Second-Half Rally Comes Up Short for Lobos Against Fresno State
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team suffered a 65-60 loss to Fresno State on Tuesday night at The Pit. The Bulldogs (14-5, 4-2) led by 17 early in the second half before the Lobos (7-13, 0-7) got within two points late in the second half. UNM couldn’t complete the comeback.
Jaelen House had 19 points and five assists to lead the Lobos. Jamal Mashburn, Jr. had 15 points and Jay Allen-Tovar added 10 points and seven rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Fresno State got off to a strong start offensive start, making their first eight attempts, to take a 21-7 lead over the first six and a half minutes. The Bulldogs pushed the lead to 26-9 at the midway point of the half. The Lobos cut the lead to 31-22 with a 6-0 run with 4:45 left in the half before Fresno State used a late push to take a 41-26 lead at the break. Mashburn had 10 first-half points to lead New Mexico.
In the second half, Fresno State extended the lead to 17 before the Lobos got within 10 at 48-38 with 14:00 to play. New Mexico continued to chip away at the lead, trailing 49-43 at the midway point. UNM would get within two at 51-49 with 6:20 to go before a 7-0 FSU run made the score 58-49 with 4:15 to play. The Lobos cut the lead to 63-60 with 45.5 seconds left after a House floater in the lane, but the Bulldogs were able to hold on for the 65-60 victory.
LOBO NOTES
• Jamal Mashburn, Jr. scored in double figures for the 19th time in 20 games this season
• Jaelen House scored in double figures for the 13th time this season
• Jay Allen-Tovar scored in double figures for the sixth time this season
• Six of the Lobos’ seven conference losses have been by single digits
QUOTABLE
“It was a good fight back from being down 17 points. We are really appreciative of the crowd. That felt a little bit more of what we are used to with the students back and the band back. I know our record is not where it needs to be. I know our program isn’t where it needs to be, but their loyalty is awesome. We weren’t great in the first half, our defense was really, really poor. It was much better in the second half and that allowed it to get from 17 down to within two. I am disappointed. I thought we were moving in the right direction after the last two games, even though we lost to Colorado State and Wyoming, but we took a little bit of a step back in the first half. We were better in the second half, but it wasn’t good enough.” – Head Coach Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
The Lobos will conclude the homestand on Friday night by hosting San Josè State at The Pit. Tip-off is 7:00 p.m. MT and the game will air on the Mountain West Network and the Lobo Radio Network.