NICEVILLE, FLA. — The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team fell 80-65 to Maryland (6-1) in the consolation game of the Emerald Coast Classic on Saturday afternoon, unable to overcome an early 24-point deficit. Senior Sam Logwood was named to the Emerald Coast Classic All-Tournament Team for his efforts in the tournament while the Lobos claimed fourth place in the tournament.
Chris McNeal led the Lobos (2-4) with 19 points in his fifth game registering double figures, followed by Anthony Mathis with 12 points on four 3-pointers. The Lobos shot 33.3 percent from the field on the day after opening the game a dismal 1-12 (8.3 percent) over the first nine minutes.
The loss is the fourth consecutive for New Mexico, as the Lobos have struggled since opening the season with two large victories. One day after falling to TCU at the buzzer, the Lobos never led against Maryland despite outscoring the Terps 62-53 after the opening 8:42 of the game.
“After (those opening minutes), I thought we played a good game, but you’re not going to come back against a team like Maryland down 27-3,” head coach Paul Weir said. “So unfortunately, the start to the game ended up being the game. I thought their defensive energy to start the game was tremendous and I thought that countered with our offensive lack of energy. We just couldn’t get a bucket and you have to tip your cap to them for coming out with a lot of pop defensively.”
The Terrapins jumped out to an 8-0 lead as the Lobos missed their first four shots of the night. Makuach Maluach put New Mexico on the board with a three to make the score 8-3 with 16 minutes on the clock, but Maryland went on a 19-0 run to take a 27-3 lead.
The Lobos didn’t score again until the 11:18 mark on a Troy Simons free throw to make the score 27-4. UNM went on a 16-7 run to cut the lead to 34-19 on a Mathis 3-pointer with 6:25 left in the half, and the Lobos maintained a similar margin for the rest of the half, trailing 46-28 at the break.
The Lobos shot 29 percent in the first half, led by Mathis, who shot 3-for-3 from behind the arc. Joe Furstinger and Troy Simons were each whistled for three fouls of UNM’s 13 total in the half.
New Mexico opened the second half with a quick Logwood steal and McNeal three-pointer to cut the lead to 15 at 46-31, but a 9-0 Maryland run made the score 55-31 to tie the Lobos’ largest deficit of the game to that point.
Furstinger and Logwood were both called for their fourth personal fouls early in the second half, and the seventh team foul of the half was whistled at the 13:12 mark, putting Maryland in the bonus early. Simons and Mathis fouled out at the 5:13 and 4:24 marks respectively. The Lobos were called for 26 fouls on the night compared to 18 for Maryland,
Despite the Lobos’ foul trouble, they held the margin at about 20 points for the remainder of the game, never allowing a lead larger than 26 points after falling behind by 24 early. New Mexico forced 22 turnovers on the day, converted for 19 points while only committing 13.
The Lobos return home to face Evansville on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. MT.