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FRESNO, CALIF. — Despite career-high scoring performances from true freshman Makuach Maluach and junior Anthony Mathis, The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team fell by a nine-point margin, 89-80, on the road at Fresno State on Saturday night.
The Lobos (8-11, 3-3 MW) had three players score in double digits as they blasted their way back from a 14-point deficit in the first half. UNM trailed by just two at halftime, 42-40, and led by five with 10:14 left in the second half, but a late Bulldog run put Fresno State ahead for good in the final eight minutes.
The score was tied 11 times and the lead changed nine times throughout Saturday night’s matchup.
New Mexico fired at a clip of 51.9 percent (28-54) on the night, just the third time this season that the Lobos have shot over 50 percent and the first time they have lost when doing so. Fresno State (13-6, 3-3 MW), however, shot an arena-record 65.3 percent from the floor, and a program-record 75 percent (9-12) from three.
“To spot a team like that 27 points (nine threes) on the road, it’s going to be really hard to come back from,” head coach Paul Weir said. “I just think it opened up the rest of the game. When you shoot the ball like that, you’re a really tough team to guard. They just didn’t miss out there.
“Their size, their strength, their overall athleticism just really wore on us.”
Maluach led the Lobos with 21 points on the night followed by Mathis who notched 18. Junior Chris McNeal also contributed double digits, tallying 16 points, his most since UNM’s contest vs. Maryland on Nov. 25 and his fourth highest point total as a Lobo.
Mathis went 6-for-9 from the floor including 4-for-6 from three while Maluach was 8-for-15 overall, 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.
Senior Joe Furstinger neared another double-double, but fell short of his seventh straight game scoring in double digits. He registered eight points and eight rebounds as UNM’s next leading scorer.
Senior Antino Jackson added seven points while leading UNM in assists (5) and steals (3).
The Lobos drilled the first shot of the game on a Dane Kuiper three before Fresno State went on a 14-0 run to take an 11-point lead at the 14:58 mark. The Bulldogs extended it to 14, their largest lead of the game, with 11 minutes left in the half before UNM began to whittle it away.
The Lobos went into the bonus with 8:18 left and eventually closed the gap to four on a Maluach layup at the 2:29 mark, 38-34. After a Bulldog layup, Furstinger hit a jumper followed by a pair of Maluach free throws to make it 40-38 with 1:06 left. McNeal hit a layup to tie it with 28 seconds left, 40-40.
A quick jumper with four seconds left put UNM down by two at the half, 42-40.
Maluach scored eight points in the first half and added nine in just the first six minutes of the second. The Lobos claimed a five-point lead 64-59 with 10:14 left on a Jackson 3-pointer and another Maluach layup before Fresno State tied the game for the 11th time at the 8:40 mark, 66-66.
Following the tie, the Bulldogs began to slowly pull away, going on a 12-0 run to take a 78-66 advantage. The Lobos would get no closer than seven the rest of the way.
UNM will remain on the road, traveling to UNLV on Wednesday, Jan. 17 to take on the Runnin’ Rebels on ESPN3 at 8 p.m. MT.