UNM, without star backcourt, powers past Pepperdine

HENDERSON, Nev. — No Jaelen House. No Jamal Mashburn Jr. No problem for the UNM Lobos, who blew out Pepperdine 90-71 in the final game of the Ball Dawgs Classic on Friday in the Dollar Loan Center.

Despite playing for the first time in the Richard Pitino era without either of their two preseason All-Mountain West guards in House (injured hip, but expected back next week) and Mashburn (quad contusion, timetable for return is unknown), the Lobos improved to 5-1 by jumping on the overmatched Waves early and often, leading by as many as 27 points, shooting 56.7% in the game and outscoring Pepperdine 56-18 in the paint.

UNM freshman Tru Washington, getting the start in place of Mashburn, recorded 19 points, 12 rebounds and five steals while sophomore Donovan Dent, who has manned the point guard spot since House has been out the past five games, had 24 points, 7 assists and drew seven fouls.

“He told me I was starting and I was just like I got to pick it up after Jamal. We were missing a big piece in him and House,” Washington said. “So I knew I had to chip in more with them being out.”

Chip in he did, recording the first double-double of his college career and by being the fourth different Lobo this season to record a double-double — neither House nor Mashburn is on that list — showing off the roster depth that was a big reason for so much preseason hype.

“When House got hurt, we told Donovan you got to take advantage of this opportunity, and he’s done it. And Tru did it with Mash out,” Pitino told the Journal. “To Mash and Jaelen’s credit, they were great teammates through this whole thing. But the goal is to win games. The goal is not for one guy, two guys, three guys or whatever — it is to put together the best team possible. We certainly looked like a great team today at times.”

In game six of the Lobos’ season, four starters were players who weren’t on the team until summer and a sophomore who started just twice last year.

Nevertheless, every starter scored in double figures (Jemarl Baker Jr. 13, Nelly Junior Joseph 13, and freshman JT Toppin 11). And powered by that starting five, the Lobos jumped out to a 12-0 lead, which included two of Baker’s three 3-pointers in the game, before Pepperdine got on the scoreboard.

The first half included Lobo scoring runs of 12-0, 8-0 and 11-0 and UNM led 52-28 at the break with House and Mashburn enjoying the show from the end of the bench — House looking plenty healthy and Mashburn sporting a significant limp.

The Lobos’ 90-point outburst came despite going just 17-of-30 (56.7%) from the free-throw line — an indication the rest of the team can draw fouls at a high rate like House and Mashburn, but maybe not hit those freebies quite as often as those two.

INJURIES: House, who missed much of the preseason and the Lobos’ last five games after playing in the Nov. 6 opener, is trending to returning to the lineup on Wednesday when the Lobos host Louisiana Tech.

As for Mashburn, Friday was the first game he missed in college. He used crutches most of the day though he did walk from the bench to team huddles without them. Pitino said he doesn’t know when Mashburn will return.

“It’s a quad contusion. He got hit in the quad,” Pitino said. “... He’s never missed a game. He’s missed one practice I think back in his freshman year. He’s an absolute warrior. I don’t think it’s anything serious long term, but for him to be in this much pain — he’s got a high pain threshold and he’s really, really tough. So I know this kills him.”

The coach said Mashburn will be reevaluated in Albuquerque after a weekend of rest.

STUCK IN THE 90s: The Lobos scored 90 or more points for the third consecutive game — 92-84 over Toledo on Tuesday, 90-56 over Rice on Wednesday and 90-71 over Pepperdine on Friday — for the first time since the 2019-20 season. UNM also beat Texas Southern 92-55 on Nov. 6, giving them 90 or more in four of six games played this season.

HANGIN WITH MR. COOPER: Former Lobo great Michael Cooper was at Friday’s game, but not donning the Cherry and Silver he wore when starring in the Pit in the late 1970s. Cooper wore a Pepperdine shirt while on hand to cheer his son, Nils, a freshman for the Waves who had 5 points, 1 rebounds and 1 assist.

Cooper wasn’t the only former NBA player on hand. He and Jamal Mashburn Sr. gave each other a hug and talked briefly at halftime.

BALL DAWGS RECAP: The Lobos went 3-0 in the three-game, four-day Ball Dawgs Classic this week, at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson — the same arena they will play Santa Clara in on Dec. 9 in the one-game Jack Jones Classic.

Per the Ball Dawgs Classic contract with bdG Sports LLC, the company operating the event in the Dollar Loan Center, all six teams participating had to pay a $37,500 entry fee, all travel costs and any lodging costs beyond 12 complimentary rooms.

Teams maintained radio broadcast rights in their home market, but all visual broadcasts — in this case the event was streamed on FloSports.com for a fee — were held by bdG Sports LLC.

The Lobos entered the event with a KenPom.com rating of 63 and that inched up to 52 as of late Friday, one of four Mountain West teams ranked in the top 60 and one of six in the top 100.

New Mexico 90, Pepperdine 71

PEPPERDINE (3-5)

Gassama 0-3 0-0 0, Ajayi 6-15 2-2 16, Anderson 4-8 2-2 11, Mallette 5-14 0-0 13, Moore 6-11 2-2 18, Pitre 1-5 0-0 3, Cooper 1-4 3-5 5, Stansberry 2-3 0-0 5, Jordan 0-0 0-0 0, Mager 0-1 0-0 0, Squire 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-64 9-11 71.

NEW MEXICO (5-1)

Joseph 5-8 3-6 13, Toppin 4-6 3-5 11, Baker 5-7 1-1 14, Dent 9-14 6-10 24, Washington 7-13 4-6 19, Webb 2-2 0-0 5, Mushila 1-3 0-2 2, Amzil 0-3 0-0 0, Appelhans 1-4 0-0 2, Forsling 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-60 17-30 90.

Halftime–New Mexico 52-28. 3-Point Goals–Pepperdine 12-24 (Moore 4-5, Mallette 3-10, Ajayi 2-3, Stansberry 1-1, Anderson 1-2, Pitre 1-2, Cooper 0-1), New Mexico 5-14 (Baker 3-5, Webb 1-1, Washington 1-4, Amzil 0-1, Appelhans 0-1, Dent 0-1, Mushila 0-1). Fouled Out–Pitre. Rebounds–Pepperdine 30 (Ajayi 13), New Mexico 37 (Washington 12). Assists–Pepperdine 16 (Anderson 5), New Mexico 19 (Dent 7). Total Fouls–Pepperdine 19, New Mexico 14.