ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. _ Well, at least the student made the midcourt shot in the halftime promotion. He gets free car washes for a year.
Maybe he can bring along New Mexico's basketball team, to cleanse the stench from one of the worst home losses in the history of the famed, feared, formidable, ferocious Pit.
Because that's what No. 4-ranked and still undefeated San Diego State did to the short-handed Lobos on Wednesday night, winning 85-57 after racing to leads of 17-0, 30-9, 48-25 (at the half) and 65-30 _ in a place where New Mexico was 13-0 this season and where the Aztecs had lost their previous three visits.
Those weren't hooooowls you heard from Lobos fans. They were boooos.
The worst loss in the 53-year history of the Pit remains an 86-50 spanking against Utah in 1995. The Aztecs (22-0, 11-0) threatened to surpass it, leading by 35 with 13 minutes to go before New Mexico (16-7, 5-5) "closed" to the upper-20s.
But this had to be a record: SDSU media relations staffer Richard Stern was passing out postgame notes with 11:24 to go.
The lead note: "San Diego State is the only team in the nation to hand three different teams its only home loss of the season (BYU, Utah State and New Mexico)."
Of course, Stern could have safely passed out the notes after 4{ minutes.
SDSU's first nine possessions: KJ Feagin 3, turnover, Yanni Wetzell layup, Matt Mitchell layup, Feagin 3, Mitchell 3-point play, Wetzell layup, miss, Mitchell 3.
New Mexico's first nine possessions: air ball, missed fast-break layup, miss, turnover, miss, miss, miss, miss, miss.
Fans in the Pit have a tradition of standing until the home team scores. They didn't sit down until the clock read 15:16.
At the final media timeout, with 3:39 to go, the announced crowd of 13,241 _ the largest for an Aztecs road game this season _ looked closer to 3,241.
The most impressive part?
Leading scorer Malachi Flynn didn't take a shot until it was 20-2, then got in foul trouble and didn't score until 2:40 remained in the first half. And Wetzell also was in foul trouble and logged only 11 first-half minutes (and four points). And SDSU was whistled for 10 fouls to three against New Mexico. And the Lobos had six steals in the opening 20 minutes.
But every time the crowd began cheering, the Aztecs answered. Feagin hit another 3. Trey Pulliam hit a 3. Freshman Keshad Johnson drove through the lane and threw down a two-handed dunk over, what, three guys.
At intermission, the Aztecs already had made 10 3s (on 20 attempts), compared to 1 of 10 from the hosts.
Feagin had 15 on his 18 points in the first half, all on 3-pointers. Flynn and Mitchell each scored 12. Wetzell and Schakel each had 11, meaning all five starters finished in double figures.
The Aztecs shot 58.2% overall and had 23 assists on 32 baskets.
The Lobos? They shot 33.8 percent, which was an improvement after starting 4 of 19.
They were also missing four starters. Two we knew wouldn't play, Texas A&M transfer J.J. Caldwell having been suspended since Dec. 22 amid allegations of domestic battery and Kansas transfer Carlton Bragg dismissed from the team after a DWI.
A third got suspended a few hours before the game. Ohio State transfer JaQuan Lyle, who was iffy anyway with a knee injury, will sit two games for renting a home in northeast Albuquerque on Saturday and then throwing a party while he stayed home from a road trip to Nevada with an injured knee (and then two people got shot at 2 a.m., including a UNM softball player).
Lyle presumably did not get his cleaning deposit back.
"At the time, I thought it was the responsible thing to do to find a safe place for fun with some students and friends," Lyle said in a social media post Wednesday. "Looking back at it now, I can see that I should have had way better judgment. My focus should have been on my academics, my health, and supporting my teammates coming from their game. I apologize for the publicity it has created."
A fourth starter, UConn transfer Vance Jackson, sat out for a fourth straight game with a knee injury.
