Lobo Comeback Not Enough, Penn Prevails 75-65
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — After going down by as many as 15 points early in the first half, The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team tied it up, took the lead and threatened Penn until the final minutes on Saturday afternoon in Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit, but the Quakers ultimately broke a 61-61 tie with six minutes left to win it 75-65.
The Lobos were outshot 47.5 percent to 39.3 percent from the floor while finishing a season-low 43.5 percent (10-23) from the free-throw line. Despite its offensive struggles on Saturday, UNM debuted a new zone defense that helped even out points in the paint as Penn outscored the Lobos down low just 38-30.
“(The zone) was great in the first half, at almost double the success rate of our man (defense), but early in the second half they were scoring against our man (defense),” head coach Paul Weir said. “We probably stayed in the zone a little too long, and I thought Penn got into a little bit of a rhythm there towards the end of the second half.
“I really believe in this team … We have enough. We did some things today that hinted at what I need to work on to piece the team together further.”
For the fifth time this season, UNM had four Lobos score in double figures led by senior Anthony Mathis, redshirt-junior Carlton Bragg, and redshirt-sophomore Keith McGee, who each posted 13 points. Redshirt-sophomore Vance Jackson scored 10 and finished two rounds short of a double-double with eight rebounds.
Jackson and Manigault led in rebounds with eight apiece followed by Bragg who collected seven for his third-straight game. The Lobos and the Quakers each emerged with 41 rebounds on the night while UNM posted 13 offensive boards to just nine for Penn.
Penn jumped out to an early 10-point lead (12-2) in the first 6:18 and extended the lead to 15 points at the 12:24 mark (19-4) for the largest Quaker lead of the game.
The Lobos responded with a 20-5 run over 6:43 to tie the game at 24-24 with 5:41 left in the half. The run included 10-straight points by Mathis on a pair of free throws, a pair of threes and a jumper to make it a seven-point game 21-14.
The run continued with a pair of free throws by Manigault, a Jackson 3-pointer, a Mathis fast-break three and was capped by a layup from sophomore Vladimir Pinchuk, assisted by Jackson.
The Quakers went up by two on a jump shot by the game’s second-leading scorer Michael Wang (19 points) before a three from Jackson gave the Lobos their first lead of the game, 27-26 with 5:28 to go in the half.
Jackson drains the three to give the Lobos their first lead of the game. #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/PS9MYtV6iX
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) December 22, 2018
The teams went back and forth throughout the remainder of the half and the Quakers reclaimed the lead and extended it to six points before Jackson made it a four-point game with 47 seconds left for the 42-38 halftime score.
UNM came out of the break with a fast-break layup from Bragg to make it a two-point game, 42-40 Penn, and UNM kept the Quaker offense in check, allowing just a six-point advantage through the first 4:26.
Penn made it an eight-point game at the 14:37 mark before UNM embarked on another comeback run, going 9-0 to take a one-point lead on back-to-back threes from McGee and freshman Drue Drinnon at the 11:06 mark.
This time it’s McGee who finds Drinnon for the three, and the Lobos take the 53-52 lead.#GoLobos pic.twitter.com/MOFyLT0p92
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) December 22, 2018
UNM went down by three with 10:08 left but powered back for another one-point advantage on a Bragg layup, 57-56, for the Lobos’ last lead of the game.
The squads tied twice more at 59-59 and 61-61 before the Lobo steam ran out and Penn closed on a 14-4 run for the 10-point win.
“Our coaches are putting us in the right position to be successful,” Mathis said. “We need to get a little bit more disciplined and we need to get better at finishing out games. That will come with experience and we’ll learn how to finish some basketball games.”
The Lobos are set to return to action on Sunday, Dec. 30 as they travel to Hobbs, N.M. to take on the University of the Southwest at Ralph Tasker Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.