FRESNO, Calif. – The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team suffered a 71-61 loss to Fresno State Saturday afternoon in Fresno, Calif. The Lobos are now 16-11 on the year and 9-6 in the Mountain West.
“We didn’t move the ball as well as we have been moving it,” said head coach Craig Neal. “We had opportunities in both the first and second half but we didn’t let our offense work.”
Sam Logwood led the Lobos with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field. He finished with five rebounds and two assists. Elijah Brown and Damien Jefferson were the only two other Lobos that finished in double digits. Brown was 4-of-12 from the field, finishing with 11 points, while Jefferson finished with 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting.
In the first half, the Lobos and the Bulldogs kept it a tight game as the game was tied seven times. Fresno State went on a 6-0 run at the 7:18 mark but the Lobos answered with a 7-0 run themselves that was sparked by a three from Jalen Harris and capped by a dunk from Joe Furstinger. That stretch gave the Lobos 25-20 lead and forced the Bulldogs to take a timeout.
The Lobos also held Fresno State to a four-minute field-goal drought in the first half. The half ended up even as the two teams each scored five points in the final four minutes of the half, bringing the score to 30-30.
In the second half, the Lobos and the Bulldogs came out to continue its tight game, both scoring eight points into the first media timeout of the second half. Fresno State pulled away going up by 10 with 10:38 left on the clock as New Mexico couldn’t get its offense going.
The Lobos eventually worked their way back as Jordan Hunter hit a huge three to bring the Lobos within four with 6:48 left to play. The Lobos came within three after a good free throw from Sam Logwood but Fresno State began to pull away again.
Fresno State went up by 10 again with 1:52 left to play. The Lobos would bring themselves within six after two good free throws from Jefferson but that was as close as they would get the rest of the way.
For the game, the Lobos shot 44.9 percent from the field, 31.3 percent from the three and 70.6 percent from the foul line.
The Lobos had 19 turnovers that turned into 20 points for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs outscored the Lobos in the paint 30-26.
New Mexico returns home Tuesday night to play host to Colorado State. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. MT and will air on CBS Sports Network.