Emptying the Notebook: Physical Aggies latest to find second half success vs. Lobos

LAS CRUCES — Here are some extra notes, quotes, stats, trends and other odds & ends I emptied out of the old notebook after Saturday's 76-68 NMSU Aggies win over the UNM Lobos in the Pan Am Center:

Half the story

The first possession of a game is of equal value to the last possession.

Sure, there may be more drama, more anxiety at play, but statistically speaking, the points on the line aren't different.

So, with that being said, the UNM Lobos deserve credit through four games for being, again statistically speaking, one of the best defensive teams in all of Division I basketball in the first half of games.

They have, after all, allowed an average of just 23.0 points per first half through four games.

But something has been happening at the break. When teams come out of the locker room after halftime, Lobo opponents seem to either have something figured out schematically speaking or they're simply physically able to do things in the final 20 minutes that they weren't in the first 20 minutes.

And those opponents have been averaging 40.5 points per second half of the first four games as a result, including the New Mexico State Aggies, whose 49 second half points on Saturday night were not only a team high for a half this season, but a team worst allowed for a half by the Lobos.

UNM pts allowed by half:

> Game by game

• 14 — 40 vs. East Texas A&M:

• 19 — 37 vs. UT Arlington

• 32 — 36 vs. UC Riverside

• 27 — 49 at NM State

> Season

• 92 — 1st half points allowed (23.0/game)

• 162 — 2nd half points allowed (40.5/game)

"I felt like they just made the plays down the stretch," UNM coach Eric Olen said. "They hit some big shots. We made some mistakes defensively. They made us pay for and, you know, credit to them for playing well down the stretch."

NMSU shot 33.3% overall and 16.4% from 3-point range in the first half. It was 48.3% overall and 50.0% from 3 in the second half.

Saturday's 27-27 halftime tie turned into a 49-41 second half advantage for the Aggies. And while it's easy to point to most of that eight-point final margin coming in the final 64 seconds when a two-point NMSU lead grew into the 8-point final margin, the reality is the Aggies made several more tough, physical plays in the second half that prevented the Lobos from ever being able to get over the hump and stretch a couple good possessions into the types of significant streaks that determine games.

"A lot of that physicality shows up on the glass," Olen said. "There's some opportunities for us to finish some possessions that that we weren't able to — specifically down 2 (with) like 90 seconds to go and they got multiple offensive rebounds that led to free throws where we had pretty good defensive possessions. But in general, I thought that we competed and we played physical as well."

They did. Both teams played physical on Saturday. But the Aggies turned their physical play into more productive second half in a largely dead even game the same way East Texas A&M (14 first half points, 40 in the second half), UT Arlington (19 first half points, 37 in the second half) and UC Riverside (32 first half points, 36 in the second half) were all able to do in game the Lobos won comfortably.

As for those offensive rebounds Olen mentioned, he's not wrong. They seemed to be gut-punch moments time and again in a second half where the Aggies had nine second chance points. Here's a look:

NMSU's 2nd half offensive rebounds:

• 14:39 — Jayland Randall offensive rebound (no points scored)

• 14:27 — Julius Mims offensive rebound (led to Jemel Jones, who had started 0-7 shooting, hitting a midrange jumper that led to him finishing the game hitting 4 of his final 7 shots and scoring 15 points, all after being shut down to that point).

"Once he saw it go through," Olen said of Jones, "you could feel his aggression pick up."

• 13:42 — Mims offensive rebound (led to Jones 3-pointer)

• 7:44 — Augustine Ekwe offensive rebound (led to Anthony Wrzeszcz layup)

• 5:59 — Jae'Coby Osborne offensive rebound (no points scored)

• 1:22 and 1:05 — Ekwe offensive rebound AND Elijah Elliott offensive rebound, both extending the same possession (led to two Elliott free throws)

Second half Saturday: 9 second chance points

Final outcome: UNM loses by 8

The gamer

Here's the gamer I filed from the Pan Am Center on Saturday night after NMSU's 76-68 win over UNM:

• NMSU rumbles past UNM for second straight Rio Grande Rivalry victory

Steve Kirkland stat of the night

Deyton Albury led the Lobos in scoring for the first time this season on Saturday with his 18 points. That means a different Lobo has led the team in scoring each of the first four games — the first time that has happened to start a season since the 1997-98 season, and this go 'round it actually involves five Lobos since two of them shared top scoring honors in the season opener.

Four scorers 2025-26 edition:

• Game 1: Jake Hall and Uriah Tenette — 14 points each (W, vs. East Texas A&M) 

• Game 2: Tomislav Buljan — 17 points (W, vs. UT Arlington)

• Game 3: Chris Howell — 15 points (W, vs. UC Riverside)

• Game 4: Deyton Albury — 18 points (L, at New Mexico State)

Four scorers 1997-98 edition:

• Game 1: Lamont Long — 31 points (W, vs. USC)

• Game 2: Kenny Thomas — 23 points (W, vs. New Mexico State)

• Game 3: Clayton Shields — 22 points (W, vs. Texas Southern)

• Game 4: Royce Olney — 26 points (W, vs. Arkansas State)

Hear from Hooten

Here is what NMSU coach Jason Hooten said in his opening statement after Saturday's game, including him saying he thought his team played like a "Jason Hooten defense tonight."

Injuries

Point guards Albury and Tenette were each back for Saturday’s game after missing Tuesday night’s win over UC Riverside in the Pit with what the team only described as “lower body” injuries (both were ankle injuries, Tenette saying as much himself in his postgame interview on Saturday night).

Albury started on Saturday and scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds in 23 minutes. Tenette scored 13 points in 21 minutes off the bench.

Both played with the aggressive, attack the rim style the Lobos need to have a chance at getting the offense going. Tenette, while finishing with a game-worst minus-10 (NMSU outscored UNM by 10 in the minutes he was on the floor), certainly didn't lack for courage to make a play in the clutch moments when it didn't seem anyone else other than Albury, who fouled out with 1:04 left.

NMSU forward Julius Mims, who missed Tuesday’s win over Division II New Mexico Highlands with a concussion suffered in the Nov. 4 win over D-II Adams State, also returned, finishing with eight points and eight rebounds.

"Juice" started on Saturday, scoring eight points to go along with eight rebounds and two blocks in 29 minutes.

Fifth it is

Here's a look at the best starts to the starts of UNM Lobo coaching careers in the program's past:

1. 9-0 — Norm Ellenberger (1972-73)

2. 7-0 — Steve Alford (2007-08)

t3. 4-0 — Bob King (1962-63)

t3. 4-0 — Ralph Hutchinson (1910-11)

t5. 3-0 — Eric Olen (2025-26)

t5. 3-0 — Craig Neal (2013-14)

t5. 3-0 — Woody Clements (1944-45)

t5. 3-0 — George White (1943-44)

Still not sure about 3s...

The section header here refers to me.

I'm still not sure what to make with the 3-point shooting of this Lobos roster — one I thought was built with shooters so the Lobos would lean heavily on the outside shot, but certainly hasn't lit it up from deep yet this season.

At some point, I promise I'll quit comparing things to that team, but since media hasn't been allowed at a practice in over a month (about 3 weeks before the season even started), I'm still very much trying to learn what the offense is going to be about just like all of you.

Here's what I know: In the 2024-25 season, Olen's UCSD team had 20 games with a 3-point attempt rate of 50% or more (simply meaning, 50% or more of the total shots taken were from 3-point range).

His team's record in those games was 19-1, indicating they were pretty good and the offense worked well when they took at least half their shots from 3-point range.

Well, through the first three games this season, its been apparent the offense wasn't entirely running smoothly, and in not one of those games did the Lobos attempt more than 50% or more of their shots from 3-point range.

Maybe, I thought, once they start taking more 3s, they'll space things out better and the offense will start looking more efficient.

Saturday, the Lobos for the first time this season took more 3-point shots (28) than 2-point shots (27).

The result: First loss of the season.

So what do I know? (not this offense, apparently)

Record when attempting 50% or more 3s:

• 2025-26 UNM Lobos: 0-1

• 2024-25 USCD Tritons: 19-1

The (hoops) game before the game

In what was clearly the most anticipated result of the weekend, the UNM managers (and a couple members of the coaching and support staff) beat the NMSU managers (and a couple members of the coaching and support staff) 77-73 on Friday night in Las Cruces.

The (Lobos fb) game before the game

Up in Albuquerque, Jason Eck's Lobos eked one out against the Colorado State Rams to clinch its first winning season (seven wins) since 2016.

Here's colleague Sean Reider's takeaways from that game:

• Three takeaways from New Mexico’s closer-than-expected win over Colorado State

The (Aggies fb) game before the game

NMSU football also played on Saturday.

And that's about as much as I'll say about that.

Random tip of the cap: This guy

My apologies for not getting his name, but the firefighter who sang the National Anthem before Saturday's game in Las Cruces was pretty damn good.

Points per possession

New Mexico

• First half: 0.818

• Second half: 1.323

• Game: 1.063

NM State

• First half: 0.900

• Second half: 1.581

• Game: 1.226

• • • • •

This won't turn into a season long list, but for now, here's one more game-by-game list of the PPP numbers for the Lobos, which is essentially their offensive and defensive efficiency ratings for each game:

GAME 1:

East Texas A&M — 0.730

New Mexico — 1.041

GAME 2:

UT Arlington — 0.800

New Mexico — 1.042

GAME 3:

UC Riverside — 1.063

New Mexico — 1.281

GAME 4:

New Mexico — 1.063

NM State — 1.226

Attendance...

The announced attendance for New Mexico vs. NM State in the Pan American Center: 8,106

That was the largest announced attendance for the Pan Am edition of the Rio Grande Rivalry since the 2014 season.

Past 10 UNM/NSMU attendances at Pan Am Center:

8,106 — 2025

5,182 — 2023

6,208 — 2021

7,268 — 2019

6,777 — 2018

6,839 — 2017

6,298 — 2016

6,796 — 2015

8,148 — 2014

9,184 — 2013

Series notes

2024: The Aggies beat UNM in the Pit, 89-83, in overtime.

Last 10 games: Lobos 5, Aggies 5

Last 25 games: Lobos 15, Aggies 10

Last 5 in the Pit: Aggies 3, Lobos 2

Last 5 in the Pan Am: Lobos 3, Aggies 2

Plus/minus...

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

NEW MEXICO

+1 Deyton Albury (23:29)

0 Antonio Chol (28:25)

0 Tomislav Buljan (29:51)

0 Milos Vicentic (7:36)

-2 Jake Hall (25:30)

-3 Kevin Patton Jr. (6:01)

-5 Chris Howell (31:27)

-6 Tajavis Miller (5:37)

-7 JT Rock (2:30)

-8 Luke Haupt (18:37)

-10 Uriah Tenette (20:57)

NM STATE

+14 Augustine Ekwe (18:08)

+14 Elijah Elliott (17:32)

+13 Jayland Randall (18:30)

+9 Jae'Coby Osborne (16:38)

+7 Jemel Jones (28:36)

+4 Chris Terrell (10:17)

+1 Julius Mims (29:26)

-5 Anthony Wrzeszcz (25:51)

-8 Gabe Pickens (20:31)

-9 Cyr Malonga (14:31)

Line 'em up...

The UNM Lobos played 11 players and used 17 unique lineup combinations on Saturday. The Aggies played 10 players and used 21 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, Chris Howell, Antonio Chol, Tomislav Buljan

• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +1 (14-13)

• TIME ON COURT: 8:11

• NOTE: When your starters are in the plus, that's a plus. While fans love seeing every player get on the court and swear that one guy would be a star if he only played more minutes off the bench, sometimes (not always) it pays to just let your five best players play a little more together.

BEST LINEUP

• WHO: Deyton Albury, Jake Hall, Chris Howell, Antonio Chol, Milos Vicentic

• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +7 (8-1)

• TIME ON COURT: 2:14

• NOTE: Solid. This is all about Milos Vicentic having his first productive game for the Lobos. His five second half points in five second half minutes was a nice pop off the bench, and a bit of an unexpected one based on the first three games of the season. So maybe this was a sign of more to come from the grad transfer from UC San Diego.

WORST LINEUP (pt. 1)

• WHO: Deyton Albury, Jake Hall, Chris Howell, Kevin Patton Jr., Tomislav Buljan

• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: -7 (0-7)

• TIME ON COURT: 3:54

• NOTE: The first of two minus-7 combinations is pretty much the starting five with a swap of Kevin Patton Jr. for Antonio Chol. So far this season, Patton hasn't gotten it going and his minutes on the floor seem to not fit well with others, either. Clearly plenty of talent, but we're still waiting for his time on the floor to click with everyone else. For this combination to have played nearly four minutes — basically a full media timeout — and couldn't manage a single point, that's clearly an issue, and one that override the fact that they only allowed seven points in that amount of time.

WORST LINEUP (pt. 2)

• WHO: Uriah Tenette, Luke Haupt, Chris Howell, Tajavis Miller, JT Rock

• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: -7 (4-11)

• TIME ON COURT: 2:30

• NOTE: Solid. The second of the minus-7 lineups came in a much smaller sample size. Defensively, this group has issues with 5-11 Uriah Tenette on the floor and still somewhat hesitant, though clearly plenty long, 7-2 J.T. Rock at the back end. Allowing 11 points in a 2:30 span isn't good.

VIDEO: Olen, Albury and Tenette

Here's my postgame video with UNM coach Eric Olen and point guards Deyton Albury and Uriah Tenette after Saturday's game in Las Cruces:

UNM Lobo men's basketball coach Eric Olen and guards Deyton Albury and Uriah Tenette talk to reporters after their rivalry road loss at New Mexico State University on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in the Pan American Center in Las Cruces. (Video by Geoff Grammer/Albuquerque Journal)

Hey, remember before the game?

Here's the ABQJournal Sports Live! pregame show I did from the Pan American Center on Saturday if you want to relive what I thought was going to happen (it's also a combined UNM Lobo football postgame show with colleague Sean Reider from Albuquerque):

ABQJournal Sports Live! POSTGAME (FB)/PREGAME (HOOPS) • Journal staff writers Geoff Grammer (from the Pan Am Center in Las Cruces) and Sean Reider (from the press box in University Stadium in Albuquerque) recap the UNM Lobo football win over CSU and preview tonight's UNM at NMSU rivalry basketball game in Las Cruces while taking your questions and comments live.

🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/4564965788090368

As a reminder, I'll be doing pregame shows for all Lobo men's basketball games, colleague Sean Reider and I do postgame shows for all UNM Lobo football games and our weekly UNM Lobo sports check-in show is Tuesdays at 1:30 (ish) p.m., depending on when the weekly press conference wraps up with UNM football coach Jason.

All are streamed live on the Journal's YouTube page and my X (Twitter) account and live questions and comments during the show through those platforms is possible.

Meanwhile, that other rivalry...

The other Rio Grande Rivalry game takes place on Sunday between the UNM and NMSU women's teams in the Pan Am Center.

Here is colleague Ken Sickenger's preview article for that game:

• Extra spicy: Lobo women eager for rivalry game at New Mexico State

Meanwhile, in Fresno...

Utah Valley won the WAC last season and entered the weekend rated higher in KenPom rankings (119) than any other WAC team this season.

None of that mattered Friday night in Fresno. The Bulldogs got 27 points from junior point guard Zaon Collins and a final 30 seconds of the game go-ahead 3-pointer from DeShawn Gory to knock off the Wolverines, 74-73, in the SaveMart Center.

And, about that Gory triple...

Around the Mountain...

There were eight Mountain West teams in action on Saturday. Here is a look at some recent results and upcoming games:

WEDNESDAY

• Utah State 83, Weber State 73

• UC San Diego 78, Fresno State 73

• Colorado State 93, Cal Poly 79

• Nevada 86, Southern Illinois 81 (OT)

THURSDAY

• Michigan State 79, San Jose State 60

FRIDAY (no games)

SATURDAY

• Miami (Ohio) 76, Air Force 61

• Utah State 75, UTEP 51

• Boise State 62, Montana State 58

• Santa Clara 98, Nevada 83

• Saint Louis 78, Grand Canyon 64

• New Mexico State 76, New Mexico 68

• Wyoming 93, Portland 56

• Fresno State 75, Utah Valley 74

SUNDAY

• UNLV at Memphis, 2 p.m. PT/3 p.m. MT (ESPN)

• Colorado State at Loyola Chicago, 2 p.m. PT/3 p.m. MT (ESPN+)

MONDAY

• NAIA Bethesda University at San Jose State, 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT (TheMW)

Stats and stats...

Here is the postgame stat sheet I posted after Saturday's game: NM State 76, New Mexico 68

And if you prefer the digital version, here you go: NM State 76, New Mexico 68

Up next...

For New Mexico: The Lobos play in the Hal of Fame Classic on Thursday and Friday in Kansas City, Missouri. Thursday, they play Nebraska and Friday they play either Mississippi State or Kansas State.

For NM State: The Aggies host Samford on Friday in the Pan Am Center.

Until next time...

Until next time, Pan American Center on the campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico...