Lobos Find the Sweet Spot: Mid-Range Jumpers and Lockdown Defense Fuel UNM Men’s Basketball’s Blowout Win Over GCU
New Mexico’s Deyton Albury (1) drives to the basket against Grand Canyon’s Dusty Stromer (8) at The Pit in Albuquerque, NM on January 13th, 2026. Photo: Chris Rodarte/Game Pass Media
It wasn’t Jake Hall burying 3-pointers, and it was not Tomislav Buljan scoring inside.
Against the big, physical Grand Canyon Lopes, UNM men’s basketball turned to mid-range jumpers and trips to the free throw line to break a 40-40 tie early in the second half, and then cruise to a 87-64 win over GCU (10-6) in the Pit on Tuesday.
“We knew it was going to be a challenge to get all the way to the rim out of some of the ball screens the way we would like to normally,” Eric Olen said. They peel switch if you get too much depth and get some separation. Jake and Uriah both knew that some mid-range jump shots would be there.”
Hall and Tenette led UNM with 22 and 14 points, but only shot a combined six 3-pointers in this game, one of them being another vintage Uriah Tenette half-time buzzer beater which he has done a few times this season.
But for the majority of the game, after beating the first defender off the dribble, Hall and Tenette pulled up for mid-range jumpers more against Grand Canyon than they have all season long. The Lobos only shot five 3-pointers as a team in the second half.
“Prepping for this game, they told us that (GCU) would be in that drop coverage,” Tenette said. “(The coaches) specifically told me and Jake that (mid-range) pull-up was going to be there, and we got to take advantage of that, so that’s what we did tonight.”
The Lobos also lived at the free throw line in the second half, shooting 24 free throws and drawing 14 GCU fouls compared to UNM committing 9, which ended up getting Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew ejected from the game after he received two technical fouls mid-way through the second half.
UNM got balanced scoring with Luke Haupt and Deyton Albury both scoring 11 points. Buljan was in foul trouble for most of the game and finished with only 5 points and 4 rebounds, but JT Rock played 20 minutes off the bench in his absence and finished with 13 points, three rebounds, and a career high four blocked shots, the most by a Lobo this season.
“We really talked about hitting first and being relentless in our physicality,” Rock said. “It was a really physical basketball game. We came out and did what we needed to do and won that battle.”
GCU was led by by Jaden Henley and Makaih Williams who scored 17 and 13 points. After a back and forth first half where UNM led 38-33 at the break, UNM’s defense clamped down in the second half, and forced the Lopes into shooting 28% from the field and 21% from the 3-point line.
While Henley got to his season average, he only took four shots in the second half. Williams’ 13 points came off 16 shots. UNM’s defense held Grand Canyon’s front court of seven-footer Efe Demirel and 6-foot-8 power forward Nana Owusu-Anane to six points on a combined 1-of-14 shooting from the field.
“Didn’t feel like they were getting a lot of clean looks,” Olen said. “I thought we did a nice job of protecting the paint…I thought they shot the ball well (in the first half). They made some shots that from our perspective we feel like we can live with.”
UNM’s home winning streak extends to twenty-one games. The Lobos will travel on the road to San Diego State on Saturday for their biggest conference test of the season.
“We’re excited to play a really good basketball team,” Olen said. “They’re undefeated in the conference. They’re ahead of us. It’s a Quad 1 opportunity. They’re a fantastic program. (We) have a ton of respect for Coach Dutcher and that staff. We could play them anywhere and I think everybody would be excited about that opportunity.”
