Emptying the Notebook: 'Copy & Paste Jake' game winner keeps once improbable Lobo title hopes alive

FRESNO, Calif. — Here are some notes, quotes, stats, trends and other odds & ends I emptied out of the old notebook after Saturday's 80-78 UNM Lobos win against the Fresno State Bulldogs at the Save Mart Center:

Copy & Paste Jake

There's Shot Fake Jake, Jake and Bake, Better Call Hall and a half dozen other nicknames fans have used for Lobo freshman Jake Hall this season.

Saturday in Fresno, his 15-foot baseline game winner spawned another: Copy & Paste Jake.

The similarities between his baseline jumper in Saturday's 80-78 win night in Fresno — sealing for the Lobos a wild road victory that keeps their improbable Mountain West title hopes alive — to the one 10 days prior in Phoenix to beat Grand Canyon are wild.

And thanks to former UNM Lobo men's basketball student manager Deion D'Arco (at the end of managers appreciation week, no doubt!), we had a quick video edit posted to social media right after the game showing us just how similar they were.

The irony of the similarities of Hall's two game-winning moments is that they played out in games with almost the exact opposite set-up.

"Yeah, I mean it was kind of the the opposite version of the game, but a very similar ending there with Jake hitting a big shot in a similar spot," UNM coach Eric Olen told the Journal Saturday in Fresno.

You don't say? Let's take a look:

Lobos start game leading GCU 11-0 and later 14-3

Bulldogs start game leading UNM 9-0 and later 16-3

• • •

• UNM hit six its first eight shots over the same time GCU was shooting 2-of-16. UNM led 19-6.

• Fresno State hit 11 of its first 14 shots over the same time UNM was shooting 3-of-14. Fresno State led 26-10.

• • •

• Lobos led by as many as 20 in first half (38-18 on a Tajavis Miller 3-pointer with 4:15 remaining in first half). Miller ended game with 5 points on 2-3 shooting.
• Bulldogs led by as many as 22 in first half (40-18 on a Gasper Kocevar 3-pointer with 5:20 remaining in the first half). Kocevar ended game with 5 points on 2-3 shooting.

• • •

• GCU cuts 20-point deficit to 13 at halftime.
• Lobos trim 22-point deficit to 12 at halftime.

• • •

GCU guard Makaih Williams' layup with 9:56 remaining pulls GCU within one and his layup 27 seconds later with 9:29 remaining puts GCU up by one (55-54).

• UNM guard Deyton Albury's layup with 10:14 remaining pulls UNM within one and his layup 17 seconds later with 9:57 remaining puts UNM up by one (61-60).

• • •

• Williams scored 13 of his team-high 20 points for GCU in the second half, leading the comeback.
• Albury scored 15 of his team-high 21 points for UNM in the second half, leading the comeback.

• • •

• Leading by one, UNM got the ball with 56 seconds remaining. Hall dribbled out much of the shot clock near half court, on the right side while being guarded by senior guard Brian Moore Jr. before he made his move to the right, driving to the baseline and pulling up from 15 feet away, hitting the bucket over the defender's outstretched hand with 29 seconds remaining (per final stat sheet) for a 3-point lead (67-64).
• Leading by one, UNM got the ball with 43 seconds remaining. Hall dribbled out much of the shot clock near half court, on the right side while being guarded by senior guard Jake Heidbreder before he made his move to the right, driving to the baseline and pulling up from 15 feet away, hitting the bucket over the defender's outstretched hand with 22 seconds remaining (per final stat sheet) for a 3-point lead (79-76).

• • •

• After GCU's rally erased the 20-point first-half deficit, there were four lead changes and the game was never more than a one possession game until UNM led by four on a Hall free throw with 19 seconds remaining.
• After UNM's rally erased the 22-point first-half deficit, there were four lead changes and the game was never more than a one possession game until UNM led by four on an Albury free throw with 9 seconds remaining.

• • •

• Hall to the Journal after shot at GCU: "It felt really good when it came out of my hand. I kind of knew the exact move I wanted to get to."
• Hall to the Journal after shot at Fresno State: "I could get to my spot just like at GCU and just rise over."

Again, that video ...

The gamer

Here's the gamer I filed from the Save Mart Center on Saturday night:

• Lobos top Bulldogs, post largest comeback in team history

Largest comebacks

It's not a milestone Eric Olen necessarily wanted, but based on result it's a whole lot better than the alternative.

UNM's 22-point comeback on Saturday marked the largest deficit overcome for a win in program history. The next four on the list are all Dave Bliss-era Lobo teams in the 1990s.

UNM's largest deficits overcome in a win

• 22 — 40-18 (5:20 1st half) at Fresno State on Saturday. Final: UNM 80-78
• 20 — 31-11 (5:30 1st half) at Hawaii on Jan. 15, 1993. Final: UNM 61-58
• 18 — 58-40 (19:05 2nd half) vs. UT-Rio Grande Valley on Dec. 8, 1998. Final: UNM 101-94
• 18 — 30-12 (3:26 1st half) at Wyoming on Feb. 18, 1995. Final: UNM 62-61
• 17 — 13-30 (0:48 1st half) at UTEP on Jan. 20, 1996. Final: UNM 64-60

Steve Kirkland Stat of the Night

UNM hoops Sports Information Director Steve Kirkland had this note in his postgame wrapup after Saturday's game:

"Combined with the 15-point comeback against Alabama State on Nov. 26, the 2025-26 Lobos become just the second squad in program history to rally from down 15 or more to win in the same season (the 1998-99 Lobos did it three times — vs. DePaul, vs. Arizona, vs. UTRGV)."

The race is on!

You can see the current Mountain West standings and results from a wild Saturday around the Mountain West below, but here's the cliff notes version as it pertains to the UNM Lobos:

• UNM wins, improves to 12-4
• San Diego State loses, falls to 12-4
• Utah State loses, falls to 13-3

So, UNM and SDSU are tied for second in the MW standings and Utah State is just a game ahead of the two.

And the good news for hoops junkies is that over the final two weeks of the season, all three teams play: Utah State at SDSU in Viejas Arena on Wednesday, SDSU at New Mexico in the Pit on Saturday and UNM at Utah State in the Spectrum on March 7.

And a Lobos team being led by freshmen in huge roles without a single player or staff member returning from last season is in a three-team title race with two veteran-laden teams with numerous returning players.

Rock on

Saturday's win for the Lobos doesn't happen without JT Rock, UNM's 7-foot-1 center who had a plus-7 on the final stat sheet in 11:20 of game time.

The Iowa State transfer finished with eight points and just one rebound, but two huge second-half 3-pointers in the comeback.

To cut the lead to six ...

And to cut the lead to three ...

20-20 vision

Deyton Albury scored 21 points on Saturday and Jake Hall had 20.

It was the first time this season the Lobos had two players score at least 20 in the same game.

Of course Fresno State also had two 20-point scorers in Jake Heidbreder (22) and DeShawn Gory (21).

There goes that man

Speaking of DeShawn Gory, he sure likes playing against the Lobos. 

• Jan. 21 in the Pit: 31 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, 4-6 3-pointers
• Saturday in Fresno: 21 points, 8 rebounds, two assists, 3-7 3-pointers

There were times in those two games that it seemed almost like the Lobos didn't even think the guy could hit 3-pointers.

Well, there's a reason ...

Gory vs. UNM (two games)

• 7-of-13 3-pointers (53.8%)

Gory vs. anyone other than UNM (25 games)

• 19-of-76 3-pointers (25.0%)

House Party!

Our old friend Jaelen House had himself a game on Friday.

The former Lobo scored a San Diego Clippers record 45 points in the G-League team's win.

Pace drops on the 3s

The Lobos were 7-of-19 from 3-point range on Saturday, the third lowest number of 3-pointers they've hit in a Mountain West game and slowing a torrid 3-game pace they were on.

Lobos 3-point shooting past three games

• 35-71 (49.3%)

Lobos 3-point shooting Saturday

• 7-19 (36.8%)

The only two league games UNM had fewer made 3s were when they hit three triples in each of their two losses to Boise State — 3-of-25 at Boise State on Dec. 30 and 3-of-13 vs. Boise State on Feb. 7.

The national average on 3-point shooting is 33.9%

Meanwhile, at halftime ...

BABY RACES!!!!

(i.e. the co-GOAT of halftime shows along with Red Panda)

Rematches

The Lobos are now 4-1 in rematches this season:

Rematch wins (Game 2 vs. a team)

• Air Force
• Grand Canyon
• Fresno State
• San Jose State

Rematch losses (Game 2 vs. a team)

• Boise State

Attendance

The announced attendance for Saturday's New Mexico at Fresno State game in the SaveMart Center: 5,402

UNM's true road games 2025-26:

• 12,414 — Jan. 17 at San Diego State
• 9,980 — Dec. 30 at Boise State
• 8,106 — Nov. 15 at New Mexico State
• 7,637 — Dec. 10 at VCU
• 6,988 — Feb. 11 at Grand Canyon
• 5,642 — Jan. 27 at UNLV
• 5,402 — Saturday at Fresno State
• 4,189 — Jan. 31 at San Jose State
• 3,640 — Jan. 6 at Colorado State
• 2,017 — Jan. 10 at Air Force

Series notes

The Lobos lead the series with Fresno State 23-21 — 15-3 in the Pit and 6-16 in Fresno (2-2 neutral court).

The Lobos have won the last six in the series. In the previous five wins in that streak, the Lobos' average margin of victory had been 17.2.

Saturday, it was just two points, but they all counted the same at the end of the day.

Plus/minus

Here are the plus/minus numbers for Saturday's game with minutes in parenthesis:

NEW MEXICO

• +8 Uriah Tenette (27:33)
• +7 Deyton Albury (26:49)
• +7 JT Rock (11:20)
• +2 Jake Hall (35:48)
• 0 Tomislav Buljan (29:03)
• -3 Luke Haupt (31:11)
• -3 Tajavis Miller (15:26)
• -8 Antonio Chol (22:50)

FRESNO STATE

+5 Jake Heidbreder (35:40)

+5 Gasper Kocevar (14:54)

+2 Wilson Jacques (31:59)

-1 Zaon Collins (33:22)

-3 Deshawn Gory (38:43)

-3 Bastien Rieber (21:34)

-4 Jac Mani (8:01)

-4 Aram Soqui Urbano (3:07)

-7 Cameron Faas (12:40)

Line 'em up

The UNM Lobos played eight players and used 14 unique lineup combinations on Saturday. The Bulldogs played nine players and used 10 unique lineup combinations.

Here's a look at some of the Lobos lineup combinations, starting with the starters.

STARTING LINEUP

• WHO: Deyton Albury, Jake Hall, Luke Haupt, Antonio Chol, Tomislav Buljan
• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: -5 (15-20)
• TIME ON COURT: 8:14
• NOTE: The starters lost. A lot of this, of course, was in that initial horrendous start to the game and it got better. Still, not a good look for your starting five to get outscored by five to a team that, if the Mountain West Tournament started today would be the 10 seed. The starters gave up well over two points per minute, not a great look for a UNM defense that continues to struggle of late.

BEST LINEUP

• WHO: Uriah Tenette, Deyton Albury, Jake Hall, Luke Haupt, Tomislav Buljan
• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +11 (22-11)
• TIME ON COURT: 10:09
• NOTE: Uriah Tenette was tremendous on Saturday, defensively at least. With him and Deyton Albury on the floor together, giving UNM two fast guards really seemed to do the trick on this particular day for UNM, scoring 1.49 points per possession while this group was on the floor together and doubling up the scoring on the Bulldogs in more than 10 minutes of the 40-minute game.

WORST LINEUP

• WHO: Uriah Tenette, Deyton Albury, Jake Hall, Luke Haupt, Tomislav Buljan
• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: -8
• TIME ON COURT: 5:22
• NOTE: When the Lobos had two point guards on the floor (Albury and Tenette) things were good. When they didn't — the starting five only had Albury, this group on had Tenette — things got bad.

AND THEM?

• NOTE: Fresno State's starting five played 9 minutes, 11 seconds together and outscored UNM 25-13. When one team's starting five is at plus-12 and the other team's starting five is at minus-5, the outcome usually doesn't go in the favor of latter as it did Saturday for the Lobos.

VIDEO: Eric Olen and Jake Hall

Here's the Journal's postgame interview video with UNM coach Eric Olen and Jake Hall in :

Pregame from Fresno

Here's a look back at the pregame show, for those interested in watching/hearing how wrong I probably was about everything that was about to happen in the game.

Buckle up

Lot's of "meanwhile" posts coming here with looks around the Mountain West, and down in Las Cruces, on a wild Saturday in college basketball.

Meanwhile, in Reno ...

What is Mountain West basketball? How about losing to San Jose State by 16 points on Tuesday and beating conference leader Utah State on Saturday night, 80-77 (three days before the Lobos come calling).

That's Nevada. 

The win for Nevada pulled them into the coveted No. 4 spot in the standings, meaning if the Mountain West Tournament started today (it does not, of course) the Wolf Pack would get a bye and now Grand Canyon has to play on Day 1.

As for Utah State, the loss means they are now only one game ahead of San Diego State and New Mexico, tied for second place.

Meanwhile, in Fort Collins ...

San Diego State has now lost two in a row — Tuesday at home to Grand Canyon and Saturday at Colorado State, 83-74.

SDSU has now lost four of the last five in Moby Arena and the only win in there was an overtime game.

Meanwhile, in Phoenix ...

OK, Grand Canyon. Here's your chance to make a move. You get the season sweep of San Diego State on Tuesday and are sitting in the No. 4 spot in the MW standings, getting the last bye for the MW Tournament, with a 6-9 Wyoming team you were able to beat by 12 in Laramie earlier in the season.

Just win and you're heading into the final two weeks of the season in really good shape.

Instead, the Pokes come to town and won, 70-65, and have now won two games in a row (they beat Fresno State on Tuesday in Laramie).

Meanwhile, down in Las Cruces ...

The Aggies beat UTEP, 67-63, on Saturday night in the Pan Am Center to split the season series.

And, of course, there was drama, this time in the form of the postgame hand shake line:

This is Mountain West hoops!

I took this screen shot off TheMW.com's stream of Saturday's UNLV at Air Force game at the picturesque, albeit very high elevation (7,067 feet) Clune Arena. This is stud freshman Tyrin Jones being monitored at halftime after getting hit with some altitude sickness.

Tip of the cap to ...

San Jose State's Colby Garland on Saturday broke the 1,000 point plateau in his college career.

So long, Joe

For those who may have missed the news on Friday, Air Force and head coach Joe Scott parted ways. Scott had been under indefinite suspension since mid-January for an investigation into his treatment of cadet athletes.

Friday, the Academy announced the two sides agreed it was time for him to go.

Here's the announcement as posted by the Academy:

• Air Force Academy, Men’s Basketball Coach Joe Scott announce mutual parting of ways

Around the Mountain

There was a full slate of six games Saturday around the Mountain West. Here's a look at the league's scores and some upcoming games:

SATURDAY

UNLV 91, Air Force 66

Boise State 84, San Jose State 69

Colorado State 83, San Diego State 74

New Mexico 80, Fresno State 78

Wyoming 70, Grand Canyon 65

Nevada 80, Utah State 77

TUESDAY

• Fresno State at Colorado State, 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT (TheMW)
• Wyoming at Boise State, 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT (TheMW)
• San Jose State at Air Force, 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT (TheMW)
• New Mexico at Nevada, 8 p.m. PT/9 p.m. MT (CBS Sports Network

WEDNESDAY

• UNLV at Grand Canyon, 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT (CBS Sports Network)
• Utah State at San Diego State, 8 p.m. PT/9 p.m. MT (FS1)

Mountain West standings

Here are the conference standings through Saturday's game:

• 13-3 Utah State
• 12-4 San Diego State
• 12-4 New Mexico
• 10-6 Nevada
• 10-6 Grand Canyon
• 9-7 UNLV
• 8-8 Boise State
• 8-8 Colorado State
• 6-10 Wyoming
• 6-10 Fresno State
• 2-14 San Jose State
• 0-16 Air Force

• • •

Here are the home/road standings through Saturday's games with road wins counting as a +1 and home losses as a -1:

• +5 Utah State
• +4 San Diego State
• +4 New Mexico
• +2 Nevada
• +2 Grand Canyon
• +1 UNLV
• 0 Boise State
• 0 Colorado State
• -2 Fresno State
• -2 Wyoming
• -6 San Jose State
• -8 Air Force

If it started now ...

The Mountain West Tournament doesn't start now. But if it did, this is what the bracket would look like, based on current tie breakers that could change over next two weeks of games:

Top half of bracket

• 8 Colorado State/9 Wyoming —> 1 Utah State
• 5 Grand Canyon/12 Air Force —> 4 Nevada

Bottom half of bracket

• 7 Boise State/10 Fresno State —> 2 San Diego State
• 6 UNLV/11 San Jose State —> 3 New Mexico

Stats and stats

Here is the postgame stat sheet I posted after Saturday's game: New Mexico 80, Fresno State 78

And if you prefer the digital version, here you go: New Mexico 80, Fresno State 78

Grammer's Guesses

Well, my hot past week-plus of picking games came to an abrupt stop on Saturday.

I went 2-4 on Saturday picking games against the spread while that darn coin of my daughter's went 3-3 and decided to let me know this season race ain't done yet and gained a game on me.

SEASON STANDINGS:

Grammer's Guesses: 52-44

My daughter's coin: 46-50

Up next

• For New Mexico: The Lobos play at Nevada on Tuesday at 8 p.m. PT/9 p.m. MT in Lawlor Arena in Reno. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
• For Fresno State: The Bulldogs play at Colorado State on Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT. The game will be streamed on TheMW.com.

Until next time...

Until next time, SaveMart Center, home of the Fresno State Bulldogs in Fresno, Calif., ...

(with the Fresno State move to the Pac 12, was this the last time the Lobos play here for the foreseeable future?)

Reach Geoff Grammer at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.