Late Comeback Falls Short, Three score 20+ Points
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — After falling behind by as much as 19 points with just 9:08 left to play, The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team put on an impressive show in a comeback attempt that saw the Lobos rack up a 13-0 second-half run in front of over 14,000 fans inside Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit. The run fell short however, as UNM eventually suffered a four-point loss, 98-94, to the Aggies in the Rio Grande Rivalry matchup.
A trio of Lobos racked up 20 points or more including redshirt-sophomore Vance Jackson (27), senior Anthony Mathis (22) and junior Corey Manigault (20). The game marks Manigault’s second straight in which he has netted 20 points. The fourth Lobo to score in double figures was senior Dane Kuiper, who posted 10.
Jackson added a team-high six rebounds to his 27 points and drew nine fouls on the night. He was also one of six Lobos to accumulate four or more fouls.
The Lobos outshot NMSU in every category including 59.6 – 56.6 percent from the field, 55.0 – 52.2 percent from behind the arc and 70.0 – 66.7 percent from the foul line, but the Aggies’ redshirt-junior AJ Harris went an unstoppable 9-for-11 from the field, 6-for-6 from 3-point range and 7-for-10 from the free throw line to total 31 points, leading NMSU to victory. NMSU also knocked in 26 free throws compared to 21 for UNM, accounting for the four-point differential.
“First, thank you so much to all of the fans that came out today,” head coach Paul Weir said in a press conference. “It was an exceptional sign of how far I think we’ve grown and where our program is hopefully headed. Unfortunately, the result is not what we wanted. It’s incredibly disappointing, and inevitably that falls on me.”
The teams remained within three points over the first five minutes until the Lobos began to pull ahead on a Mathis three and a jumper by sophomore Vladimir Pinchuk, making the score 13-5 for an eight-point lead, the most for UNM of the day.
The Aggies closed the gap and claimed a one-point advantage, 14-13, with 9:46 left in the first half and extended it to six at the break, 44-38. It was the first time the Lobos have been down at the half so far this season as UNM has tied its opponents heading into the break in both of its first two regular-season games.
Mathis cut the six-point deficit to three within the first 12 seconds of the second half (44-41) to set the tone, but NMSU took off on a 16-3 run over the ensuing 4:34 to get back out to a commanding 16-point lead, 60-44.
It was then that Manigault took the game into his own hands, scoring the next 10 points for the Lobos on three field goals and four free throws. Manigault scored eight points in 56 seconds including a 5-0 run to reduce the deficit to 11, 49-60, before he was substituted at the 13:02 mark with NMSU leading by 13, 65-52.
Manigault was off the floor for 1:42 during which the Lobos endured a scoring drought and allowed the Aggies to pull back ahead by 19. Manigault re-entered and hit a jumper at the 10:36 mark to cut it back to 17 as UNM continued to battle.
With the Aggies up by 19 for the third time in the contest, the Lobos erupted for a 16-5 run over 3:15 to cut the score back to single digits, 80-72, with 5:12 on the clock. After suffering another barrage of Aggie points, UNM cut another 14-point deficit down to eight over 1:15 on a pair of threes by Mathis and Jackson as well as a pair of Mathis free throws with 1:10 left, 92-84.
Mathis makes himself some room and drains the three-pointer! The lead by the Aggies is now less than 10. Lobos trail 80-72 with 5:12 to go! #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/JTF0C4d9XP
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) November 18, 2018
The score was 96-89 with just 34 seconds left on the clock and the game looked over until Jackson hit a huge three to make it a four-point game followed by a Weir timeout.
Mathis notched a layup out of the timeout to make it a two-point game with seven seconds left but with little time left on the clock, the Lobos were forced to play the foul game, allowing for a pair of free throws from NMSU for the 98-94 final.
The Lobos caused 14 turnovers, committing 15, and collected eight steals to six for NMSU. The Aggies capitalized on turnovers for 23 points compared to 18 for UNM while the Lobos outscored NMSU 32-30 in the paint.
UNM has a week to recuperate before returning to action on Saturday, Nov. 24 when it hosts UTEP at 5:30 p.m. on the Mountain West Network.