No. 21 Lobos Suffer First Loss of the Season at Fresno State
FRESNO, Calif. – The No. 21 New Mexico men’s basketball team suffered its first loss of the season, falling at Fresno State 71-67 at the Save Mart Center Tuesday night. The Lobos (14-1, 2-1 MW) had been the last remaining undefeated team in the nation, but the Bulldogs (6-8, 2-1 MW) upset UNM to snap the 14-game win streak.
Jamal Mashburn, Jr. scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Lobos. Morris Udeze added 18 points and seven rebounds, while Jaelen House had 16 points, six rebounds and four steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams got off to a hot shooting start with the Lobos leading 10-9 after the opening five minutes. After UNM took a 15-11 lead, a 7-0 Bulldog run gave them a three-point lead. The teams continued to trade the lead over the next few minutes before Fresno State took a 28-24 lead with 4:30 in the half. An 8-0 Bulldog run gave them a 36-28 lead with 1:15 to go in the half before the Lobos scored the final four points of the half to trail 36-32 at the break. Mashburn scored 11first-half points to lead UNM.
In the second half, the Lobos opened with four straight points to tie the game at 36-36 in the first 90 seconds. A 6-0 UNM run gave the Lobos a 48-43 lead with 14:00 to go. The lead would grow to seven at 55-48 with 10:45 left before a 7-0 Bulldog run tied the game with 9:20 to go. The game remained tied, 59-59, with 6:45 to play before the teams began trading the lead for several minutes. The Bulldogs took a 66-65 lead with 2:15 to go before Allick made both ends of a 1-in-1 to give UNM the lead with 1:50 to play. Fresno State held a 70-67 lead with 20.3 to go and got a stop on the defensive end as the Lobos looked to tie. The Bulldogs sealed the 71-67 at the line in the final seconds.
LOBO NOTES
• The Lobos had the same starting lineup for the 15th straight game to open the season
• Mashburn scored in double figures for the 36th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the Mountain West
• House reached the 1,000 career point milestone in the first half, becoming the second Lobo to accomplish the feat this season (Mashburn)
• The Lobos’ 14-game win streak was snapped, T-3rd longest win streak in program history
• UNM lost its seventh straight to Fresno State, tied for the longest active losing streak to any opponent (Nevada)
QUOTABLE
“It kind of went the other way than some of those close games that we won at the end. They made one or two plays more than us, one or two more free throws than us. The game went the way I thought it would go. They slowed down the pace. I told the team we have to keep it in perspective. We are 14-1. It’s been an unbelievable run to go two months without a loss. It is tough to win on the road, especially in conference. We will try not to get too emotional about this, but just get back home and learn from it.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
The Lobos return home for a pair of home games, hosting UNLV on Saturday and Oral Roberts on Monday. The UNLV game is sold out but tickets remain for the Oral Roberts game at GoLobos.com/tickets.