Lobos Suffer First Loss at Buzzer in El Paso
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team suffered its first loss of the season on the road at UTEP on Tuesday night when a JaQuan Lyle last-second three just barely missed the buzzer. The Lobos fell 66-63 in the contest that had eight ties and 6:53 of tied ball game.
With the loss, UTEP remains undefeated (4-0) while the Lobos post their first blemish of the season, slipping to 4-1.
The final shot for UNM that would have tied the game had it not been after the buzzer…
UTEP won 66-63.
Lobos (4-1) are at NMSU on Thursday night. pic.twitter.com/PwrIXuHFPg
— Geoff Grammer (@GeoffGrammer) November 20, 2019
In the first half, both teams were shooting below 40 percent from the field with a 30-30 halftime score and it was obvious the long-time rivals were going to have a defensive battle.
“I thought [UTEP’s] defense was really good,” head coach Paul Weir said. “We left some points .. around the rim and some layups and left some points at the free throw line as well on our end. But I don’t want to take away from UTEP’s defense. I thought they were very physical and played us really well, especially to start the game.”
The squads went through seven possessions to kick off the contest that included three turnover/steal combos before a single point was scored. The first point of the matchup didn’t come until the 18:21 mark when redshirt-junior Vance Jackson notched a free throw, his first of four points on the night.
Following the slow offensive start, UTEP began to pile on the points, holding the Lobo offense at the other end. The Miners went on a 10-0 run following the free throw to make it 10-1 at the 14:58 mark. UNM senior Corey Manigault fired off a pair of free throws to end the run and make it a seven-point game (10-3) before the Lobo offense started to find a rhythm.
UNM came back on a 9-0 run over 1:47 to tie the game 10-10 at the 12:24 mark. The run included Manigault’s free throws and a pair of threes, the first from junior Makuach Maluach, the second from redshirt-senior Lyle.
At one point late in the second half, Maluach was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor, 2-for-2 from 3-point range and 1-for-1 from the stripe. The junior finished 4-for-6 on the night including a 2-for-3 mark from the field for a total of 11 points, four rebounds and two steals.
Lyle finished with a game-high 19 points on the night following his Mountain West Player of the Week honor for his performance last week. He also posted eight rebounds, second-most on the team, and a team-high four assists.
UTEP jumped back out on top with a pair of free throws by sophomore Efe Odigie, who finished second on the Miner squad in points with 12. UTEP built a six-point lead with 5:52 left in the first half before a 6-0 Lobo run tied it at 24 apiece. The run included a Maluach and-1 to make it a three-point game (24-21), a jumper by redshirt-junior Zane Martin and a free throw from Lyle, 24-24.
The squads went back and forth for the remaining 2:40 of the first half and the Lobos got on top by two Lyle free throws with eight seconds left, but an Odigie layup at the last second marked the fifth tie of the game for the 30-30 halftime score.
At the break, both teams combined for 17 turnovers of which UNM capitalized for 14 points while UTEP collected 10.
UNM shot 36.4 percent from the floor at the half (8-22) and 33.3 percent from 3-point land (3-9) while leaving five points at the charity stripe (11-16, 68.8 percent). UTEP just barely outshot the Lobos from the floor at 37.9 percent but shot worse from three (26.7 percent, 4-for-15). The Miners did however, make 4-of-5 free throws for an 80 percent mark from the line.
The second half started out with a quick UTEP three in just the first 19 seconds of the frame, but Maluach matched it just 18 seconds later for the sixth tie of the match, 33-33. A 6-0 UTEP run made it 39-33 at the 17:09 mark before the Lobos again whittled away, making it a two-point game just 3:18 later.
Neither team was able to gain more than a four-point advantage throughout the remainder of the contest and it was the home team that had a one-point edge with 1:53 left on the clock.
A dunk from Martin put the Lobos ahead by one with 53 seconds left, 63-62, but it was followed by a jumper from UTEP’s Jordan Lathon 26 seconds later to put the Miners back up by one, 64-63.
With three seconds left, Maluach attempted a three for the lead from the right wing but missed and Coach Weir called his full timeout. A Lyle foul to stop the clock allowed UTEP’s Bryson Williams to score a pair of free throws for a three-point Miner advantage before Weir called a 30-second timeout with 1.1 left on the clock.
Martin threw the ball in from under the basket, finding Lyle at half court, Lyle collected the ball, dribbled a step, and fired – making the long three. But upon review, the shot did not leave Lyle’s hands in time and 66-63 was the final.
Three Lobos scored in double figures on the night including Lyle (19), Maluach (11) and redshirt-senior Carlton Bragg (10). Bragg also led all players in rebounding with nine.
UTEP was led by grad student Daryl Edwards (18), Odigie (12), Lathon (10) and redshirt-sophomore Souley Boom (10).
On the night, the Miners outshot UNM 42.9 – 38.8 percent from the field and 84.6 – 64.5 percent from the free throw line. The Lobos edged UTEP from 3-point range, 26.3 percent to 25.0 percent. UNM also outrebounded the Miners 36-31 and registered 26 points off of turnovers compared to 21 for UTEP.
The Lobos will get just one day of rest before taking on another long-time rival, NM State, in Las Cruces on Thursday. The squads are set to face off at 7 p.m. Thursday night at the Pan American Center.