HONOLULU, Hawaii – The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (7-4) dropped the opening game of the 2015 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic against the Auburn Tigers (6-3), 83-78, Tuesday inside the Stan Sheriff Center.
Elijah Brown led the Lobos with 33 points, a personal best and a season-high for any player. It’s the most points a Lobo has scored since Kendall Williams dropped 46 points on Feb. 23, 2013. Brown shot 10-for-17 from the floor, 6-for-9 from 3-point range and 7-for-9 from the free throw line. He also had seven rebounds and a steal. Cullen Neal scored 21 points and tied Sam Logwood for the assist lead with three. Obij Aget was the team’s leading rebounder with nine boards, seven points and two blocks.
The Lobos started hot in the first half but eventually found themselves in a tough shooting slump. New Mexico led by as much as six points in the first six minutes after starting 5-for-8 from 3-point range. However, the Lobos would find themselves behind after falling into a slump, which eventually put the Lobos at 9-for-30 in the half. Despite the shooting mark, the Lobos forced 12 Auburn turnovers in the first half and only trailed five points at the break, 41-36.
The Lobos responded well from being down at halftime and took the fight to the Tigers. They outscored Auburn 17-6 over the first four minutes of the half to retake their largest lead of the game, 53-47. Auburn played well out of their first called timeout and tied the game at 55 within two minutes.
Another run put the Lobos up by six points again, but New Mexico hit a scoring drought over three minutes and gave up a pair of 3’s that tied the game. With 6:46 left on the clock, neither team would lead by more than a possession until the final minute. Up by a point, Auburn’s Kareem Canty hit a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left. The Lobos committed a turnover on the ensuing possession which led to a breakaway dunk. Brown drained his sixth 3-pointer to keep the game alive with 12 seconds left, but Auburn hit two more free throws down the stretch to ice the game.
Overall, the Lobos shot 46.3 percent (25-for-54) from the floor and 45.5 percent (10-for-22) from distance. Auburn shot 47.5 percent (28-for-59), 33.3 percent (10-for-30) from distance.
Tim Williams finished the game with 10 points and four rebounds. In addition to his three assists, Logwood registered five points and four rebounds.
The Lobos will move on to face BYU Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. MT in the Stan Sheriff Center.
(12/22/2015) MBB vs. Auburn