No. 19 Lobos’ Win Streak Snapped with 86-78 Loss to Boise State
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The No. 19 New Mexico men’s basketball team has its five-game win streak snapped with an 86-78 loss to Boise State on Wednesday night at The Pit. The Broncos (15-6, 6-2 MW) earned their fourth conference road win of the season while handing the Lobos (18-4, 6-3 MW) their first home loss of the season.
Donovan Dent scored a career-high 31 points, the most by a Lobo this season, to lead UNM on the night. Jamal Mashburn, Jr. scored 14 points and Jaelen House added 12 points, while JT Toppin just missed a double-double with eight points, 15 rebounds to go with four blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lobos jumped out to a 10-2 lead over the game’s opening three-and-a-half minutes of play. Boise State answered with a 6-0 run to cut the margin to two with 15:30 to go before the Lobos pushed the margin back to 20-15 with 11:50 in the half. The Broncos used a 14-0 run to take a 29-20 lead with 7:20 to play before UNM answered with an 8-0 run to cut the margin to one with 5:30 left. Boise State led 35-30 with 3:45 to go before taking a 41-38 lead into the break, the first time UNM trailed at the half at home this season. Dent had 13 first-half points to lead the Lobos.
In the second half, the Lobos tied the game, 45-45, over the opening two minutes and retook the lead, 49-48, with 15:25 left. Boise State led 60-58 at the midway point of the half before pushing the lead to 63-58 with 9:20 to go. UNM tied the game, 67-67, on a Mashburn triple with 7:15 to play before the Broncos used a 7-0 run to take a 74-67 lead with 4:15 to go and led 77-69 with 3:45 left. The Broncos led by as many as nine in the final two minutes as they closed out the eight-point win.
LOBO NOTES
• New Mexico suffered just its 10th loss all-time at The Pit when ranked in the AP poll (128-10)
• The Broncos’ 14-0 run in the first half was the biggest run the Lobos have allowed this season
• Dent becomes the fourth Lobo to have a career 30-point game (Baker, House, Mashburn)
• Dent is the only player in the nation this season to have a 30-point scoring game (tonight) and a 14-assist game (vs. Utah State)
• UNM’s four steals tied a season low (UT Arlington)
QUOTABLE
“Credit to Boise State. I thought they played terrific and Max Rice continues to hurt us. They just played with such a great motor on the glass. We were not able to turn them over, which has really helped us, and we didn’t get the steals that we’ve been getting. We didn’t hit shots at the end. They made more plays in the end than we did, so we will learn from it. We got a little break now to get ready for Wyoming.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
Following the game, the Lobos will have an off weekend before returning to action on Feb. 6 with a trip to Wyoming. Game time in Laramie is 6:30 p.m. and the game will air on the Mountain West Network.