New Mexico basketball overwhelms Colorado State in second-half of Mountain West battle

Posted by author February 6, 2025 Basketball

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The surge came and Colorado State had no answer.

With just shy of 13 minutes to go in Wednesday’s game at The Pit the Rams had a one-point lead.

The New Mexico men’s basketball team responded in force. The Lobos used the final 12 minutes to go on a monster push.

The team intro before games ends with “a mile high and louder than…” and fans yell “hell!” in response. That call-out comes from surges like this where the team and crowd feed energy into each other.

New Mexico took a tight game and turned it into a blowout final of 87-65 for the Lobos.

CSU led 50-49 with 12:51 to go and the Rams were outscored 38-15 the rest of the way.

Here are takeaways from the game.

Limited Kyan Evans time costly for Colorado State

CSU’s shooting was way off-kilter save for one person: Kyan Evans.

The sophomore point guard looked composed offensively in the hostile environment and hit six of his first eight shots (for 14 points).

The problem? The whistle. Evans had two fouls at halftime, then picked up a hand-check for his third 18 seconds into the second half. Then his fourth foul came trying to draw a charge with 17:47 still left in the game.

“I thought he really came to play tonight. I thought he was really getting in the lane, he was creating, he was being aggressive,” CSU coach Niko Medved said. “I thought that really hurt our team and our rhythm.”

He had to sit for almost 10 minutes. It was 37-35 New Mexico when Evans left. The Rams briefly took a lead a couple times with him out, but New Mexico runs right when he went out and again before he came back saw the Lobo lead push to double-digits (64-54).

Evans returned with 8:25 to go but New Mexico had built its lead by then. Evans fouled out in the final seconds, ending with 15 points.

Colorado State stars struggle

It’s tough to win at New Mexico no matter what. A road win at The Pit requires big performance from the top players.

Nique Clifford was off-kilter with his shot, even missing a dunk in the first half. At one point Niko Medved called Clifford to the bench during a break and told him to take a deep breath and the coach parted with a pat on the chest.

CSU’s star never got going, though. He shot 3-15 overall and 1-8 from 3-point range. Clifford’s final line was nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

CSU senior Jalen Lake equally struggled, shooting 1-8 overall and 0-4 from 3-point range. He scored four points.

“You give credit to the defense, too, and those guys being at the top of the scouting report. I think they would also say they had plenty of opportunities that they should have cashed in on,” Medved said. “That’s life, man. That’s basketball. These guys have been through it before. They’ll respond.”

Donovan Dent makes his case for Mountain West Player of the Year

Some billed the game as a battle between Dent and Clifford in the Mountain West Player of the Year race.

One game was never going to dictate the outcome, but it was a marquee moment with two top players on the floor. As stated above, Clifford struggled.

Dent likewise was off in the first half, shooting 1-7. But he came alive after the break.

Dent quickly hit his first three shots of the second half with his mid-range game catching life.

The highlight moment for Dent came with a flying block of a Keshawn Williams 3-pointer that ended in a fastbreak bucket for New Mexico to get the lead to double-digits in the second half.

Dent shot 7-11 in the second half and finished with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists. It was a statement performance after inexplicably being left off the Bob Cousy Award watch list (given to college basketball’s best point guard) this week.

“I think it’s the biggest crime in college basketball that he’s not on the Cousy list,” Medved said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time and that kid’s playing at an elite level. Once he starts getting control of the game it’s difficult.”

New Mexico continues to make claim to win Mountain West

This could have been a bit of a letdown game for the Lobos after a big win over the weekend at Utah State.

The Lobos did start slow but responded well to CSU’s early push.

New Mexico looks a clear class of the Mountain West right now.

The 52-point second half showed the fury New Mexico can hit a team with. This is what the Lobos do. New Mexico out-scored Utah State (in Logan) 52-27 in the second half over the weekend to take control of the league.

It’s far from just the Dent show.

Big man Nelly Junior Joseph had 18 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. CJ Noland was 7-7 from the field (and 3-3 from 3-point range) for 19 points.

“They started hitting tough shots, the crowd got into it and it kind of just got away from us,” Evans said. “They’re definitely a tough guard. They have a lot of good guys that can put the ball in the hoop.”

CSU now falls two games back of New Mexico, plus the Lobos own the tiebreak with a 2-0 season sweep. A run to the Mountain West regular season title seems unlikely now.

The Rams must respond quickly with a home game against San Diego State at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8. Then CSU plays at Utah State next week.

CSU is in a battle for one of the top spots in the league.

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.