Lobos Fall to UNLV in Final Minutes Tuesday
BOX SCORE (PDF) | PHOTO GALLERY | POST-GAME NOTES | POST-GAME QUOTES
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Following a historic victory over top-10 ranked Nevada on Saturday, The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team was outscored in the final minutes by UNLV on Tuesday night, tallying its first conference loss of the season, 80-69. The Lobos are now 2-1 in Mountain West play.
The Lobos (8-7, 2-1 MW) led for 19:40 in the contest that saw 17 lead changes. The Runnin’ Rebels (9-6, 3-0 MW) led for 15:57 including the final 9:04. UNM led by as much as nine in the first half with a seven-point advantage at the break before UNLV outscored the Lobos by 18 in the second half for the eventual 11-point victory.
“I thought UNLV played terrific tonight and unfortunately, we did not play anywhere near the level that we need to play to win a game like this against a good team,” head coach Paul Weir said.
“I thought the pace was good, but their pressure bothered us, particularly on the perimeter. We unfortunately couldn’t get anything consistent at the defensive end to get through an off night.”
New Mexico was led by four players scoring in double figures including redshirt-sophomore Vance Jackson (14), junior Corey Manigault (13), redshirt-junior Carlton Bragg (12) and sophomore Makuach Maluach (12) marking the eighth time this season that UNM has had four or more Lobos score in double figures.
Bragg led the team on the glass with a team-high seven rebounds while Manigault added five boards and three steals.
Lobo leading scorer Anthony Mathis was held to just nine points including 2-for-10 from behind the arc, but he racked up four assists and pulled down three boards.
UNLV was led by senior and leading scorer Kris Clyburn who managed 25 points against the Lobo zone defense. He went 8-for-13 from the floor including 2-for-2 from three and 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
The Lobos came out with a fast start, winning the tip and racing down the court where Maluach drained a three just 16 seconds into the matchup. UNLV did not match it until a minute later, at the 18:45 mark and the teams were off.
At the 9:47 mark, the teams tied it up for the sixth time at 23 apiece and UNLV got out to a three-point advantage on a fast-break layup by Bryce Hamilton and a free throw by Joel Ntambwe. It was then that Bragg went off, scoring eight straight points on a trio of low hook shots and a pair of free throws for an 8-0 Lobo run to put UNM back on top by five, 31-26 with 6:13 left in the half. He finished the first half with eight points in just four minutes due to early foul trouble.
The Lobos got ahead by as much as nine with 56 seconds left on the clock with an 8-2 run to make it 42-33 before a pair of UNLV free throws made it a seven-point halftime score, 42-35 Lobos.
The Lobos outshot UNLV 56.7 percent to 42.9 percent from the floor in the first half, but finished getting outshot 50.0 percent to 41.8 including 46.2 – 22.2 from 3-point range. The last time the Lobos shot less than 30 percent from behind the arc was on Dec. 7 against Saint Mary’s in the STAPLES Center.
Bragg came out of the break with a fast layup to push the UNM lead back to nine before UNLV embarked on an 8-0 run to make it a one point game with 17:20 left, 44-43.
The teams tied the score three more times until UNLV started to take command of the game, using a 7-2 run to get on top by five with 8:39 left, 64-59.
Manigault scored four points as the teams went back and forth and a pair of Maluach free throws made it a one point game with 5:11 left 66-65 UNLV.
Over the next 2:36, the teams combined for just seven points and the Runnin’ Rebels took off. UNLV was sparked by a three from Clyburn with 56 seconds left to make it a seven-point game and hit four straight free throws for an 11-point lead. Mathis hit one last layup before two more free throws for UNLV clinched the 11-point victory.
The Lobos are headed on the road for a pair of conference matchups at Colorado State on Saturday and at San Diego State on Tuesday.