NCAA News Wire
New Mexico 67, Utah State 58
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico Lobos almost played their way out of the Associated Press Top 25 just one day after getting back into the poll.
Forward Cameron Bairstow had 14 points and 11 rebounds as the No. 25-ranked Lobos rallied in the second half to defeat Utah State 67-58 on Tuesday night at The Pit.
Center Alex Kirk added 13 points and 12 rebounds, while freshman guard Cullen Neal came off the bench and chipped in 12 points including three 3-pointers for UNM (22-5, 13-2 Mountain West).
Guard Preston Medlin had 19 points for the Aggies (15-13, 5-11).
The Lobos trailed 47-39 with 11:27 to go when they finally seemed to wake up. Bairstow made a driving layup, followed by a 3-pointer from Neal.
Guard Hugh Greenwood then nailed a 3-pointer of his own to tie the game at 47-47 with 8:42 left.
The teams traded baskets, but Neal’s 3-pointer with just over 6 minutes left ended up being the basket that put UNM ahead for good. A free throw by forward Merv Lindsay made it 54-52.
From there, Utah State could not buy a shot while Kirk drew foul after foul, going to the line and making 4 of 6 free throws. Kirk would add a short jumper and Neal hit a longer one to suddenly give UNM a 62-52 advantage as the Lobos would ultimately cruise to their fourth straight victory.
The first half was back and forth, with both teams getting big runs to trade the lead.
Utah State had the final word after falling behind 19-12. The Aggies then went on an 11-0 run with five different players scoring. Medlin’s 3-pointer pulled them within 19-18 and center Jordan Stone followed with a dunk to put them ahead for good in the first half.
Medlin finished the half with 10 points, going 2-for-3 from 3-point range.
New Mexico kept battling back, but the Lobos were never able to take advantage of some sloppy play by the Aggies. UNM, though, was worse, committing seven turnovers.
Kirk led the Lobos with seven points and five rebounds, while Greenwood added six points and five rebounds. Bairstow was held to just six points and four rebounds.
The Lobos trailed 10-7 when Cullen Neal hit a 3-pointer to ignite a 12-2 run. After guard JoJo McGlaston tied the game 12-12 with a short jumper, Kirk had a dunk and a hook shot sandwiched around a Greenwood 3-pointer to put UNM ahead 19-12.
NOTES: This is the first matchup in The Pit between the Lobos and Aggies since Dec. 29, 1979. Utah State won that game 117-83. The next contest between the two teams was this Jan. 28, when UNM won 78-65 in Logan. … F Cameron Bairstow was named the Mountain West player of the week again this week, marking the third time this season he has received the honor. He averaged 22 points and 7.5 rebounds in victories over San Diego State and UNLV. … Utah State’s past success on the road is not carrying over to this season. The Aggies have lost six of their nine road games. Entering this season under coach Stew Morrill, Utah State was 106-86 away from home.
