ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico held off every rally from UC Irvine in the second half in a 78-65 victory over the Anteaters at The Pit in the non-conference finale. 

In the first-ever meeting between the schools, the Lobos (11-1) never surrendered their halftime lead, out-scoring UCI, 45-38 in the final 20 minutes.   

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Guard Justin Hohn led the Anteaters with 14 points, including four three-pointers
> Guards Andre Henry and Derin Saran each added nine points
> Pierre Crockrell II dished six assists, a game best, to go with six points
> Dean Keeler and Ofure Ujadughele shared the team lead in rebounds, grabbing six
> Carter Welling blocked a career best three shots in 14 minutes
> Once again, UCI's bench was solid scoring 25 points to UNM's 19
> New Mexico's Jaelen House led all players with 20 points, hitting 5-16 from the floor and 9-9 from the line  

FIRST HALF
> New Mexico started quickly with the first six points of the game before the Anteaters got on the board with a Carter Welling layup and lay-in from Devin Tillis, 6-3
> A three-pointer and layup by Derin Saran was followed by a hook shot by Hayden Welling to put the Anteaters in front 10-8 at 13:33
> Devin Tillis knocked down two free throws before Justin Hohn drained a three-pointer to take a 21-18 lead at 8:05
> UCI held the 23-20 advantage with 5:46 to play, but watched UNM out-score the Anteaters 13-4 to end the half, 33-27 

SECOND HALF
> Pierre Crockrell II cut the Lobo lead to four (38-34) at 16:40
> In a span of 2:19, New Mexico outscored UCI 13-1 to take a 54-37 lead at 12:11
> UCI rallied on seven straight points with two free throws by Ofure Ujadughele and a three-pointer and layup by Justin Hohn, 56-45 (10:10)
> The Lobos answered with the next five only to watch Saran hit a three then a driving layup on a dish by Hohn at 6:58, 61-50
> Another three by Hohn drew UCI within 10, (64-54, 5:12) only before New Mexico scored the next seven to extend their advantage back to 71-54 at 3:16
> C. Welling's layup narrowed the margin to 12 with 1:00 to play,
> A three by New Mexico was followed by a pair of free throws by Andre Henry that closed out the scoring, 78-65  

NOTES
> UCI closes out the non-conference schedule with a 7-5 mark
> New Mexico extended its winning streak to 10 and are 24-1 in non-conference play over last two years

UP NEXT
The Anteaters kick off Big West action at home inside the Bren Events Center at 7 p.m. on Thursday Dec. 28.