Lobos Overwhelmed by No. 18/19 Auburn in Semifinal
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Despite a strong start against undefeated, No. 18/19 Auburn on Monday night, The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (5-2) suffered an 84-59 loss to the Tigers (6-0) in the semifinal round of the 2019 Roman Legends Classic presented by Old Trapper at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The contest had three lead changes before the Tigers ran away with the game.
With the loss, UNM will take on Wisconsin, which is also receiving votes in the latest Associated Press poll, on Tuesday evening at 5 p.m. ET (3 p.m. MT) in the consolation game. Wisconsin (5-2) fell to Richmond on Monday by a final score of 62-52.
Neither team shot particularly well on the night as the Lobos finished the contest shooting just 40.3 percent from the floor compared to 42.1 percent for the Tigers. Auburn did however, collect 12 3-pointers (of 38 fired from behind the arc) while the Lobos collected just four, including a pair from redshirt-junior Vance Jackson.
UNM’s best scoring run of 8-0 came twice, once it the first half and the second beginning at the 13:24 mark of the second half. After heading into the locker room down 35-24 at halftime, the Lobos attempted a comeback in the second half that was sparked by a dunk by redshirt-junior Keith McGee to make it a 25-point game (56-31).
McGee’s spark was followed by layups by Jackson, redshirt-junior JJ Caldwell and another pair of points for McGee to make the game an 18-point contest before Auburn again picked up steam.
McGee was the story of the second half as he collected all 13 of his points and radiated positivity on the court to try to rally the Lobos in the final minutes.
In the final six minutes, both teams were trading dunks on possessions and McGee scored seven straight points for UNM starting with an alley-opp from Caldwell and adding an emphatic dunk followed by a three with 4:05 left. The energy sparked another Jackson three and also one from freshman Kurt Wegscheider, but the burst was not enough as UNM ultimately dropped the contest by 25 points.
Leading UNM on the night was junior Makuach Maluach who was a consistent presence on the court for UNM. Maluach notched 14 points as one of three Lobos to hit double figures. He went 5-for-7 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line while missing just one 3-point attempt.
McGee was second in scoring for UNM with 13 points followed by Jackson who registered his second double-figure game of the season with 10. Jackson also led the Lobos in rebounding in his 25 minutes on the court, racking up eight.
Auburn was powered by four Tigers in double figures including senior Samir Doughty who collected 19 while senior Austin Wiley posted the only double-double on the night with 14 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out with 2:37 left. Lobo redshirt-senior Carlton Bragg Jr. also fouled out of the contest after collecting seven boards.
Auburn converted 28 points off of 24 Lobo turnovers while UNM collected just six steals on the night.
New Mexico is set to return to action in the consolation contest on Tuesday, Nov. 25 against (RV) Wisconsin at 5 p.m. ET (3 p.m. MT). The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.