Henderson, NV — Game One of the Jack Jones Classic saw the Santa Clara Broncos take on the New Mexico Lobos. Junior forward Johnny O’Neil made a layup to put the Broncos ahead by one, but it was the Lobos the rest of the first half, building a 20-point lead at halftime and never looking back. The Lobos would roll to a 93-76 victory, improving to 9-1, while the Broncos dropped to 7-3. How New Mexico built their lead was the story of the first half.
Santa Clara did themselves no favors, committing 14 turnovers, including multiple turnovers off inbound passes, or shortly after getting the ball inbounds. Neither team were making many shots from distance, going a combined 3-of-14 from beyond the arc. New Mexico dominated in the paint, holding a 30-4 advantage in the first half and finishing the game with 56 for a +32 differential. Senior center Nelly Junior Joseph picked up his third personal foul with 2:35 remaining, but it did not affect the Lobos from outrebounding the Broncos 22-13 (including nine offensive). Graduate guards Jaelen House Jr. and Jemarl Baker Jr. were tied for the team lead in points with nine apiece.
The second half started off with more of the same for both teams, but with a lot more emotion. House Jr. got called for a technical foul after he felt he was fouled on a drive to the basket less than two minutes into the second half and picked up his fourth personal just seven seconds later. Richard Pitino, the New Mexico head coach, would be called for the Lobos’ second technical of the half arguing a foul call that went against his team. Unfortunately, Santa Clara could not stop turning the ball over, finishing with 26 turnovers. New Mexico continued to pound it in the paint and got two more threes to fall.
For Santa Clara, they were much better from the charity stripe (26-of-30) than New Mexico (23-of-33), including a perfect 8-of-8 from junior guard Adama-Alpha Bal, who would finish as the Broncos’ second-leading scorer with 13 points. Junior forward Cameron Tongue was the only other Bronco to reach double digits, providing a spark with 16 points off the bench.
For New Mexico, sophomore guard Donovan Dent was the first Lobo in double digits with 11:47 remaining in the second half, but four other players would finish with double digits – freshman forward JT Toppin (11 points), graduate guard Jemarl Baker Jr. (17), graduate forward Isaac Mushila (11) and freshman guard Tru Washington (11).
New Mexico will head back to their home state to take on in-state rival New Mexico State December 15th at 7:00 p.m. local time. Santa Clara will return home face off against Utah State University, also 7:00 p.m. local time.
This article was written by Mason McFee, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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