ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.(KRQE)-Paul Weir didn’t know what to expect as the University of New Mexico men’s basketball coach, going to play rival New Mexico State, the program he left for the Lobos. Weir was booed loudly. His Lobos also left Las Cruces defeated by the Aggies 75-56.
There were a couple of tense moments on the court with players bumping one another. One incident led to a technical foul for each team. Weir, who had security close by, got his own technical late in the game. NMSU first year coach Chris Jans used the slow down game to keep the high scoring Lobos grounded.
The Lobos went into the game with the nation’s highest scoring points per game offense at 125 points per game. That would not be the case Friday night as the Lobos watched the Aggies pound the glass to double them up on rebounds at 50 to 25. That lead to an advantage on second chance points for the Aggies who also won in that category 23 to 5.
Zach Lofton led all scorers as he finished with 28 points for the Aggies.Jemerio Jones only scored 7 points, but was a complete beast on the glass, pulling down 16 rebounds. The Lobos were led by Anthony Mathis, who scored 14 points on 4 of 5 shooting from the three point line. The loss was the first for the 2-1 Lobos. They will host Tennessee Tech Tuesday. The Aggies improved to 2-1 and will take on Colorado State Wednesday.