Here are some notes, quotes, trends, and other odds & ends I emptied out of the old notebook after Monday's 100-60 UNM Lobos win over Utah Tech in the Pit:
Tunde's big second half
Monday night might have been the Jake Hall show for Lobos basketball, but while the primary plan is (and will remain) to maximize Hall's scoring, Monday's 100-60 Lobos win over Utah Tech also showed the importance of something Eric Olen has emphasized heading into the season.
Yes, Jake Hall can score a lot of points this season, but the Lobos can't win if that's all that happens.
Case in point: Monday's half-by-half scoring comparison.
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FIRST HALF: Hall goes for 19 points in the first half and UNM leads 38-33 at halftime. No other Lobo scored in double figures.
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SECOND HALF: Hall scores another 11, but three other Lobos also have big scoring halves and the Lobos outscore the visiting Trailblazers 62-27 in the final 20.
TVF +1 @Tunde61086277 pic.twitter.com/YGm7Sc3wq8
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) November 3, 2026
Included in the second half scoring: Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi, the William & Mary transfer and Lobo Howl 3-point contest winner, scored 15 of his 17 points in the half and hit 4-of-6 3-pointers and things opened up like the parting of the seas for him after a 2-point first half.
He said the slower first half didn't change his mindset about the second half at all.
"Yeah, a couple of missed shots doesn't really affect me," Vahlberg Fasasi said. "I know what I'm capable of, and my teammates are and my coaches are confident in me shooting the ball. So if I think I have a good look, I'm going to shoot it every time."
TUNDE 2⃣‼️ pic.twitter.com/GzPKuVTnNo
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) November 3, 2026
And that's exactly what his teammates want, and the Lobos need, this season if they are to get back to the NCAA Tournament: Not just Jake Hall scoring a lot, but two or three others consistently scoring well into the double digits on a consistent basis.
And while Uriah Tenette (19 points) and Hudson Mayes (14) are going to be the regulars joining Hall in double figure scoring, it sounds like the Lobos also think Vahlberg Fasasi can be a fairly regular fourth.
"We have the ultimate confidence in him to make shots, and we've seen it all summer," Hall said of Vahlberg Fasasi's big night. "You guys are surprised, but we're not surprised at all. If we can get him eight 3s a game, every game, we're confident he's gonna hit four. You could ask anyone on the team."
The gamer
Here's the quick gamer I filed from the Pit on Monday:
• Jake Hall hits 30 as UNM routs Utah Tech
Jake is one of eight
Second-year guard Jake Hall scored 30 points on Monday.
Not a bad season debut for the preseason Mountain West Player of the Year who yours truly went ahead and wrote a feature about over the weekend suggesting Jake Hall might be in the running to lead the nation in scoring this season.
While he didn't tell me how many points he thought he'd average when he was on the Talking Grammer podcast last week, he did say he thought he could hit 130 3-pointers this season.
Here was his first of the season (129 to go):
Jake Hall has made a three.
It's officially college basketball season. pic.twitter.com/gYrsa7FZAB
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) November 3, 2026
He ended with three made 3s, so, I guess it's down to 127 to go.
Jake Hall's stat line Monday
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Points: 30
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2-point FG: 6-9 (66.7%)
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3-point FG: 3-10 (30.0%)
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FTs: 9-11 (81.8%)
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Fouls drawn: 5
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Rebounds: 3
His 30 points made him one of eight Lobos to score 30 or more in a season opener.
Another @jake_hall7 classic #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/uBPH1VMlt9
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) November 3, 2026
Lobos scoring 30 points in a season opener:
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35 points — Vladimir McCrary vs. UT Arlington (1990-91)
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31 points — Lamont Long vs. USC (1997-98)
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31 points — Ron Becker vs. Cal State Northridge (1969-70)
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30 points — Jake Hall vs. Utah Tech (2026-27)
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30 points — Jaelen House vs. Florida Atlantic (2021-22)
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30 points — Canonchet Neves vs. New Mexico Highlands (1992-93)
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30 points — Steve Logan vs. Idaho State (1991-92)
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30 points — Mel Daniels vs. Midwestern State (1956-66)
"I felt like it was in the flow (of the offense)," Hall said about his 30 points coming. "I felt like I really liked my matchup, and I could really get them off the bounce. And when they switched, they started switching some of the ball screens and peel switching late. So I just I liked my matchups and knew I could get them."
First @jake_hall7 crowd pop of the year pic.twitter.com/Tpjj1zzDej
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) November 3, 2026
Steve Kirkland Stat of the Night
In the return of world-famous Steve Kirkland Stat of the Night from UNM men's hoops sports information guru Steve Kirkland...
Monday night concluded the shortest offseason in D men's basketball history.
Not only was last season's April 2, NIT semifinal loss to Tulsa the latest in the calendar the Lobos had ever played a game, but Monday's Nov. 2 opener against Utah Tech was the earliest in the calendar the Lobos had ever played a regular season game.
That's 214 days, for those scoring at home.
And another
Steve Kirkland had plenty of great notes in his postgame recap on GoLobos and shared with me in the media room, but I had to go with the calendar note above for the world-famous SKSOTN.
But here's another good one Steve shared...
The 62-second-half points the Lobos scored were the most in a half vs. a Division I opponent since scoring 64 in the second half at Wyoming in a 119-114 victory on Feb. 18, 2020.
Six Lobos scored in double figures in that game, including three with 20 or more: Troy Simons and Sam Logwood each with 24 and Makuach Maluach with 20.
Oh, brother
When Dax Hall checked into the game at the 13:45 mark of the first half on Monday night (ironically for Jake Hall), he and Jake Hall became the first brothers to play in the same game for the Lobos since Darrell and Andre McGee in the 1989-90 season.
Jake and Dax played together on Monday, too, but not until the second half.
Brothers Kevin and Kallai Patton were on last year's Lobos roster, but Kallai sat out the season with an injury and never played.
Both Halls were pretty instant offense, albeit in very different ways.
Jake Hall scored his first points of the season — a 3-pointer — with 17:56 on the clock in the first half, and he scored eight of UNM's first 14 points.
Dax Hall, after checking in at the 13:45 mark, hit a floater of the glass with 11:50 on the clock, breaking a 5-minute, 3-second field goal drought by UNM. He then added an assist to a driving Hudson Mayes on the next possession.
Here's that assist:
Huddy ➡️ @hudson_mayes pic.twitter.com/uEntxGY5eU
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) November 3, 2026
Dax Hall ended up with six points, a game-high four assists, and two steals in 23:15 on the floor.
Soon they will know... Dax Hall is a BUCKET pic.twitter.com/Wh1jMptVzw
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) November 3, 2026
A number to know: 24
UNM has now won 24 consecutive home openers, a streak that dates back to Nov. 23, 2002, with a 76-68 loss to Cal.
Here are a couple more notes updated on the season opener front after Monday:
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The Lobos improve to 55-5 in home openers in the Pit in this, the arena's 60th season.
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The 40-point margin of victory was the largest in an opener for UNM since a 147-76 win over NAIA Northern New Mexico on Nov. 11, 2017, and the largest against a fellow Division I opponent since a 92-40 win over New Orleans on Nov. 11, 2011.
Stealing the show
The Lobos' 10 steals — five (!) from Chris Howell — helped get them to their 23 points scored off turnovers.
Last year, the Lobos had double-digit steals just three times in 37 games played. Interestingly enough, they only went 1-2 in those games.
They were:
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13 at San Diego State on Jan. 17 (SDSU won, 83-79)
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11 vs. Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 14 (UNM won, 75-59)
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10 vs. San Diego State on March 13 (UNM lost, 64-62)
The swipe from Howell ➡️ the from Tenette pic.twitter.com/R2fpKlD4yH
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) November 3, 2026
Patchwork
Nusenda Credit Union is already the $17 million/10 year naming rights sponsored of the Pit (That's "The Pit Powered by Nusenda" if you're writing for UNM).
No other local business is currently stepping up with that sort of investment, and Monday they announced they're throwing on another six-figures (that's as specific an amount as UNM would say the deal is) to be the jersey patch sponsors for the rest of the sports year (not next year, and not for the already playing fall sports, including No. 22 UNM Lobos football team).
Here's a look, and my story:
• UNM, Nusenda unveil new Pit signage, announce jersey patch partnership for rest of sports year
The cautious approach
Senior Rytis Petraitis missed Monday's game with an ankle sprain that Olen said is still not considered serious, but also couldn't commit to whether the transfer from Cal, who started the first exhibition game for the Lobos against Oklahoma State, will be back Saturday against Northern Arizona. He's missed three consecutive games.
St. John's transfer forward Imran Suljanovic suited up and was available on Monday, but did not play after having been limited in some recent practices with tendinitis. He played in all three preseason games and should be available moving forward.
Triple kill shot opener
It took until the second half, but the Lobos got their first kill shot — a one-sided scoring run of 10-0 or better in a game — with Uriah Tenette's 3-point play with 19:15 left in the game.
Then they got another.
And another.
It was a triple-kill shot second half for the Lobos.
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10-0 — Game tied 33-33 with 1:41 left in the first half. UNM scored the final five points of the first half and the first five of the second half for a 43-33 lead.
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13-0 — UNM led 57-44 with 14:06 left in the game and then turned the score into 70-44 on a Chris Howell free throw with 11:36 remaining.
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10-0 — UNM turned a 70-46 lead into an 8-46 lead with 8:18 left on a Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi 3-pointer.
That 13-0 and second 10-0 runs were the bookends of a larger 23-2 scoring run for the Lobos.
Jake Hall podcast
Episode 131 of the Talking Grammer podcast, recorded late last week, is a 45-minute conversation with Lobos shooting guard Jake Hall about the season ahead, the reason he's back at UNM, living with his younger brother/teammate Dax Hall, and his habit of keeping receipts on any and every perceived slight of his game that comes his way.
For you audio podcast listeners, subscribe to the Talking Grammer podcast wherever you get your shows now. To watch the podcast, it's available on the Journal's YouTube page, or HERE:
For starters...
After Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi hadn't started in the preseason, he got the opening-night start thanks to his own play in preseason as much as his fit alongside starting "5" spot player Federico Grani, who got the starting nod over freshman big man Fynn Lastring, the much better offensive weapon, but still very raw in terms of rebounding and defense.
Olen explains:
"Federico has been playing really well, and so we wanted to put him in the starting lineup," Olen said. "And so then, Toons (Vahlberg Fasasi) is a little better complement with his shooting next to Federico versus Fynn. Kind of provides a lot of shooting, so it's not always like each person. It's more like the collective group and how they fit. So it was kind of like the pair of them we felt like made sense in this matchup."
The game before the game
UNM's managers are off to a 1-0 start to the season in manager game hoops with an impressive 109-71 win over Utah Tech's managers on Sunday night in the Pit.
College Basketball is back and so is @ManagerGames_
Lobos start of the season with a 109-71 win against Utah Tech pic.twitter.com/AJJOZOz5de
— UNM MBB Managers (@UNMMBBManagers) November 2, 2026
Those costly freebies
The Lobos were 19-of-24 (79.2%) from the free throw line on Monday.
That's above the national average, but not so good or bad that it's worth a mention in ETN other than the fact that in UNM's two home exhibition games, groaning Lobo fans were growing worried as UNM went a combined 24-of-46 (52.2%) in its two home exhibition games (vs. Washington State and vs. Arizona State).
Olen pretty much said after the ASU game he wasn't worried about it. Monday sort of shows why. This isn't a bad free throw shooting team — we'll see if this jinxed them into being one now. Just two back-to-back bad exhibition games.
Attendance...
The announced attendance for Monday's Utah Tech at New Mexico game in the Pit: 10,858
Announced attendance for Utah Tech vs the UNM Lobos in the Pit on Monday night: 10,858 pic.twitter.com/sLUs8mzNAD
— Geoff Grammer (@GeoffGrammer) November 3, 2026
Series notes
UNM is now 2-0 all time vs. Utah Tech.
The first meeting came in the wild COVID season of 2021 when UT was still known as Dixie State. UNM beat Dixie State (now Utah Tech) 72-63 behind a 17-point, six-rebound, and four-blocked-shot game from guard Saquan Singleton.
Rod Brown added eight points, 12 rebounds for UNM; Makuach Maluach had 12 points, and Isaiah Marin scored 13 in 15 minutes off the bench. The Lobos blocked 11 shots in that game.
That game was played in St. George, Utah, where UNM stayed for about a week and used Dixie State's gym and facilities to practice while both playing the Trailblazers and UNLV (twice) in a season they weren't allowed to practice in the state of New Mexico due to state health restrictions. St. George, Utah, and Las Vegas, Nevada, are about 120 miles apart.
Plus/minus...
Here are the plus/minus numbers for Monday's game with minutes in parentheses:
NEW MEXICO
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+33 Benjamin Schuch (19:54)
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+30 Uriah Tenette (29:30)
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+30 Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi (31:52)
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+26 Jake Hall (27:15)
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+26 Chris Howell (22:41)
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+24 Dax Hall (23:15)
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+18 Federico Grani (12:22)
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+16 Hudson Mayes (23:23)
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-3 Fynn Lastring (9:48)
UTAH TECH
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-4 Boston Harker (5:03)
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-6 Dallin Grant (2:46)
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-7 Samuel Ariyibi (13:37)
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-12 Aaron Bliss (10:28)
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-24 Preson Vandermyde (19:53)
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-26 Owen Mackay (30:06)
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-28 Ethan Potter (29:32)
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-29 Aris Rodriguez (27:34)
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-31 Christian Gibson (30:28)
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-33 Mark Brown Jr. (30:33)
Line 'em up...
The UNM Lobos played nine players and used 16 unique lineup combinations on Monday. The Trailblazers played 10 players and used 18 unique lineup combinations.
Here's a look at some of the Lobos lineup combinations, starting with the starters.
The first starting 5️⃣ of the season! #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/ZbrP9xQHU8
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) November 3, 2026
STARTING LINEUP
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WHO: Uriah Tenette, Jake Hall, Hudson Mayes, Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi, Federico Grani
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POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +7 (13-6)
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TIME ON COURT: 5:35
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NOTE: You don't want to see your starting five have three turnovers in just about five and a half minutes on the court together like Monday's starting unit did, but overall this was a fine grouping. Plus-7 in that same five and a half minutes is pretty darn good.
Also, as noted in a note earlier, don't get used to the same starting five each game. That '4' and '5' spot could be a constantly moving dance for Olen and staff this season trying to matchup up those spots game to game.
BEST LINEUP (part 1)
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WHO: Uriah Tenette, Jake Hall, Chris Howell, Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi, Benjamin Schuch
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POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +11 (25-14)
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TIME ON COURT: 8:47
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NOTE: This is the unit that ended the first half and started the second half for the Lobos — something that actually worked tremendously well for Eric Olen, even if the coach admitted it was really more forced on him due to foul trouble than entirely some strategic decision.
BEST LINEUP (part 2)
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WHO: Uriah Tenette, Dax Hall, Hudson Mayes, Chris Howell, Benjamin Schuch
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POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +11 (11-0)
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TIME ON COURT: 2:20
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NOTE: Much smaller sample size, but 2.2 points per possession for this group is hard to ignore.
WORST LINEUP
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WHO: Uriah Tenette, Dax Hall, Hudson Mayes, Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi, Fynn Lastring
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POINT DIFFERENTIAL: -9 (2-11)
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TIME ON COURT: 2:50
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NOTE: I know it was just under 3 minutes of play, but when you have a grouping of players that goes minus-9 and you end up winning by 40 points, well... yeah. UNM outscored the Trailblazers 98-49 in the time this group wasn't on the floor.
VIDEO: Eric Olen, Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi and Jake Hall
Here's the postgame presser with Eric Olen, Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi and Jake Hall that I posted to the Journal's YouTube page:
Pregame from the Pit
Here's a look back at the pregame show, for those interested in watching/hearing how wrong I probably was about everything that was about to happen in the game.
Meanwhile, in Boulder...
A couple of familiar faces led their teams in scoring on Monday night in Boulder, where another familiar face — former UNM Athletic Director Fernando Lovo — is now running the Buffaloes athletics department.
Former Los Lunas High and Albuquerque Prep player Jalin Holland led Colorado with 18 points and six rebounds in a 94-59 thumping of visiting Abilene Christian. The Wildcats, meanwhile, were led by former Lobo Timeo Pons with 13 points on 5-14 shooting.
career-high 13 points and counting for @jalin_h10 pic.twitter.com/tkaE5viEt0
— Colorado Men's Basketball (@CUBuffsMBB) November 3, 2026
Around the Mountain...
Around the Mountain …There were eight Mountain West teams in action on Monday's opening day of college basketball. Here's a look at the league's scores and upcoming games this week:
MONDAY
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Northern Kentucky 84, UTEP 76
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San Jose State 95, UTSA 74
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Wright State 102, Air Force 71
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Grand Canyon 103, Texas Southern 79
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New Mexico 100, Utah Tech 60
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North Alabama 79, UC Davis 75
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Hawaii 74, Seattle 73
TUESDAY
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Division II Regis University at Wyoming, 6:30 p.m. MT (MW+)
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Northern Arizona at UNLV, 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT (MW+)
THURSDAY
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NAIA Calumet College of St. Joseph at Air Force, 6:30 p.m. MT (MW+)
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DII Menlo College at UC Davis, 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT (MW+)
FRIDAY
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Idaho State at Wyoming, 6:30 p.m. MT (MW+)
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NCCAA Bethesda University at Hawaii, 7 p.m. HT/10 p.m. MT (MW+)
SATURDAY
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Samford at UNLV, 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT (MW+)
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Northern Arizona at New Mexico, 4 p.m. MT (MW+)
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Bethune-Cookman at Grand Canyon, 6 p.m. MT (MW+)
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San Jose State at UC Irvine, 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT (ESPN+)
SUNDAY
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Idaho State at Air Force, 1 p.m. MT (MW+)
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Saint Mary's vs Nevada in Tahoe, 1:30 p.m. PT/2:30 p.m. MT (MW+)
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Incarnate Word at UTEP, 4 p.m. MT (MW+)
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UT Arlington at Hawaii, 6 p.m. HT/9 p.m. MT (MW+)
Stats and stats...
Here is the postgame stat sheet I posted after Monday's game: New Mexico 100, Utah Tech 60
Final stat sheet: UNM 100, Utah Tech 60 pic.twitter.com/WnnCLugpgy
— Geoff Grammer (@GeoffGrammer) November 3, 2026
And if you prefer the digital version, here you go: New Mexico 100, Utah Tech 60
Up next
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For New Mexico: The Lobos host Northern Colorado at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Pit in a game being streamed on the MW+.
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For Utah Tech: The Trailblazers host non-Division I Grace University on Wednesday back home in St. George, Utah.
Geoff Grammer is the Sports Editor of the Journal, a podcaster, columnist, and covers UNM Lobos basketball, among other things. Reach him at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.
More UNM Lobos men's basketball coverage
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