HONOLULU, Hawaii – The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (7-5) dropped its second game in the 2015 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic Wednesday against the BYU Cougars (8-4), 96-66, in the Stan Sheriff Center.
The Lobos were led by Elijah Brown and Tim Williams with 16 points each. Williams shot 8-for-11 from the floor and brought down a team-best eight rebounds. Brown tallied three rebounds and two assists. Cullen Neal scored 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting to go with three boards and two assists.
The Lobos found themselves in a hole early due to a barrage of 3-pointers from the Cougars. In the first half, BYU shot 9-for-16 from distance, the most 3-pointers given up in a first half this season. BYU led by as much as 12 points in the first six minutes, but the Lobos fought hard to keep the BYU lead within reach. The Lobos, who shot 50 percent in the first half, would come as close as four points of BYU but entered the break trailing 46-38.
The Cougars continued to shoot well in the second half, where they took control of the game. New Mexico drained four of their first five shots, but gave up four 3-pointers in four minutes, preventing the Lobos from making a run. BYU took their first 20 point lead with 13:04 remaining at 69-49.
Neal looked to spark a comeback effort, scoring five points on back-to-back possessions, but the Lobos missed their next five shots to squash any momentum. The final score would be the largest deficit of the game for New Mexico.
In the end, the Lobos had a solid game offensively, shooting 45.8 percent (22-for-48) from the floor and 41.7 percent (5-for-12) from 3-point range. They also made 17 of 22 free throw attempts. However, BYU finished the game shooting 52.5 percent (32-for-61) overall and 57.1 percent (16-for-28) from distance.
Joe Furstinger and Anthony Mathis each chipped in five points off the bench. Furstinger had three rebounds and a steal as well. Center Obij Aget finished the game with four boards while Sam Logwood scored four points.
The Lobos will finish the Diamond Head Classic on Friday, Christmas Day, against Washington State at 11 a.m. MT, 8 a.m. in Hawaii.
(12/23/2015) MBB vs. BYU
Lobos Drop Second Diamond Head Classic Game to BYU
