Buzzer-Beater Gives Nevada 77-76 Win over New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team suffered a 77-76 loss to Nevada on Tuesday night at The Pit as the Wolf Pack scored the game-winning basket with 0.1 seconds to play. The Lobos (19-5, 6-5 MW) dropped just their second home game of the season, while the Wolf Pack (19-6, 9-3 MW) recorded their third straight win.
Jamal Mashburn, Jr. scored 21 points to lead UNM, his conference-leading 11th 20-point game of the season, while also dishing out a season-high six assists. Jaelen House and Morris Udeze each scored 18 points, while KJ Jenkins had 11 points off the bench.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams got off to a fast offensive start with the game tied 10-10 after the opening four minutes. A 7-0 Lobo run gave UNM a 15-10 advantage with 13:30 left before holding a 22-19 lead at the midway point. The Wolf Pack retook the lead, 32-31, with 5:00 left in the half and held a 41-37 edge with 2:45 left. Nevada would take a 45-41 lead into halftime as House had 14 first-half points to lead UNM.
In the second half, Nevada pushed the lead early to eight at 56-48 with 14:45 to play. The Wolf Pack led 63-58 at the midway point of the half as the Lobos kept chipping away at the lead. UNM closed to 65-64 with 5:50 to play before a House basket with 4:43 to go gave the Lobos their first lead of the second half. New Mexico took a 70-67 lead with 3:40 to play before the Wolf Pack scored five straight to take a 72-70 lead with 2:45 to play. Nevada led 74-72 with 1:10 to go before a Udeze layup with 58.4 tied the game. Nevada went 1-of-2 from the line with 44.6 left to retake the lead before Mashburn’s jumper with 19.2 left gave UNM a 76-75 advantage. Nevada would hit a buzzer-beating shot that hung on the rim for over a second before falling with 0.1 left to give them the 77-76 win.
LOBO NOTES
• Attendance was 15,004, the fourth game this season with over 15,000 at The Pit
• Mashburn scored in double figures for the 45th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the Mountain West and second-longest active streak in the nation
QUOTABLE
“It was a heartbreaker. The ball sat on the rim for a long time. I thought guys did an amazing job in the second half defensively. We fought for rebounds. We got to the free throw line. It was just one of those deals where the ball rolled their way. You have to give them credit. Mash made a big play and Blackshear goes down and makes a big one. We are going to have to learn from it. Even though it was a heartbreaker, we did a lot of good things.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
New Mexico will visit Air Force on Friday before returning home to The Pit on Feb. 14 to host Wyoming. Tickets for that game are on sale now at GoLobos.com/tickets.