Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
New Mexico 75, Marquette 68
When: 9:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 21, 2013
Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Officials: # Steve Olson, # Zelton Steed, # Ty Meixsell
Attendance: N/A

New Mexico 75, Marquette 68: Cullen Neal shot 6-for-8 from 3-point range and scored a season-high 24 points as the Lobos rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit at the MGM Grand Showcase in Las Vegas.

Cameron Bairstow added 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for New Mexico (8-3), which has struggled since opening the season ranked No. 20 in the coaches’ poll. Kendall Williams scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half and Deshawn Delaney added season highs of 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Lobos.

Jake Thomas scored a season-high 17 points to lead Marquette, which shot 36.4 percent from the field in the second half. Jamil Wilson added 15 points and Todd Mayo scored 10 off the bench for the Golden Eagles (7-5), who began the season ranked No. 17.

Marquette did a good job early on of keeping the ball out of the hands of the 6-8 Bairstow and 7-foot center Alex Kirk, who was limited to three points and five rebounds. Marquette’s seven-point halftime lead was still seven when Neal and Williams hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a 19-6 run that gave the Lobos a 53-47 lead with under 12 minutes remaining.

Marquette came back with nine straight points and the score remained close until New Mexico reserve guard Cleveland Thomas buried a long jumper with just under four minutes left for a 66-62 lead. Bairstow followed with another jumper with 1:32 left to extend the lead to six and Marquette never got it back to a one-possession game.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Neal, the son of head coach Craig Neal, started in place of Hugh Greenwood, who missed his second straight game with a right wrist injury. .. Davante Gardner came in averaging a team-high 14.4 points for Marquette but was limited to eight. … Bairstow has scored at least 20 points in five straight games.
Top Game Performances
 
Marquette   New Mexico
Jake Thomas 17 Scoring Cullen Neal 24
Derrick Wilson 3 Assists Cameron Bairstow 5
Juan Toscano-Anderson 6 Rebounds Cameron Bairstow 10
Jake Thomas 5 Free Throws Made Cameron Bairstow 8
Chris Otule 2 Steals Deshawn Delaney 2
Chris Otule 1 Blocks Alex Kirk 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Marquette 68 45.6 7-19 9-14 8 26 1 8 11
New Mexico 75 43.6 9-24 18-24 16 34 3 6 12