Prior to their 119th meeting on January 14, the biannual men’s basketball battles between the New Mexico Lobos and Colorado State Rams had been relatively benign affairs, with the Lobos holding a decided advantage in the series. However, that changed when in-game conflicts managed to spill into the parking lot of Colorado State’s Moby Arena.
The Lobos won the Mountain West Conference contest, 84-71, though that was overshadowed by the continued jawing during the contest. A major spark in the ensuing conflict was lit by a pair of incidents during the final six minutes. The first was a flashy dunk by New Mexico that boosted their lead to 19 with 5:53, while the latter incident saw the Lobos’ Joe Furstinger level Rams guard J.