Stevens: Lobos Fall 76-65 to Boise State Broncos
New Mexico Lobos Men’s Basketball – On The Mountain West Road
Tuesday: Boise State 76, New Mexico 65
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
The offense Lobo Craig Neal was looking for from his young Lobos showed up at Boise State’s Taco Bell Arena.
But UNM’s defense was unable to slow down the Broncos.
UNM shot a sizzling 56 percent from the floor, but despite ripping the nets in Boise State’s Taco Bell Arena the Lobos dropped their seventh straight Mountain West game by a 76-65 count to the Broncos.
The Broncos were a two-man wrecking crew Tuesday night as Derrick Marks scored 30 points and Nick Duncan added 26. The two Broncos combined for 56 points and combined to go 20-of-34 from the floor. Marks added five assists and Duncan’s eight 3-pointers were a career best.
“Nobody wanted to even guard him,” Neal said of Marks, who scored 30 points or more against the Lobos in back-to-back games. “I’m not upset about them (Lobos) not playing hard. I thought we had great fight and we had a chance to cut it to five and missed a layup.
“When you get a chance like that against a team that’s playing at a high level, it’s a different deal when you can get close. But if you continue to let them play with confidence, it’s a different deal.
“And you can’t let two guys score 56.”
The Lobos shot exceptionally well and the Broncos shot very well – 47 percent. Boise State went 15-of-34 from 3-point range – one shy of the program record for 3-pointers made. Marks and Duncan combined for 13 of those 15 long bombs. James Webb III had 11 rebounds.
“They are playing on a high cylinder,” said Neal, who saw his Lobos drop to 14-14 overall and 6-10 in Mountain West play.
“You allow 15 threes and you aren’t going to win. They are a little bit different team. They make you guard their bigs on the 3-point line and then their guards can drive you.
“Our kids kept fighting, but it is very painful. I hate losing and it’s driving me crazy. Our team has to look in the mirror and decide when they are tired of it.”
The Lobos were down 39-29 at the half and cut that deficit to 43-36 with 17:47 to play. The Broncos went back up 62-42 with 11:56 to go. The Lobos never gave up and cut a 22-point lead down in half.
The Lobos appeared to have the offense to get back in it –but the Lobos could stop Marks or Duncan for an extended period of time.
“There are too many mental breakdowns,” said Neal. “There were some times we played very, very well, but we couldn’t sustain it. But some of our guys have never been thought this.
“We played pretty good in spots, but you can’t play good in spots on the road and expect to win.
“We are not getting it done, but we have two more chances.”
The Lobos went 6-of-12 from the 3-point range and had only 11 turnovers. Boise had five miscues with the ball. Boise State outscored Boise State 16-2 on points off turnovers.
The Lobos got 14 points from Deshawn Delaney and 13 more from Hugh Greenwood.
“That kid (Greenwood) gives me everything he has,” said Neal. “It’s a shame he has to go through this (losing streak). I feel badly for him, but his legacy won’t be made this season.”
The Lobos finish up this road trip with a game on Saturday against Fresno State. The Lobos’ final regular-season game is Saturday, March 7 against Wyoming. The tournament in Las Vegas begins on March 11. The top six MW teams will receive first-round byes in Vegas. The 6-10 Lobos are in eighth place with Fresno State currently in sixth place at 7-7.
First Half: Boise State 39, New Mexico 29
The Lobos almost fell into a hole that might have been too much to climb out of in the second half. A bucket by Marks, who scored 18 in the half, put Boise State up 38-19. The Broncos scored only a single point after that as UNM closed the half on a 10-1 run.
The Lobos led the game at 14-12 in the first half on an 18-footer by Greenwood. That lead was short lived as Duncan hit his third trey of the half to push Boise up 16-14. After that the Broncos pulled away until the Lobos took control of the final minutes to claw back into a 10-point deficit.
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is a former national award-winning Sports Columnist and Associate Sports Editor at The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net