Wright: If nothing and no one else, there's Haupt

Luke Haupt hails from a basketball family, and there’s no evidence that he played football at St. Augustine High School in San Diego. 

But, oh, my, how Haupt can take a hit.

Haupt and his New Mexico Lobos took a major hit Saturday night, losing 91-90 to Boise State in the Pit. It was UNM’s second straight loss at home after 23 straight victories here spanning two seasons. 

The game was not as close as the final one-point margin suggests, since the Lobos trailed by five points with eight seconds left. But without Haupt’s contributions against the Broncos — 30 points, six rebounds, four assists, eight fouls drawn, multiple crashes to the Pit floor, powering through the Boise State defense like a running back — the game wouldn’t have been close at all. Clearly, after watching his team give up 86 and 91 points in back-to-back games, first-year coach Eric Olen has some defensive rethinking to do.

But, hey, there’s always Haupt.

After Olen was hired to succeed Richard Pitino last March, he was forced to assemble an entirely new roster. Of the scholarship players he brought in, Haupt might have appeared the least likely to succeed. 

After high school, Haupt played four seasons at Point Loma Nazarene. He never averaged more than 13.2 points per game at Point Loma, a Division II school. Even in high school, he never averaged more than 15 points per game.

Yes, he’d been a good, solid Division II player. But he wasn’t a proven Division I player like Deyton Albury; hadn’t scored 3,000 points in high school like Jake Hall; wasn’t a 7-footer like JT Rock; hadn’t been a two-sport prep dynamo like Uriah Tenette; hadn’t played pro basketball in Europe like Tomislav Buljan; hadn’t played for Olen at UC San Diego like Chris Howell.

It was an injury to Howell, who hasn’t played since Dec. 14 — Olen said Saturday he’s not sure if he’ll return this season — that elevated Haupt to the starting lineup. 

He has been — with apologies to the aforementioned JT — the team’s rock.

Until Saturday, Haupt’s contributions weren’t so much about scoring; he entered the Boise State game averaging 6.6 points per game. But he’s No. 2 on the roster in rebounding behind Buljan, No. 2 in assists behind Albury, No. 2 in steals behind Tenette. 

The well-rounded nature of his game reminds one of former Lobo Roman Martinez (2006-10). They’re even the same height, listed at 6-foot-7.

Whatever those early Steve Alford UNM teams needed, from game to game, from possession to possession, Martinez consistently provided.

And that’s Haupt’s stated goal. 

Of his scoring burst on Saturday, he told the Journal’s Geoff Grammer, “I was just trying to do whatever I can to help the team win tonight. I had a good offensive game. (It) doesn't feel like it matters a whole lot right now, coming up short."

It could matter a whole lot, though, going forward.

Olen said after the game that Haupt’s scoring binge wasn’t anything planned or drawn up on the sideline; it was just Haupt seeing what needed to be done and doing it.

Haupt scored 10 points in the first half, which ended with Boise State up 43-42. He scored 10 points in the first seven minutes of the second half, but the Broncos kept raining 3s — grabbing a 59-52 lead with 15:46 left and then 63-54 on a Drew Fielder 4-point play, as he was fouled by Buljan while hitting yet another 3-pointer.

Haupt played a leading role in bringing the Lobos back. With Boise State up 80-75 with 3 minutes, 30 seconds left, he pulled down a rebound at the defensive end and scored in the paint 17 seconds later. A Hall 3-pointer then tied the game at 80.

The only blemish on Haupt’s game was a missed free throw with a chance to tie the score again at 82 at the 1:17 mark; he fouled out 14 seconds later. 

Haupt may never score 30 points in a game again; he never had before. But whatever his team needs at any particular time — a rebound, a putback, a steal, a drive-and-dish, yet another crash to the floor — he’ll be there.

As for the Lobos’ mini-crisis, they’re 18-6 overall, 9-4 in Mountain West Conference play and, thanks to Olen, possessed of a talented, balanced and deep-enough roster.

And hey — where there’s Haupt, there’s hope. 

Rick Wright can be reached at rwright@abqjournal.com or @Burquerick on X.