Lobos Fall to Colorado State 83-68
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team had its three-game win streak snapped with an 83-68 loss to Colorado State on Thursday night at The Pit. The Lobos (11-15, 3-9) couldn’t overcome a poor shooting second half as the Rams (21-3, 11-3) posted their fifth straight win.
Jay Allen-Tovar and Jamal Mashburn, Jr. each scored 17 points to lead the Lobos, while Allen-Tovar also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Jaelen House had 13 points and six steals, the most steals in a Mountain West conference game this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado State used an early 12-0 run to take a 12-2 lead at the first media timeout. The Lobos answered and used a 7-0 run cut the deficit to 17-16 with 12:00 to play and retook the lead, 20-19 at the midway point of the half. The teams traded the lead over the next few minutes with the Rams holding a 33-31 lead at the under-4:00 timeout. A Javonte Johnson three in the waning seconds gave the Lobos a 42-40 lead at halftime as House led UNM with 11 first-half points.
In the second half, the teams traded the lead through the first five minutes before the Rams took a 56-54 lead at the under-12 timeout. Colorado State pushed the lead to six at 60-54 with 11:00 to play and extended the lead to 67-56 with 7:45 to go as UNM went over eight minutes without a field goal. New Mexico got within seven before the Rams were able to extend the lead to as many as 17 as they closed out the 83-68 win.
LOBO NOTES
• Jaelen House scored in double figures for the 18th time this season
• Jay Allen-Tovar scored in double figures for the fourth straight game and the 11th time this season
• Jamal Mashburn, Jr. scored in double figures for the 15th straight game and the 25th time in 26 games this season
QUOTABLE
“Colorado State is really good and I’m not sure what their weaknesses are. It was a very entertaining first half, but our offense in the second half just couldn’t get into a rhythm. When we watch the film, we are going to say Colorado State is really good and that is what we want to become. We have to learn from this and see if we can go get a win in San Jose.” – Head Coach Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
The Lobos will play its next two games on the road, with a visit to San Jose State on Sunday (2 p.m. MT on CBS Sports Network) and a visit to Utah State on Tuesday (8 p.m. on FS1).