Mathis Nets Seven Threes to Lead UNM Past Bradley

PEORIA, Ill. — The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team earned an 85-75 victory over Bradley University on the road on Saturday night. Senior Anthony Mathis, who averaged 4.0 3-pointers per game prior to Saturday, scored seven on the night en route to 23 points to lead the Lobos.

With the victory, UNM improves to 4-1 while Bradley slips to 6-3.

Saturday’s game also marked the finale of the 2018 Mountain West / Missouri Valley Challenge. Prior to the game, the Mountain West was down 5-4, but the Lobo victory made it 5-5 and marked the third consecutive season that the challenge resulted in a tie.

Also of note on the night, Lobo assistant coach and Bradley alum Jerome Robinson was officially inducted into the Braves’ Hall of Fame for his outstanding accomplishments during his time at Bradley.
 

Fun halftime here in Peoria. Once again, congratulations are in order for @JRobin123 #GoLobos #HallOfFamer pic.twitter.com/eFOA7QCOuh

— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) December 2, 2018

Mathis led UNM with his 23 points, 18 of which came on six 3-pointers in the first half, to finish just two points short of his career high (25). He was followed by junior Corey Manigault who scored 18 and fellow senior Dane Kuiper who tallied 15. Manigault registered the only double-double on the floor for the night with 18 points and 11 rebounds. He went 4-for-9 from the floor and 10-for-11 from the free throw line. Kuiper was 6-for-10 from the floor, 2-for-5 from behind the arc and 1-for-1 from the stripe.

Much like the first few games of the season, the Lobos started out slow on Saturday and even got behind by as much as 11 points before roaring back to take the lead and claim the victory.

“You have to tip your cap to Bradley, I thought the first five or so minutes of the game was terrific and I thought the last 8-10 minutes was a very good basketball team working to get back,” head coach Paul Weir said. “Fortunately that 20-25 minutes or so in the middle, we were really able to establish our style of play and do it in such a way that it overcame that last 15 minutes that we still have to improve upon.” 

Bradley opened the contest on an 11-0 run over the first 2:34 on a starting lineup that consisted of a trio of freshmen, Tavian Percy, Drue Drinnon and Jordan Arroyo, along with Kuiper and sophomore Makuach Maluach. A jumper from sophomore Vladimir Pinchuk, who until Saturday night was UNM’s lone consistent starter, at the 16:44 mark started the scoring for UNM.

The Lobos were quick to get back in it, however, taking a 10-point Brave lead (14-4) down to two (16-14) within 2:56 on a 10-2 run. The run included a pair of threes from Mathis.

A three from Bradley’s Nate Kennell at the 8:28 mark put the Braves up by four, 22-18, but a Mathis 3-pointer just 38 seconds later brought the Lobos within one, 22-21.

Mathis followed with another less than a minute later to give the Lobos their first lead of the game, 24-22. Bradley’s Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye made a jumper to tie it at 24-24 before Mathis followed with yet another from behind the arc, his fifth of the game to take a three-point lead that the Lobos never again relinquished.

UNM extended the first-half lead to eight with 2:46 left on a jumper and a dunk by Manigault before Bradley whittled it back to four, 36-32.

The Lobo seniors closed the first half in style as Dane Kuiper dunked with 46 seconds left and Mathis hit his sixth three of the night with nine seconds on the clock for a nine-point lead at the half, 41-32.

UNM held onto a double-digit advantage for most of the second half en route to the 85-75 victory. It was Kuiper and Manigault that led the Lobos in the second frame. Kuiper scored 11 points including a pair of 3-pointers while Manigault scored twice from the floor and added eight free throws for 12 second-half points.

The Lobos turned Bradley over 15 times, including four in a two-minute span during UNM’s first-half run. 

For just the second time this season, UNM outrebounded its opponent, 40-33. The Lobos also outshot their opponent in every category. UNM was 43.3 percent (26-60) from the field, 37.5 percent (12-32) from 3-point range and 87.5 percent (21-24) from the free throw line.

UNM held Bradley to 43.1 percent from the floor (25-58), 35 percent from three (35 percent) and Bradley shot 62.1 percent from the free throw line.

Bradley outscored the Lobos in the paint 32-24 and off of turnovers 17-15, but UNM held the advantage in second-half points, 16-11, and in points off of the bench, 60-11. Mathis’ 23 points ranks him tied for 13th in program history with most points off the bench.

Both the Braves and the Lobos had three players score in double figures. Mathis led all players on the night but the other 20-point scorer on the floor was Bradley’s Darrell Brown, who posted 20 on 7-for-15 from the field and 3-for-6 from behind the arc. Lautier-Ogunleye followed with 16 and standout Elijah Childs was held to 13. 

The Lobos return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 4 when they take on New Mexico State in Las Cruces. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.