ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Montana State held a four-point lead in the second half but New Mexico rode the wave of its crowd to regain its advantage and eventually earned an 81-78 non-conference men's basketball victory over the Bobcats on Saturday, Nov. 20, in The Pit. 
 
MSU went down eight on two occasions in the second half but found its footing in the middle of the period. Trailing 60-53 with 10:13 remaining, the Bobcats went on an 11-0 run over a nearly three-minute run to take a four-point lead. MSU held a 66-62 edge with six minutes left after a Jubrile Belo dunk. 
 
However, the Lobos scored six straight points to jump back into the lead 68-66 and get the crowd of over 9,000 back into a frenzy. A field goal by Abdul Mohamed tied things up with just under four minutes remaining, but Jamal Mashburn Jr. connected on a shot on the Lobos' ensuing possession. New Mexico wouldn't trail again. 
 
The Lobos went up by as many as five but the Bobcats still had multiple opportunities to tie the score towards the end of regulation.
 
Trailing 77-75 with 32 seconds to go, MSU forced a missed shot but a Lobo offensive rebound led to a Bobcat foul and two New Mexico free throws. MSU's RaeQuan Battle hit a 3-pointer with just seconds remaining to cut the deficit to two again and the Bobcats' ensuing foul sent New Mexico's KJ Jenkins to the line. Jenkins would make the first, but miss the second. The Bobcats' three-fourths court final shot fell short.
 
The Lobos were led by Mashburn's 21 points, while Gethro Muscadin scored 18 points and had 10 rebounds as New Mexico improved to 3-1.
 
Both teams shot 47% from the field, but New Mexico went to the line and made 22 of 29 free throws, while Montana State connected on 16 of 19 at the charity stripe. The Lobos held a 15-12 edge in turnovers. 
 
The Bobcats had five double-digit scorers and were paced by Tyler Patterson's career-high 16 points. Jubrile Belo registered 15 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes of action. Xavier Bishop led MSU with five assists. 
 
Montana State returns on Friday, Nov. 26, when the Bobcats play the first of three games in San Antonio at the Cardinal Thanksgiving Invitational against Portland.