New Lobos Break Out in Loss to Utah State

LUBBOCK, Texas — Despite a disappointing performance in UNM men’s basketball’s 82-46 loss to Utah State on Friday night, the squad’s fifth straight, freshman Nolan Dorsey had a breakout night with seven points in 15 minutes in the second half.

The Lobos (3-6, 0-6 MW) scored just nine points less than the Aggies (9-3, 6-0 MW) in the second half as UNM started four freshmen and a junior after heading into the locker room down by a season-most 27 points.

Utah State jumped out to a 14-point lead in the first 5:38 of the game as UNM went just 1-for-11 to from the floor to open the contest. Utah State hit eight of its first nine shots, including a pair of game-opening, back-to-back threes that set the tone en route to a 20-5 lead at the 11:33 mark.

The Aggies led by 27 at the half (45-18) with redshirt-junior Marco Anthony leading all scorers with 11 points. While the Lobos struggled shooting from the floor (7-29), defensively they did hold Aggie leading-scorer Neemias Queta to just three points in the first half after Queta put up 18 points against the Lobos in game one. He finished with 11 on the night.

The unexpected second-half Lobo starters, which included freshmen Dorsey, Isaiah Marin, Javonté Johnson and Bayron Matos as well as redshirt-junior Rod Brown started the second half with a bang as Dorsey nailed the first shot of the half, a three from the corner, for his first career points.

Nolan Dorsey opens his night with a wide open triple. #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/g2YhxndBuA

— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) January 9, 2021

UNM went 3-for-4 to open the second half but failed to stop the Aggies on the other end as Utah State remained ahead by 23.

The brief flash of Lobo energy was not enough as the Aggies finished the night shooting 50.8 percent (32-63) from the field to UNM’s 31.1 percent (19-61). UNM was outrebounded 53-22 overall while Utah State also outperformed the Lobos from behind the arc (43.8-23.8 percent) and in the paint (38-22 points).

Senior Makuach Malauch and Utah State junior Justin Bean led all scorers on the night with 13 points. It marked the sixth time this season that Maluach has led the Lobos in scoring and the seventh time in nine games that he has scored in double figures.

A pair of Aggies posted double-doubles on the night as Bean finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds while Queta finished with 11 points and 13 boards.

Sophomore Jeremiah Francis III was UNM’s second-highest scorer as he worked his way out of a shooting slump. Francis went a perfect 2-for-2 from 3-point range and 3-for-7 from the floor for eight points.

The Lobos are set to return to action on Jan. 16 when they travel to UNLV. UNM will take on the Runnin’ Rebels at 3:30 p.m. MT on CBS Sports Network.

Postgame Notes

• Utah State now leads the series 29-12 overall
• Utah State is 3-0 in the last two meetings
• UNM’s last win in the series was on Feb. 29, 2020

TEAM NOTES:

• UNM’s lineup was a repeat of Wednesday’s new one featuring Marin, Singleton, Maluach, Brown and Matos
• The game marked the second straight in which the Lobos trailed by 20+ points at the half
• Both teams finished even in turnovers with 14 apiece
• Both teams racked up six steals
• UNM’s best scoring run of the game was 6-0 with 1:41 left
• Utah State’s best scoring run was 13-0 with 14:22 left in the first half
• The Aggies dominated the paint for the second straight game, 38-22 points
• The Lobos were outrebounded 53-22 as Utah State has outrebounded each of its opponents en route to a perfect conference record.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:

• Senior Makuach Maluach started his 65th career contest
  • He also competed in his 108th career game
  • With his 13 points, he now posts 1,083 career points and is just 4 points away from passing Ike Williams and ranking 28th in Lobo history.
• The Lobos were led by senior Makuach Maluach for the sixth time this season, just the 16th in his career
  • • Maluach has led UNM in six of its nine games this season
    • Friday marks Maluach’s seventh double-digit game of the season
• Freshman Nolan Dorsey scored his first career points on the night and finished with seven in just 15 minutes
  • Dorsey went 3-for-6 from the floor and 1-for-3 from behind the arc
• Sophomore Jeremiah Francis III worked his way out of a shooting slump, going a perfect 2-for-2 from 3-point range and 3-for-7 from the floor for eight points on the night