New Mexico needed a get-right game. On Wednesday, it got right.
Far from flawless, the Lobos did enough to put the four straight Christmastime losses behind them and opened the Mountain West slate with a 88-76 victory over Nevada at WisePies Arena.
Where UNM (8-6, 1-0 MW) excelled was in a 25-2 first-half run that followed a slow start. Down 9-7 at the first media timeout, the Lobos stalled Nevada’s offense without a field goal for 11 minutes.
Though not completely displeased with his team’s energy last week in Hawaii, head coach Craig Neal said the team lost some energy in those Diamond Head Classic games.