POSTGAME NOTES | PDF BOX SCORE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (16-14, 9-8 MW) fell to the San Diego State Aztecs (22-8, 15-2 MW), 83-56, Tuesday at home before honoring three seniors in their last game at WisePies Arena.
Tim Jacobs, Connor Joy and Michael Nesbitt were each honored after the game, alongside their families and teammates. Head coach Craig Neal had a chance to honor each senior individually before they were all given a chance to thank the Lobo fans in attendance.
In the game, Elijah Brown led the Lobos with 18 points, 12 of which came at the free throw line. Tim Williams scored 11 points, pulled down four rebounds and had two blocks. Cullen Neal scored 10 points, wrapping up Lobos in double figures.
“Believe it or not I thought we did some really good things,” said Coach Neal. “They just applied the pressure. We got off to a really good start, I made some substitutions and we just weren’t really locked into what we were doing. We just couldn’t get it going through the first half. I think the biggest thing is that we’ve got guys doing things that they can’t do and not playing to their strengths. When we play to our strengths and execute our roles I think we’re really good. But we’ve got to figure that out. My hats off to (San Diego State), they played really well.”
The Lobos started the game well against the regular season champions, jumping out to a 16-4 lead. San Diego State made their next five straight shots, taking a 20-16 lead. The Lobos struggled to score field goals but tallied points at the free throw line to keep it within striking distance at halftime at 42-31.
The Aztecs built a 14 point lead over the course of the first six minutes of the second half, leading, 51-37. The Lobos made a push and cut the deficit down to six points at 56-50 with 9:28 left. The Lobos capitalized on an opportunity to score four points at the line when San Diego State was called for a flagrant two foul. Brown knocked down all four technical free throws. The Aztecs responded with a 6-0 run to reestablish their lead. San Diego State took their first 20 point lead with four minutes left and marched to victory.
Overall, the Lobos shot 35.9 percent from the floor on 14-for-39 shooting. The Lobos had an efficient night at the line, finishing 24-for-28. San Diego State was also efficient from the free throw line, finishing 20-for-24.
Sam Logwood scored six points on 50 percent shooting with two rebounds. Obij Aget logged four points while Jacobs, in his final game, recorded three rebounds and two assists.
The Lobos will wrap up the regular season with a road game Saturday at Nevada at 7 p.m. PST/8 p.m. MST on ROOT Sports.
(3/1/2016) MBB v. SDSU