HENDERSON, Nev. — Donovan Dent had 17 points and eight assists, Nelly Junior Joseph added 16 points and 12 rebounds for his 45th career double-double, and New Mexico beat No. 22 UCLA 72-64 on Friday night in the Las Vegas Hoopfest.
Tyler Bilodeau, a transfer from Oregon State, had 23 points and 15 rebounds for UCLA (1-1), which opened its season with an 85-50 win over Rider on Monday.
It was New Mexico’s first win against a ranked team in nonconference play since beating current UCLA coach Mick Cronin while he was at Cincinnati during the 2012-13 season.
New Mexico turned good defense into offense by scoring 21 points off 21 UCLA turnovers.
The Lobos held the Bruins to 1-for-9 shooting from the field over the first seven minutes of the second half to help extend its 11-point halftime lead to 49-33.
New Mexico’s 11th steal led to Tru Washington’s fast-break dunk for a 58-43 cushion. The Lobos led by at least eight the rest of the way.
Dent slipped on the court with 7:52 remaining on an inbounds pass with the Lobos leading 62-48. He went to the locker room and UCLA took advantage by switching to a pressure defense while New Mexico’s star point guard was out. Dent returned at the 5:39 mark with a wrap on his left leg and scored on his first offensive possession to restore a double-digit lead at 68-57.
CJ Noland added 13 points for the Lobos (2-0). Junior Joseph was one of three New Mexico players with a double-double in a season-opening victory over Nicholls on Monday.
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New Mexico stayed hot in Nevada. The game was played at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, just minutes from where the Lobos beat San Diego State 68-61 in the championship game of the Mountain West Conference Tournament last season at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
UCLA returns home to face Boston University on Monday.