New Mexico's (15-10,8-4) stingy defense coupled with a second-half surge allowed them to pull away from San Jose State (8-17,3-10).
New Mexico came out with a quick pace that earned them a couple of trips to the foul line, but it was San Jose State that jumped out to a 12-7 lead with 14:30 to go in the first half behind two threes from Frank Rogers. However, Dane Kuiper came in and knocked down a corner three that gave UNM a 15-14 lead to cap an 8-2 run. However, neither team seemed able to pull away from the other, with a 23-23 tie at 6:30 in the first half.