Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Journal
It was ugly.
Then it wasn’t.
The visiting Grambling State Tigers kept the Pit calm for the first 20 minutes on Monday night – holding the host Lobos under 40% shooting and out-rebounding them by 10 to keep things close at halftime.
Then Jaelen House seemed to have seen enough.
The 6-foot Lobo spark plug fired up the Lobos’ engine at the beginning of a dominant second half to pull away for an 86-61 win in front of an announced Pit crowd of 8,010.
In an eight-possession stretch to start the second half after UNM held a sloppy 37-33 lead at the break, House had three steals, two made baskets, an assist and spearheaded a 12-3 Lobos run.