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Lobos Win Opener on Mathis 3-Point Buzzer-Beater

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NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — Senior Anthony Mathis of The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team hit a buzzer-beating three to lift the Lobos over the CSUN Matadors on Tuesday night, officially opening the 2018-19 season with an exciting 87-84 victory. Four Lobos scored in double figures on the night that saw UNM’s new squad shoot 51.9 percent from the floor and 42.3 percent from 3-point range.

The Lobos (1-0) and the Matadors (0-1) battled throughout 40 minutes with 13 lead changes and six ties.

Despite a shaky start full of first-game-of-the-season-nerves, UNM outshot CSUN in every category including from the floor (51.9 – 45.8 percent) from behind the arc (42.3 – 35.0 percent) and from the free throw line (75.9 – 52.4 percent).

In his first game as a Lobo, junior Corey Manigault led the squad on the night with 16 points going 4-for-6 from the floor and 8-for-9 from the charity stripe. Senior Dane Kuiper and sophomore Makuach Maluach followed with 15 points apiece. Kuiper went 3-for-5 from behind the arc, 5-for-8 from the floor and Maluach was 5-for-9 from the floor with a three and four free throws.

Mathis was the fourth player to score in double figures, registering 12 points with a 4-for-7 performance from 3-point range.
 


CSUN freshman Lamine Diane led all players on the night with 34 points going 15-for-28 from the field. Diane scored 30 and 23 points in CSUN’s exhibition matchups.

“Ball control was clearly an issue for us tonight,” head coach Paul Weir said. “Our size was almost a problem tonight (because CSUN was so quick), but you’ve got to tip your cap to CSUN, they played their hearts out. Diane is a tremendous player, puts a lot of pressure on defenses, particularly on the glass, and they were able to go out and show that tonight.”

The Lobos opened Tuesday night’s contest with a 2:54 drought before sophomore Vladimir Pinchuk registered UNM’s first points on a pair of free throws with 17:06 on the clock to make it 6-2 CSUN. A minute later, Manigault shot a pair of free throws to make it 6-4 but the Lobos did not score from the floor until 5:08 into the game when Kuiper hit a jumper to make it 8-6 Matadors.

Kuiper’s jumper was followed by a three-pointer just 32 seconds later to spark a Lobo 10-0 run over 2:57, putting UNM on top 16-10.

Both teams continued to respond and with CSUN leading by one at the conclusion of the half, a foul was called at the buzzer that sent Maluach to the line. He hit the shot and tied it 42-42 heading into the locker room.

Over the first half, UNM was out-rebounded 21-15.

Once again it was Kuiper in the second half to give the Lobo offense life as he came out of the locker room with the first six points for UNM on a pair of threes split by a jumper by Diane, 48-44. 

The fifth tie of the game occurred at the 4:07 mark when redshirt-sophomore Vance Jackson hit a free throw to tie it up 77-77. The Lobos built a four-point lead, 84-80 before a layup by CSUN’s Cameron Gottfried made it 84-82 with just 30 seconds left on the clock.

The Lobos attempted to keep the ball and run down the clock but a UNM turnover allowed the Matadors to have one more possession that ended in another jumper by Diane to make it 84-84 with 6.1 seconds left.

The Lobos gained possession with the clock winding down and took about 4.5 seconds to cross half-court. Mathis looked up, saw the clock and took a long three from the right wing and sunk it for the win, 87-84.

On the night, CSUN dominated in the paint, 44-24 and registered 25 points off of turnovers compared to 22 for UNM. CSUN also tallied 13 second-chance points to just four for the Lobos and 12 on the fast break. 

The Lobos are set to return to action on Saturday, Nov. 10 when they take on Northern New Mexico in exhibition competition as part of the second-annual New Mexico Classic tournament hosted by UNM.