Emptying the Notebook: Uriah's gem, Jake's 3s, Olen passes Alford, and the Lobos moving on to NIT quarters

Here are some notes, quotes, stats, trends and other odds & ends I emptied out of the old notebook after Sunday's 86-61 UNM Lobos win over George Washington in the second round of the NIT in the Pit:

Uriah's on fire

Uriah Tenette has had a remarkable freshman season.

Genuinely, it's quietly become one of the best in the history of UNM Lobos basketball in terms of stats and his importance to winning on what has been a successful season.

And while some worry about true freshmen hitting a wall late in their first college season, the 5-foot-11 point guard from Prescott, Arizona, by way of Sacramento, California, hasn't just avoided that "wall" some freshmen hit, he's elevated his status in recent weeks from really good freshman point guard to really good college point guard.

First, take a look at his stats from Sunday's game, then from the past four games since he was put in the starting lineup, then read what the two two head coaches in Sunday’s game said about him:

Uriah Tenette vs. GW Sunday

• Points: 15

• Rebounds: 4

• Assists: 6

• Turnovers: 0

• Steals: 2

Uriah Tenette past four games as a starter

• Points: 54 (13.5/game)

• Rebounds: 11 (2.8/game)

• Assists: 22 (5.5/game)

• Turnovers: 1 (0.25/game)

• Steals: 8 (2.0/game)

UNM coach Eric Olen:

"Yeah, he's playing great basketball. ... I think it's that playmaking showing up. He's such a natural scorer. His playmaking showing up I think is a real sign of his comfort level and just the way he's seeing the game. Just thought he was in total control (of Sunday's game) and he plays both ends of the floor. So yeah, big time performance for him when we needed one without Deyton (Albury, out due to sickness)."

George Washington coach Chris Caputo:

"This guy controlled the game in a way that, again, he's terrific. He's a really, really, really good player. And he's good on both ends. Even though he's not tall, I think he's put together pretty well physically. He can navigate screens on a high level. We couldn't really get great edges on them. Luke Hunger (GW's 6-10, 250-point forward who was out Sunday with an injury) is probably our best screener. I think if I had a Luke, we would have tried to lay some wood on him with Luke to try to hit him a little bit more on those screens. But he's, he's really good navigator of screens."

As for that defense, while it's about far more than just him coming up with steals, those swipes are easy to track. And guess what? Tenette's had more of them this season than any freshman in program history has had in a season, breaking the record of Kendall Williams and Tru Washington with his two steals Sunday.

Most steals by UNM freshman in a season

• 50* — Uriah Tenette (2025-26)

• 49 — Tru Washington (2023-24)

• 49 — Kendall Williams (2010-11)

• 47 — Phil Smith (1980-81)

• 44 — Dairese Gary (2007-08)

*NOTE: Tenette and the Lobos have one to three more games to play.

The gamer

Here's the gamer I filed from the Pit on Sunday night:

• UNM revs up in the second half and rolls past George Washington in the NIT

Up next/Updated NIT bracket

Down go a pair of historical figures and now a Saint comes to the Pit.

UNM's wins over Sam Houston and George Washington have set up a Tuesday night NIT quarterfinals showdown with Saint Joseph's at 7 p.m.

Here's the updated NIT bracket with game dates and times for the Tuesday/Wednesday quarterfinals with the next two rounds — the final four and championship — being in Indianapolis.

NIT Round 2 by the numbers

• Teams left: 8

• Conferences left: Mountain West (2), A-10 (2), American (2), SEC (1), Missouri Valley (1)

• Round 2 games: 8

• Round 2 blowouts (20 or more points): 2

• Round 2 close games (3 or fewer points): 2

• Round 2 largest attendance: 9,207 (Sunday, George Washington at New Mexico in the Pit)

• Round 2 smallest attendance: 1,657 (Sunday, Saint Joseph's at Cal in Berkeley)

Haupt to it

Luke Haupt did the Luke Haupt thing again.

UNM's leader in plus/minus on the season — meaning the Lobos have the best point differential over opponents when he's on the court than in the minutes any other Lobo is on the court — had himself another one of those games on Sunday night. He did a little bit of everything and the Lobos were just clearly better when he was on the floor (to the tune of a game-best plus-34 scoring differential).

Haupt's stat line vs. George Washington

• Points: 9

• Rebounds: 6

• Assists: 6

• Turnovers: 0

• Steals: 2

• Blocks: 2

• plus/minus: +34

No, it wasn't chili cheese fries

UNM starting point guard Deyton Albury missed Sunday's game with what Eric Olen described as a "flu bug."

Was it food poisoning? "No."

So it wasn't chili cheese fries related? "No."

Yes, I asked. And with good reason.

Here was the Sunday Journal preview where I tracked down former Lobo great Khari Jaxon, who got food poisoning from bad chili cheese fries the night before the previous time UNM and George Washington played — in the 1993 NCAA Tournament.

• 33 years later, Lobos hope to break chili cheese fries curse in George Washington rematch

OK, but back to Albury. The guy was really, really sick.

Roommate Tajavis Miller said he tried coming to play, but was told to stay home.

Said Eric Olen of his senior point guard missing the game: "I mean, I don't know how he'll feel on Tuesday, but you know, the guy's wearing sunglasses to play (since injuring his eye on Feb. 28). I feel like he'll do anything he can to get out here. I think the fact that he's not here says a lot about how (sick) he feels, because he's been doing everything in his power to stay on the floor. So I know that he's legitimately very sick, or he would be here."

Return of the 3s?

UNM went 5-6 in the final 11 games of the regular season, including the Mountain West Tournament, between Feb. 4 and March 13. In those 11 games:

• Double digit 3s: 3 times

• Single digit 3s: 8 times

UNM went 9-2 in the 11 games prior to that stretch (Dec. 20-Jan. 31). In those 11 games:

• Double digit 3s: 8 times

• Single digit 3s: 3 times

So here's a bit of a Captain Obvious hot take here: The Lobos are better with they hit more 3-pointers.

Clearly the offense has been returning to the January efficiency it enjoyed when going through league play for the first time.

Are they enjoying now a return to that as the face teams who haven't been overly familiar with the offense all season like other Mountain West teams?

Maybe. The Lobos did hit 13 3-pointers in Wednesday's win over Sam Houston and 11 3-pointers in Sunday's win over George Washington.

Jake's elite 3-point company

Jake Hall's 3-point shooting has been one of the joys of the season for Lobo fans and basketball onlookers who have watched him.

His 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc on Sunday, including three-consecutive 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the second half, gives him 113 3-pointers on the season.

First, let's update the UNM record.

Most 3s made in a season at UNM

• 113* — Jake Hall, 35 games (2025-26)

• 106 — Anthony Mathis, 32 games (2018-19)

*Still playing.

OK, that's impressive, but this section of ETN isn't just another UNM update for Shot Fake Jake.

Hall has now moved into a tie for fourth most made 3-pointers by a freshman in NCAA Division I history, with some pretty recognizable names he's now keeping company with.

Most 3s made by a freshman DI history

• 132 — Antoine Davis, Detroit (2018-19)

• 122 — Steph Curry, Davidson (2006-07)

• 118 — Trae Young, Oklahoma (2017-18)

• t113* — Jake Hall, New Mexico (2025-26)

• t113 — Jamaal Murray, Kentucky (2015-16)

• t113 — Isaiah Joe, Arkansas (2018-19)

*Hall has one to three more games remaining.

Olen passes Alford

Sunday's win was No. 25 on the season for the Lobos and No. 25, of course, for first year UNM coach Eric Olen, who is now alone in second place for the most wins in the first season coached at UNM.

Interestingly enough, he's sandwiched between Craig Neal (27 wins in the 2013-14 season) and Steve Alford (whom Olen just passed with 24 wins in the 2007-08 season). Those two guys are also still among the eight teams left in the NIT as Nevada Associate Head Coach and Head Coach, respectively.

Most wins for a first-year UNM Lobos coach

• 27-7 — Craig Neal (2013-14)

• *25-10 — Eric Olen (2025-26)

• 24-9 — Steve Alford (2007-08)

• 22-11 — Dave Bliss (1988-89)

• 21-6 — Norm Ellenberger (1972-73)

*Olen and the Lobos have between one and three games remaining.

Speaking of 25 wins...

This is the third consecutive season UNM has had at least 25 wins, just the second such stretch in program history (also happened in the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons).

Timeo time!!!

Usually when Timeo Pons gets in the game, the still-developing Lobo freshman knows it's green light time — get your shots up now because you don't play much.

Such is the life of a 20-20 player (playing mostly only when the team us up 20 or down 20).

Clearly Pons is an offensive threat, and also clearly he's still got some work to do to be the complete threat he needs to be to get more minutes in the future with Eric Olen.

But Sunday wasn't a bad start to that.

He showed some patience and didn't just fire up every shot he could when he got in, including more than four first half minutes for a guy who hasn't played first half minutes since December vs. Division II New Mexico Highlands.

But, rest assured, the highly-popular Fan Favorite French Freshman still had his offensive highlight with this dunk in the second half off a Uriah Tenette dime:

And here's another angle...

Steve Kirkland Stat of the Night (Part 1)

In this edition of the world famous Steve Kirkland Stat of the Night...

Sunday's 25-point Lobos win over George Washington (86-61) was the largest margin of victory in an NIT second round game since 2016 when Creighton defeated Wagner by 33 (87-54).

Also, it was the first time since Virginia Tech in 2008 that a team had back-to-back 20-point wins to advance to the NIT quarterfinals. (Virginia Tech beat Morgan State 94-62 and UAB 75-49 that year.)

Steve Kirkland Stat of the Night (Part 2)

In this edition of the world famous Steve Kirkland Stat of the Night...

We're going with a copy and paste of sorts from the previous ETN when Steve pointed out that Lobos Tomislav Buljan and Uriah Tenette each had six assists and zero turnovers in UNM's first-round NIT win over Sam Houston, marking the first time since at least the start of the Mountain West era (1999-2000 season) that the Lobos had two players with at least six assists and zero turnovers.

Well, guess what.

Zero in at least 27 seasons just turned into two in a row.

Sunday, Luke Haupt had six assists and zero turnovers paired with another Tenette six assists/zero turnover game to give the Lobos now two such games since at least the start of the Mountain West era (1999-2000 season).

Want to try for three in a row on Tuesday?

Here's one more...

Steve's not the only guy who can come up with turnover type stats. Here's one I noticed that I think is rather noteworthy.

UNM's five turnovers in Wednesday's win over Sam Houston and nine turnovers in Sunday's win over George Washington marks two significant benchmarks:

The lowest two-game turnover total all season (previous low was **)

Just the second time this season UNM has had back-to-back single-digit turnover games.

Double kill shots!

UNM had two kill shots on Sunday — a 10-0 run and a 16-0 run — both in the dominant 50-29 second half.

• 10-0 run to start second half, pushing score from 36-32 to 46-32

• 16-0 run from 6:18 2H to 2:21 2H, pushing score from 67-56 to 83-56

He said it

"I'd actually never been to Utah or New Mexico in all my travels. So obviously, great to be here. I've heard so much about it. Watched the Pit on television. Great to experience it and the people. And then obviously enjoyed Utah a little bit more because we won (Wednesday's win at Utah Valley in Orem). We were able to stay out there.

"I know how much people love basketball here, and it's evident, and it's a wonderful environment and an honor to compete here."

— George Washington head coach Chris Caputo

Better call Hall and Pal(mer)

Of course the Ecks were there at Sunday's game. They're always at the game.

And how about the postgame twinning with Jake Hall and high school freshman Palmer Eck, the son of UNM Lobo football coach Jason Eck?

The 'Masked Man'

It wasn't a good stat sheet for Antonio Chol's return to the starting lineup, though I thought he had a lot of really good looks and had more than a fair amount of shots that looked like they were going down, but didn't. Nevertheless, Chol was 2-for-12 shooting on Sunday (0-for-7 from 3). That ain't great.

Was it due, at least in part, to the protective face mask he was wearing after a facial fracture suffered in Wednesday's win over Sam Houston — an injury not only didn't I know about at the time, but apparently not even Chol though much of when it happened.

"He had a vertical at the rim in the Sam Houston game, and they hit heads," Olen said on Sunday night. "He didn't think anything of it. And then after the fact, next day, he had a ton of swelling and some stuff. So he's in the mask. I feel bad for him."

But the masked mad did leave his mark, and had this highlight from Sunday night...

Unfortunately...

For those who follow me on social media, you already know anytime there is a referee video review in a game, I post on X "this game is official. #Drink"

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but for the second consecutive game in the NIT, there have been ZERO video reviews.

So I'm not sure either game really counts.

Sorry, Lobos.

Attendance...

The announced attendance for Sunday's George Washington at New Mexico NIT game in the Pit: 9,207

NIT second round attendances

Here are the announced attendances for the NIT's second round games played Saturday and Sunday around the country:

• 9,207 — George Washington at New Mexico (The Pit — Albuquerque)

• 5,038 — Dayton at UNC-Wilmington (Trask Coliseum — Wilmington, NC)

• 4,616 — Liberty at Nevada (Lawlor Events Center — Reno, Nevada)

• 3,672 — Seattle at Auburn (Neville Arena — Auburn, Alabama)

• 2,526 — Wichita State at Oklahoma State (Gallagher Iba Arena — Stillwater, Oklahoma)

• 2,432 — UNLV at Tulsa (Reynolds Center — Tulsa, Oklahoma)

• 1,933 — Illinois State at Wake Forest (Joel Coliseum — Winston-Salem, North Carolina)

• 1,657 — Saint Joseph's at California (Haas Pavilion — Berkeley, California)

Series notes

UNM now takes a 2-1 lead in the all-time series against George Washington.

• W, 86-61 — Sunday in the Pit (NIT)

• L, 82-68 — March 19, 1993 in Tucson (NCAA Tournament)

• W, 94-73 — Dec. 27, 1988 (the Pit)

Plus/minus...

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

NEW MEXICO

• +34 Luke Haupt (30:28)

• +21 Jake Hall (34:11)

• +20 Tajavis Miller (26:25)

• +18 Uriah Tenette (35:40)

• +13 Tomislav Buljan (25:06)

• +12 JT Rock (14:54)

• +8 Antonio Chol (20:36)

• -1 Timeo Pons (12:40)

GEORGE WASHINGTON

• -5 Jean Aranguren (25:41)

• -12 Tyrone Marshall (15:56)

• -13 Bubu Benjamin (30:14)

• -15 Tre Dinkins (29:53)

• -25 Rafael Castro (33:50)

• -26 Christian Jones (28:36)

• -29 Trey Autry (35:50)

Line 'em up...

The UNM Lobos played seven players and used 14 unique lineup combinations on Sunday. The Revolutionaries played eight 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: Uriah Tenette, Jake Hall, Luke Haupt, Antonio Chol, Tomislav Buljan

• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: -1 (11-12)

• TIME ON COURT: 7:54

• NOTE: The Deyton Albury/Uriah Tenette starting lineup had been rolling along pretty well for the previous three games. Antonio Chol, who was wearing a protective mask due to a facial fracture suffered last game, saw his a lot — seriously, a lot — of really good looking shots go in and out on Sunday (he was 2-of-12 shooting). No matter how close they were, though, his misses really hurt the overall efficiency of minutes he was on the floor for the team, though I really think a lot of his shots were exactly what you'd want from him. 0.7994 points per possession from your starting five, however, is NOT what you ever want.

BEST LINEUP

• WHO: Uriah Tenette, Jake Hall, Tajavis Miller, Luke Haupt, JT Rock

• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +9 (9-0)

• TIME ON COURT: 2:40

• NOTE: I mean, I'm no rocket surgeon or brain scientist guy, but 9-0 is pretty good, not matter how long a group is on the floor together. It means you're getting it done on both ends. Maybe this lineup should see a few more possessions together?

WORST LINEUP

• WHO: Uriah Tenette, Jake Hall, Tajavis Miller, Antonio Chol, JT Rock

• POINT DIFFERENTIAL: -4 (6-10)

• TIME ON COURT: 2:31

• NOTE: That's a lot of points to allow in only two and a half minutes. So the defense was a problem here, and as alluded to above, the minutes Chol had on the floor on Sunday simply weren't going to lead to great offensive efficiency stats when he was 2-of-12 shooting.

AND THEM?

• NOTE: The lineup the Revolutionaries used the longest — Trey Autry, Christian Jones, Tre Dinkins, Bubu Benjamin and Rafael Castro for 9:10 — was its worst lineup in terms of point differential. That group got outscored by 14 points (25-11) in nearly a fourth of the game played, scoring just 0.7618 points per possession.

VIDEO: Olen, Miller, Pons, Caputo

Here's the postgame press conference with UNM coach Eric Olen, Lobo players Tajavis Miller and Timeo Pons and George Washington head coach Chris Caputo:

Pregame from the Pit

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.

Around the NIT

Here are the second round scores from the National Invitation Tournament and the schedule for upcoming quarterfinals games:

SATURDAY

• Dayton 80, UNC Wilmington 61

• Nevada 73, Liberty 63

SUNDAY

• Illinois State 78, Wake Forest 75

• Auburn 91, Seattle 85

• Tulsa 77, UNLV 66

• New Mexico 86, George Washington 61

• Wichita State 96, Oklahoma State 70

• Saint Joseph's 76, Cal 75

TUESDAY

• Wichita State at Tulsa, 5 p.m. MT (ESPN2)

• Saint Joseph's at New Mexico, 7 p.m. MT (ESPN2)

WEDNESDAY

• Illinois State at Dayton, 5 p.m. MT (ESPN2)

• Nevada at Auburn, 7 p.m. MT (ESPN2)

Stats and stats...

Here is the postgame stat sheet I posted after Sunday's game: New Mexico 86, George Washington 61

And if you prefer the digital version, here you go: New Mexico 86, George Washington 61

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