Argument follows New Mexico's 84-71 win over Colorado State (Jan 14, 2017)
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) University of New Mexico assistant basketball coach Terrence Rencher got into a verbal altercation with Colorado State forward Emmanuel Omogbo outside the Moby Arena following the Lobos' 84-71 win over the Rams on Saturday.
It isn't clear how the argument started, but the Albuquerque Journal caught the scene on video and posted it to Twitter.
In the video , Omogbo and Rencher, standing between two other Lobos assistant coaches, scream insults at each other while Colorado State coach Larry Eustachy holds back Omogbo.
As Eustachy, his wife Lana, guard J.D. Paige and others finally get Omogbo to leave the parking lot, Rencher tells him, ''Learn how to lose, boy.''
The three New Mexico assistants ignore Lana Eustachy's suggestion that they just get on the Lobos charter bus to defuse the situation and instead stand and watch as Larry Eustachy steers his player toward the parking lot.
Lobos coach Craig Neal later told ESPN that Rencher didn't do anything wrong.
The Mountain West Conference said it is looking into the altercation and has had ''multiple communications with both institutions.''
Rencher was one of two New Mexico assistants ejected from Saturday's game for leaving the bench when Lobos forward Joe Furstinger flexed after a hard screen and then made contact with Rams guard Anthony Bonner as he jogged back down the court. That flared tempers that were already on edge following pregame trash talk.
Omogbo's emotions were still running high after the game in which he had 14 points and eight rebounds but also committed four fouls and had five turnovers. Wednesday will mark the 1-year anniversary of the house fire that claimed the lives of Omogbo's parents, niece and nephew in Hyattsville, Maryland.
The Fort Collins Coloradoan reported that Rencher taunted the Rams during warmups at Moby Arena last year, according to former Rams forward Fred Richardson, and did so again Saturday.
Rencher and another assistant, Chris Harrima, were ejected with 2:10 remaining in the game for leaving the bench during the skirmish that followed Paige getting floored by a blind screen set by Furstinger.
Eustchy called it a clean play but noted the bad blood began before the game ''with just some things that we don't do and we got caught up in the moment.''
Officials conducted a lengthy review after the incident and assessed technical fouls on Colorado State's Prentiss Nixon and New Mexico's Obij Aget and ejected Rencher and Harriman.
New Mexico's Elijah Brown had 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Tim Williams scored 15 points with nine boards and the Lobos (10-8, 3-3 Mountain West) shot 61 percent from the floor in the second half and outrebounded the Rams 39-29. Gian Clavell scored 22 points and Nixon had 19 for the Rams (11-7, 3-2).
