BOULDER, COLO. — Despite a strong first-half performance, The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team suffered a 75-57 loss on the road at Colorado on Wednesday night, letting a two-point halftime margin slip away over the final 10 minutes of the game.
Junior Anthony Mathis led the Lobos (3-6) with 15 points, just one shy of his career-high, as the only Lobo to score in double figures. Mathis went for 5-for-9 from the field including 3-for-6 from three and 2-for-3 from the free throw line.
The Lobos started out strong, turning the Buffalos (7-1) over three times in just the first three minutes, exhibiting an outstanding defense that burst on the scene with arguably the most energy and intensity it has had all season. UNM held the Buffs scoreless for the first two minutes of the game and eventually forced 23 turnovers.
“I think defensively, it was a little bit of a step forward for us tonight, particularly the first 28-29, actually 31-32 minutes,” head coach Paul Weir said. “I thought our defensive energy was really good and man if we could just find a way to convert some layups and some free throws I really think it would put us over the top.”
The Lobos struggled from the floor going 21-for-71 for a season-low 29.6 percent field-goal percentage while shooting 29.0 percent from three (9-31) on the night.
“We got a lot of really good looks I thought around the rim, (Colorado) just did a really good job of protecting the glass,” Weir said. “When you get 20 more shots than your opponent, you usually feel really good about what you did, but we just weren’t able to convert a lot of shots around the rim.”
The Buffalos shot 50 percent from the floor (26-52) and 60 percent (9-15) from three, taking advantage of their opportunities. CU slowly gained an 11-point lead midway through the first half, but the resilient Lobos went on an 11-2 run to erase the advantage, cutting the Buffalo lead to one, 29-28 with 1:58 left in the first half. The run was capped by a Mathis three and a dunk by freshman Makuach Maluach.
A 3-pointer from junior Troy Simons tied it up at 33 apiece with 43 seconds on the clock and the Buffs put in one more to make it 35-33 at the half.
Maluach nearly tied it up again, attempting to toss in a layup just before the buzzer, but the clock expired just before the shot went in.
The Lobos kept the game close early in the second half, continuing the momentum from the first. A dunk by senior Joe Furstinger tied it up at 35-35 and UNM held the Buffs within six points until the 9:29 mark when Colorado’s McKinley Wright hit a jumper to extend the CU lead to eight, 56-48.
Despite a follow-up three from Mathis to cut it back to five, the Buffs took off from there and finished 19-9 for the 18-point victory that included a last-second three from Dominique Collier.
Despite the loss, the Lobos led in several statistical categories including points in the paint (31-30), points off of turnovers (28-7), second-chance points (9-8), fast-break points (11-6) and bench points (36-35).
The Lobos, previously ranked 17th in the nation in free throw percentage, shot a season-low 37.5 percent from the stripe (6-16).
“I think we played with a lot of energy in both halves,” Mathis said. “I just think it was a matter of shots going in (in the first half) and then shots not going in (in the second half). Overall I think we played really hard, we’re taking steps, it’s just one step at a time.”
The Lobos look to rebound when they take on New Mexico State in the in-state rivalry rematch at Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit on Saturday night. Tip off is scheduled for 7:02 p.m. on ESPN3.