Lobos Fall to Saint Mary's in BHOF Classic
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team dropped a 25-point contest to Saint Mary’s (CA) on Friday night, 80-65, at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Calif. in the 2018 Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. The Lobos were led by redshirt-sophomores Keith McGee who scored 12 points and Vance Jackson who tallied eight rebounds.
“These last two games have been been exposing to us in a lot of ways that we’re not where we want to be,” head coach Paul Weir said. “(Right now) we’re 4-3, we’ve won some games that I was really really happy about, we’ve lost two games by incredibly wide margins, and we just have to keep pushing forward from here.
“Hopefully the reps that we’re getting these guys, just like the reps for the guys last year, will allow us to grow as the season unfolds and make us a really good team as the season unfolds.”
Just two Lobos scored in double figures on the night including McGee and sophomore Makuach Maluach (10), followed by sophomore Vladimir Pinchuk (9) and Jackson (9). Saint Mary’s (6-4) was led by a trio of double-digit scorers including Jordan Ford who went 10-for-15 from the floor en route to 28 points. Ford was followed by Malik Fitts (15) and Tommy Kuhse (10).
The Lobos (4-3) were outshot 34.8 – 60.0 percent from the floor and 15.4 – 33.3 percent from 3-point range. Seniors Anthony Mathis and Dane Kuiper combined for 0-11 behind the arc, contributing to UNM’s season-low four 3-pointers on the night. Friday night’s game marks the first time this season the Lobos have failed to reach 10 or more threes.
Like the last couple of matchups, UNM got out to a slow start, getting behind by 15 points in the first 6:35 by a score of 19-4. Saint Mary’s eventually pushed the lead to 17 with 7:41 left in the first but the Lobos went on an 8-2 run that included four points by Pinchuk and layups from Maluach and McGee to make it an 11-point game, 35-24.
The Gaels hit a free throw but freshman Drue Drinnon followed with a three at the 3:02 mark to cut the Saint Mary’s lead back to single digits, 36-27. The comeback was short lived however, as the Gaels once again increased their lead and finished the half on top by 14, 43-29.
At halftime, UNM was shooting 38.7 percent from the floor and 20.0 percent from 3-point range compared to 53.8 and 20.0 percent for the Gaels. Mathis and Kuiper went scoreless throughout the first half including an 0-for-4 mark from behind the arc for Mathis. Kuiper registered three fouls early and saw action in just 15 minutes on the night.
The Lobos looked to capitalize on some carryover momentum from near the end of the first half, but Saint Mary’s quickly dispelled that hope. The Gaels exploded for a 13-0 run, forcing Coach Weir to call a timeout, and converted it to a 17-1 run to make it a 30-point game, 60-30, just four minutes into the half.
It was then that Mathis registered his first (and only) points of the game on back-to-back jumpers. The Gaels held a 25+ lead for the remainder of the game.
UNM turned the ball over just 10 times on the night and turned over Saint Mary’s 15 times. Ten turnovers marks the least of any game so far this season for the Lobos while the next lowest of the season was 11 against NM State on Tuesday night – two of UNM’s largest losses.
The Lobos were missing junior Corey Manigault on Friday night, sitting out due to a pregame incident that occurred Tuesday night. Manigault averages 12.8 points per game.
UNM returns to action on Tuesday night (December 11) at home against Colorado. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.