Nelly Junior Joseph scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Donovan Dent added 17 points and eight assists and New Mexico never trailed No. 22 UCLA en route to a 72-64 win on Friday in Henderson, Nev.
The Lobos (2-0) opened up an 11-point lead by intermission and kept the Bruins at a distance throughout the second half.
New Mexico’s defense swarmed UCLA, swiping 12 steals — five of which Tru Washington produced. The Bruins committed 21 turnovers in total, which the Lobos turned into 21 points.
New Mexico committed 24 turnovers, but UCLA was only able to cash those in for 15 points. The Lobos also held advantages of 17-10 in fastbreak points and 36-24 for points in the paint.
The Lobos’ lead remained in double digits for most of the second half, swelling to as many as 16 points at various stretches. But after falling behind 66-50 with 7:12 remaining, the Bruins began chipping away at the deficit.
UCLA (1-1) went on a 9-2 run that spanned almost three minutes. That stretch coincided with Dent going to the locker room after falling awkwardly slipping on the floor.
Dent returned for the finishing stretch with his left leg heavily taped.
The Bruins had an opportunity to cut the gap to six points with less than two minutes remaining. Tyler Bilodeau, who scored a game-high 23 points to go along with his game-high 15 rebounds, missed an open 3-point look.
That was UCLA’s last gasp as New Mexico held on for the win.
CJ Noland scored 13 points for the Lobos, eight of which came from a perfect night shooting at the free-throw line.
Bilodeau was UCLA’s only scorer in double figures. Trent Perry had eight points, and Kobe Johnson and Skyy Clark each notched seven points.
Three members of the Bruins’ corps of key returning players from a season ago — Dylan Andrews, Sebastian Mack and Lazar Stefanovic — combined to score just eight points.
–Field Level Media
