Lobo Defense Unable to Hold On at Fresno State
FRESNO, Calif. — Despite a strong offense that saw The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team shooting 44.4 percent with 12 threes and a 17-point lead, the Lobo defense couldn’t hold off the Fresno State Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon on the road. Fresno State roared back in the final minutes for an 82-77 victory in the Save Mart Center.
With the loss, the Lobos slip to 16-8 on the season, 5-6 MW, while Fresno State improves to 8-14, 4-7 in league play.
The Lobo offense was led by four players in double figures including a trio that finished with 18 points apiece: senior Corey Manigault and redshirt-juniors Zane Martin and Keith McGee. McGee’s 18 points marked his most of the season as he went 6-for-9 from 3-point range. Saturday’s game marked just the fourth time this season that UNM has registered 10 or more from behind the arc.
The fourth Lobo to hit double digits was junior Makuach Maluach for the 12th time this season. Maluach collected 13 points to go along with a team-high six rebounds.
Maluach was one of five players to finish the game with 30 minutes or more as the Lobos ran out of steam in the final minutes. He was joined by Manigault, Martin, McGee and redshirt-sophomore Vante Hendrix, who contributed eight points, two rebounds and three steals.
With the teams tied 16-16 at the 13:15 mark of the first half, the Lobos put on a dominant show on the Bulldogs’ court, embarking on a 19-2 run over 6:25 to take a 17-point lead with 6:35 left in the first half.
The hefty run was sparked by a pair of back-to-back threes from McGee and Martin and included two more McGee threes along with one by Hendrix and a pair of free throws by Martin. The run was capped by a layup from freshman Emmanuel Kuac, who collected two points, three rebounds and two assists in 10 minutes on the night.
Fresno State scored six straight points within 1:14 to gain momentum and reduce the UNM lead to 11, forcing UNM head coach Paul Weir to call his first, 30-second timeout at the 4:57 mark.
UNM got back up by 16 three times but Fresno State freshman Anthony Holland hit a three with four seconds left to reclaim the Bulldog momentum and go into the break with the Lobos up by 11.
“I though the end of the first half unfortunately started [the momentum change],” Weir said. “They made those two threes at the end of the first half to cut it to 11 and I think it just gave them a little bit of momentum and took a little bit of the wind out of our sails.
“[Fresno State] just kept fighting and fighting and fighting and unfortunately I thought we just ran out of gas … We just didn’t quite have the defensive effort we needed down the stretch.”
Fresno State fought to close the gap, posting an 11-1 comeback run, and finally tied the game with 6:23 left in the contest on a layup from Bulldog leading-scorer New Williams (66-66). Williams entered the game leading Fresno State with 15.5 points per game in league play. On the night, the Lobos held him to just nine points, going 1-for-9 from 3-point range after tying the Mountain West record with 10 earlier this season.
The squads tied the game three more times at 4:21 (71-71), 3:00 (73-73) and finally at 1:18 (75-75). The tie marked the ninth and final of the game.
Williams hit a three to put Fresno State up 78-75, followed by a layup by Martin with 52 seconds left on the clock to make it a one-point game, 78-77.
A Lobo foul with 22 seconds left on a Bulldog 3-point attempt allowed freshman Jarred Hyder to make two of three free throw attempts to put the home team back up by three, 80-77. With no more timeouts left, the Lobos were forced to foul to stop the clock with eight seconds left, but the Bulldogs closed the game on a pair of made free throws for the 82-77 final.
Saturday’s game marks the first time this season that UNM has not earned the win after heading into halftime with the victory. Prior to Saturday, the Lobos were a perfect 12-0 when leading at the break.
Fresno State outshot New Mexico 56.5 – 44.4 percent including 44.0 – 42.9 percent from behind the arc.
The Bulldogs were led by three players scoring in double figures including two with a double-double. Freshman Orlando Robinson racked up 20 points for the fourth time this season to go along with a career-high-tying 15 rebounds. Senior Nate Grimes collected 15 points and 13 boards on the night.
On the day, UNM led for 29:46 holding the largest lead of the game at 17 in the first half. Fresno State led for just 4:31 with its largest lead of the game at five with eight seconds left and the ultimate final score.
UNM has a bye week and is set to return to action at home on Saturday, Feb. 8, at home inside Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit at 4 p.m. on STADIUM.