ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — City leaders and fans honored the Lobo men’s basketball team for one of the most successful seasons we’ve seen in a decade.

“It brings our whole city together like no other,” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said at an event at Civic Plaza Thursday.

Keller gave the Lobos a special basketball, trophies, and announced the city will add this season’s Mountain West Conference Championship to the banners at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

A couple hundred Lobo fans came out, mingled with the players and the coaches, and got autographs. Some fans at the event have followed the team since the ’80s.

The team’s season ended just shy of three weeks ago after reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade. It left many fans excited about the future.

There is already some hype for next season – a very, very early ESPN ranking has UNM just outside the Top 25.