New Mexico
New Mexico wins title, leaves no doubt about NCAA berth — PHOTOS
There will be no more bubble talk about New Mexico’s men’s basketball team.
The Lobos are dancing.
They made sure of it Saturday by beating San Diego State 68-61 in the Mountain West tournament final before a raucous 11,112 at the Thomas & Mack Center.
With the victory, New Mexico clinched the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
It was impressive for many reasons, but none more than this: New Mexico, as the tournament’s sixth seed, became the first Mountain West side to win four games in four days to cut down the nets.
Tired legs? You would have never known it as they climbed a ladder.
The Lobos (26-9) snipped away strands because they made all the key plays over the final five minutes and received superb play from their talented backcourt.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Jaelen House combined for 49 points, hurting the Aztecs from the jump. House was especially good, totaling 28 points and five rebounds.
It wasn’t anything special down the stretch. The Lobos time and again ran House off balls screens and watched him drive the lane to create for himself or others. And when an initial shot was missed, the Lobos would gather one of their 15 offensive rebounds in the most timely of manners.
Donovan Dent, one of New Mexico’s best players, was limited to 13 minutes with the flu and didn’t score.
“It’s a testament to our toughness,” Mashburn said. “We never separated (this season). We continued to work through our struggles. We just kept going and staying on the same page all the time.
“It’s not over yet, but it’s great to get a championship. Our goal was to come here and win a championship and cut down nets, and we did that.”
And for No. 5 seed San Diego State (24-10), last year’s national runner-up, it was more of the same at this point in the event.
Consider: In the last 13 Mountain West tournaments, the Aztecs are 24-2 in the quarterfinals and semifinals but just 3-8 in the championship game. They have really struggled finishing things off here.
But metrics suggest San Diego State could be the highest-seeded team from the Mountain West when the NCAA Tournament bracket is announced Sunday.
A record six teams are expected to be chosen from the league, which had its most competitive season in conference history.
Whether or not the Aztecs have another magical run in them won’t be known until the madness commences.
“I don’t think our (players) get discouraged,” San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said. “They’re tough. They don’t make excuses. … You’re gong to have adversity. … I just think we have a toughness about us that you gain through experience, and that will show in March.
“We’re disappointed, and we should be. We wanted to hang a banner for another Mountain West title. But it didn’t happen.”
This part showed Saturday: San Diego State couldn’t convert when it mattered most. New Mexico had much to do with that.
The Aztecs took a 57-53 lead with 7:03 remaining but scored just four points the rest of the way, the Lobos ending things on a 15-4 run.
Jaedon LeDee led the Aztecs with 25 points and six rebounds.
Nothing was easy for either side. New Mexico shot 38 percent from the field and 30 percent on 3s; San Diego State shot just 36 percent and 20 percent on 3s.
It has also been awhile since the Thomas & Mack was this loud.
“And,” remarked one reporter, “had this much red in it.”
Ouch.
And when it was over, a massive roar from Lobo fans went up as their team celebrated on the floor, players spraying coach Richard Pitino with water and holding aloft their well-earned trophy.
“I took a chance when I took this job (three years ago),” Pitino said. “I did it because I wanted to be in a place where basketball is celebrated, where a community really cared about its basketball program. A lot comes with that. It can be hard sometimes.
“San Diego State is a program we have a lot of respect for. We had to raise our level of toughness and did that. … Our guys’ confidence never wavered. They came into this tournament truly believing they could win it, and they did.”
Four wins in four days.
Bubble that.
Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.
Grant’s Monday Night Forecast
A few evaporating rain showers are possible again Tuesday with warmer temperatures. Windier weather later this week will bring a high fire danger back to New Mexico.
It’s been a warm day with a few isolated showers and thunderstorms across central and northern New Mexico. Some of that rain has made it to the ground, while other showers have evaporated before reaching the surface. Temperatures have climbed into the 70s and 80s for most of the state. Showers will fade after sunset, with mostly clear skies overnight and mild temperatures.
Even warmer weather is on the way Tuesday with lighter winds. More areas will reach the 80s by the afternoon. A few spotty showers will develop again, especially near the mountains, with some of that rain evaporating before reaching the ground.
Winds pick up Wednesday afternoon, with gusts between 25 and 45 mph. This will begin another stretch of high fire danger across the state. The strongest winds arrive Thursday, with westerly gusts of 35 to 55 mph. That will expand the fire danger statewide. A dry cold front will move through Thursday as well, but temperatures will only drop slightly, ending up closer to average.
Breezy conditions continue Friday through the weekend as the jet stream pulls more moisture into New Mexico. That will bring increasing chances for rain and thunderstorms this weekend, with a few lingering into early next week.
New Mexico
Landlord AC ordinance, Rio Grande water levels, Spotty rain, New legislative office, New Mexico Motorfest
Monday’s Top Stories
Monday’s Five Facts
[1] ABQ City Councilor aims to bolster protections for renters amid unseasonable warmth – Albuquerque city councilor is looking to make sure city landlords are not only providing cooling systems, but also ensuring they actually work when they’re needed. City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn spearheaded an ordinance in December of 2024, requiring all Albuquerque rental properties to have a cooling system. Now, Fiebelkorn is taking it a step further, hoping to establish cooling system performance requirements. The ordinance is expected to be voted on in final action at Monday’s city council meeting.
[2] Rio Grande showing dry spots in Valencia County amid record-low snowpack – Portions of the Rio Grande are now seeing dry spots earlier than expected. Officials say the timing is not normal. In Valencia County, parts of the river are already running dry. Near the river crossing in Los Lunas, the river has open pockets. Further south, it is being reported as dry as well. There is a slight positive outlook for the monsoon season, with forecasters and officials predicting a strong season in the Middle Rio Grande Valley.
[3] Very spotty rainfall, warmer, & mostly calm week – Warmer weather will continue building in across the state throughout the upcoming week. A few isolated rain chances will return Monday in parts of New Mexico, but some of that rain may evaporate before reaching the ground. Temperatures will continue to increase through the middle of the week.
[4] NM representatives celebrate grand opening of new office with open house – A new state legislative office made its debut for representatives Eleanor Chavez and Yanira Gurrola. The new location is just one of the handful of new legislative offices now open across the state. They hosted a grand opening for the building that was open to the public. Representative Gurrola says it’s just one step towards modernizing the state’s legislature. The new office will allow residents to stay more connected to each representative.
[5] New Mexico Motorfest 2026 takes place in celebration of Route 66 Centennial – Another Route 66 celebration took place over the weekend and this one was all about cars. The New Mexico Motorfest happened at the Expo New Mexico racetrack. Over 300 vehicles from classic hot rods to lifted trucks were featured at the event. Some of the proceeds went to New Mexico veterans.
New Mexico
Los Alamos Public Schools Students Compete At 2026 New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair
Students from Barranca Mesa Elementary, Mountain Elementary, Los Alamos Middle School, and Los Alamos High School at the 2026 New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair at New Mexico Tech. Photo CourtesyLAPS
LAHS junior Tate Plohr and freshman Linus Plohr qualified to attend the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in May in Phoenix, Ariz. Photo Courtesy LAPS
Los Alamos Middle School student Branden Keller was awarded the CO2 & Greenhouse Gas Scholarship in the amount of $2,000 at the 2026 New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair. Photo Courtesy/LAPS
LAPS NEWS RELEASE
Twenty students from Barranca Mesa Elementary, Mountain Elementary, Los Alamos Middle School (LAMS) and Los Alamos High School (LAHS) competed, with several garnering awards at the 2026 New Mexico State Science and Engineering Fair held at New Mexico Tech in Socorro.
LAHS junior Tate Plohr qualified to attend the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) next month in Phoenix, Ariz. He was awarded the 3rd-place Grand Award. Freshman Linus Plohr qualified as an alternate and will also be attending the Regeneron ISEF.
Students who participated in the state competition include, from Barranca Mesa Elementary, Sydney Chen, Mary Beth Kelsey, Lily Neale, Aurora Roberts Voss and Henry Rodarte; and Glyn Lo and Ernest Maupin, Mountain Elementary.
Students from LAMS who competed include Evelyn Fobes, Mason Garcia, Andrew Gilbertson, James Junghans, Sequoya Ke, Brandon Keller, Nejan Liyanage and Daniel Yampolsky.
LAHS students Julia Neale, Linus Plohr, Tate Plohr, Lilia Veteva, Helena Welch and Kalliope Welch competed at the senior level.
2026 Award winners:
Category Awards – Junior Division
- Animal Science, Cellular & Molecular
- Biomedical & Health Science
- Honorable Mention: Sequoya Ke
- Embedded Systems, Math, Robotics, Software & Technology
- 2nd place: Nejan Liyanage
- Physics & Astronomy
- 1st place: Sydney Chen
- 2nd place: Mason Garcia
- Honorable Mention: Marybeth Kelsey
- Plant Science
Category Awards – Senior Division
- Behavioral & Social Science:
- Honorable Mention: Linus Plohr
- Earth & Environmental
- Honorable Mention: Lilia Viteva
- Embedded Systems, Math, Robotics, & System Software
- 3rd Place: Helena Welch and Kalliope Welch
- Physics & Astronomy
Grand Awards
- ISEF finalist 3rd place: Tate Plohr
- Brandon Keller received the CO2 & Greenhouse Gas Scholarship in the amount of $2,000. James Jungans and Marybeth Kelsey garnered Thermo Fisher Awards.
Other special award winners include:
- CO2 & Greenhouse Reduction Awards (Junior Division)
- Daniel Yampolsky, 2nd place, Earth & Environmental Sciences
- Sequoya Ke, 1st place, Biomedical & Health Science
- Brandon Keller, 1st place, Energy & Materials Science
- Andrew Gilbertson, 1st place, Physics & Astronomy
- CO2 & Greenhouse Gas Reduction Award (Senior Division)
- Lilia Viteva, 1st place, Earth & Environmental Sciences
- Office of Naval Research Award
- David Shortess Award
- New Mexico AVS Award
- Citadel Award
- Naval Research Award
- NM Network for Women in Science & Engineering Award
- Yale Science & Engineering Award
- Rose Baca Rivet Award
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