The University of New Mexico Lobos traveled to the Southwest corner of the state to take on the University of the Southwest Mustangs at the historic Ralph Tasker Arena in Hobbs on Sunday afternoon before 1,200 fans.
As one would expect of a Division 1 program taking on an NAIA program like the Mustangs, the Lobos took care of business with a 103-47 blowout victory.
Four players finished in double figures for New Mexico, including guard Anthony Mathis, who scored a game-high 18 points on six of nine shooting from the floor. Carlton Bragg, Vance Jackson, and Tavian Percy each reached double figures for UNM on Sunday, while Karim Ezzaddine led all players with ten total rebounds.
New Mexico led from the tip to final whistle, while beating the Mustangs in nearly every single statistical category, from points off turnovers to points in the paint, and fast break points to points off the bench.
Josh Harris led the Mustangs with 14 points on five of 13 shooting from the floor, including a perfect four-for-four from the charity stripe. The University of the Southwest finished the day shooting just 30.4% from the floor and 36% from behind the arc, with four made three-point baskets out of 11 attempts.
The unique road game to complete the Non-conference season for the Lobos proved to be a fun event for the teams and the fans in attendance at the historic arena, but playing against a team like the Mustangs is not exactly a tough tune-up for a UNM team set to start conference play on the road against Air Force on Wednesday before returning home to host No.6 Nevada at DreamStyle arena next weekend.
It remains to be seen if the Lobos worked out their defensive woes that resulted in losses to UNT and PENN in their last two games at the Pit.
