anthony Bennett. Bennett scored the team's first 11 points and finished the first half with 13. Other than Bennett, though, UNLV had trouble finding the bucket, shooting 36.7 percent from the field in the first half. The Lobos went into halftime up 34-32.

In the second half, UNLV went completely ice-cold. Save for an eight point run by Bryce Dejean-Jones, the Rebels couldn't buy a basket. A 12-3 New Mexico run at the 3:48 mark effectively sealed the game. Dejean-Jones had a valiant effort late in the game, sinking two straight three-pointers to get the Rebels within three points with two minutes left, but it was too little, too late. The Lobos made 46 percent of their field goals and sank 9 of 19 of three pointers, while UNLV managed just 33.9 percent.

Tony Snell led the Lobos with 21 points and Hugh Greenwood grabbed seven rebounds. After Bennett's hot start, he only got two points in the second half and finished with 15 to go with 11 rebounds. Dejean-Jones led the Rebels with 19 points.

New Mexico was already a lock for the NCAA tournament, but with the automatic bid they can rest easy on Selection Sunday. They're in good position for a No. 2 seed. UNLV will also be dancing next week, and this loss shouldn't hurt their prospects.