UNM LOBOS BASKETBALL
Lobos, Pit fans have shined in first two rounds of NIT with one last dance on Tuesday
UNM hosts Saint Joseph's at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Pit
Published
This article incorporates some tidbits from Emptying the Notebook, a feature published after every UNM Lobo men’s basketball game.
Get ready for the last basketball game in the Pit this season. And this time, we really mean it.
Not a senior night — UNM had one of those for men’s hoops, another for women’s hoops. Not the NMAA’s state high school basketball tournament — that came and went without a hitch. Not an men’s NIT first-round game against Sam Houston — the Lobos won that one last Wednesday, 107-83. And it’s not an NIT second-round game against George Washington — yup, another win, 86-61 on Sunday.
This time, for the last time, at 7 p.m. Tuesday against the visiting Saint Joseph's Hawks in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament, will be the last final basketball game of the 2025-26 season played in that arena dug 37 feet into the ground in southeast Albuquerque.
“We always love the opportunity to play here,” first-year UNM coach Eric Olen said Sunday night, even before he knew who his team's opponent would be in the quarterfinal round. “Last one here on the season, whoever it is, we’re going to get a great opponent in here. And so hopefully Lobo Nation shows up and supports these guys. They’re playing good basketball, they’re still competing at a high level. And they’re fun to watch right now.”
The Lobos have back-to-back blowouts wins in the NIT. And those Pit fans?
They have responded by posting the two highest attendance figures — by far — of the 24 NIT games played so far. The first-and second-round games drew 7,286 and 9,207 fans, respectively. The other 22 games played in the tournament have averaged 2,338 fans and the next-highest-attended game of the tournament was 5,588 fans for last week's first-round game between Murray State and Nevada in Reno.
Uriah on fire
Uriah Tenette has had a remarkable freshman season. And as of late, he's elevated from being a really good freshman to just a really good point guard.
In Sunday’s win vs. George Washington, Tenette had 15 points, four rebounds, six assists, two steals and zero turnovers. In the past four games as a starter, it's been 22 assists, eight steals and one turnover.
“Yeah, he’s playing great basketball,” Olen said. “... 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.”
Added George Washington coach Chris Caputo, “This guy controlled the game.”
Timeo time!
Freshman Timeo Pons on Sunday played some rare meaningful minutes. Usually, he gets in games only when they’re well in hand and, as such, let’s it rip without much consequence. Against George Washington, however, Pons was patient, locked in, and frankly played 12 meaningful minutes for the Lobos.
“I mean, usually I go in like in the last two or three minutes, so I just shoot the ball as many as I can,” the Frenchman said. “But I had some real minutes tonight, so I had to play more real basketball.”
His coach was impressed.
“I thought the thing that he did so well is when he came in the game, he played really hard,” Olen said. “You could feel it. He brought energy. ... I thought he played the right way, good decision making.”
25 wins means ...
UNM has had at least 25 wins in three consecutive seasons for the second time. The other stretch was from 2012-14.
Olen’s win Sunday also means he passes Steve Alford and is alone in second place for the most wins by a first-year Lobos head coach.
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.
How they got here
Saint Joseph’s, the third-place regular-season finisher in the Atlantic 10 conference, mounted a furious comeback on Sunday night in Berkeley, California, coming from 19 points down (61-42 with 13:34 left in the game) to shock the ACC's Bears, 76-75 in the NIT second round.
The Hawks' 33-14 run over that final 13 minutes means the Lobos won't get a rematch vs. Cal head coach Mark Madsen, who coached Utah Valley to the 2023 NIT win over UNM in the Pit, or Rytis Petraitis, the former Air Force forward who hit a game-winning 3-pointer against the Lobos in the Pit in 2024. Nor will Cal starting guard Nolan Dorsey, the former Lobos point guard who never played a game in the Pit (he was part of that 2021 COVID team) finally get a chance to play in the Pit.
Saint Joseph’s got 24 points and nine rebounds from Jaiden Glover-Toscano in the win.
In last week’s NIT first round win at Colorado State, the Hawks had four players score in double figures and held the Rams to 7-of-30 shooting from 3-point range.
Do I know you, Donahue?
If the name Steve Donahue sounds familiar to Lobo fans, there's a reason. This will be the fourth time the first-year Saint Joseph's head coach will go against the Lobos, and with his fourth school (Cornell, Boston College and Penn prior to Tuesday night) and against a fourth Lobo head coach on the opposing bench (Ritchie McKay, Steve Alford, Paul Weir and now Olen).
Donahue coaching vs. UNM
Jan. 9, 2004 — UNM 74, Cornell 65 (The Pit)
Nov. 27, 2011 — UNM 75, Boston College 57 (Anaheim)
Dec. 22, 2018 — Penn 75, UNM 65 (The Pit)
Donahue is believed to be one of the few, if not one of only two, head coaches who have coached four different teams against UNM. At least one other known to do it completed the feat recently: Rick Pitino coached against the Lobos while the head coach of Boston University (lost to the Lobos in the Pit on Dec. 30, 1980), Louisville (beat the Lobos in the NCAA Tournament on March 17, 2012), Iona (lost to the Lobos in the Pit on Dec. 18, 2022) and St. John's (beat the Lobos in Madison Square Garden on Nov. 17, 2024).
Series history
The Lobos and Hawks are 1-1. Both prior games were also played in the Pit and both prior games were part of Lobo Invitationals.
Dec. 19, 1969 — UNM 78, Saint Joseph’s 77: Lobo legend Willie Long went off for 36 points, 10 rebounds and hit 14 of 16 free throws, and they needed every one of them to hold off the combined 55 points scored by Saint Joseph's dynamic one-two punch of Dan Kelly (27 points, four rebounds) and Mike Hauer (28 points, 13 rebounds).
Dec. 30, 1999 – Saint Joseph’s 81, UNM 76: Four Hawks scored in double figures, led by 17 from Marvin O'Connor, who hit four of Saint Joseph’s 11 3-pointers to beat first-year Lobos coach Fran Fraschilla's squad. UNM hit 26 of 38 2-point shots (68.4%) but just 3 of 17 3-pointers (17.6%) and squandered a 10-point halftime lead and a 20-point, eight-rebound, three-blocked shot game from Damion Walker.
Reach Geoff Grammer at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.
