Lobos Lose on Late Three-Pointer at Boise State
BOISE, Idaho — A Viané Cumber three-pointer with 1:27 gave UNM a 55-53 lead in a valiant comeback by the Lobos in the fourth quarter, but it ended in heartbreak as a Boise State three-pointer with 12 seconds left gave the Broncos a 56-55 lead in an eventual 58-55 loss.
The Lobos outscored BSU 17-13 in the fourth quarter and shot 50.0% from the floor and 3-5 from three-point range in the final quarter, holding the Broncos to 28.6% from the floor and the only three-pointer they made was the go-ahead three.
Cumber and Nyah Wilson tied for the team high with 15 points with Aniyah Augmon finishing in double figures with 12 points. Of Cumber’s 15 points, 10 came in the final quarter and 13 came in the final two quarters and Cumber playing the entire 40 minutes. Wilson led with nine points and four assists, while Cumber and Charlotte Kohl each had two steals.
After missing the first 13 shots, a Kohl free throw with 5:53 on the clock put the Lobos on the board and later got within one on consecutive Wilson drives to the basket. After BSU got back in front 9-5, a Natalia Chavez three-pointer again pulled the Lobos within one, but the Broncos closed the quarter on a 4-0 run to lead 13-8 at the end of the quarter.
The deficit reached 13 at the midway point of the second quarter when an Augmon three-pointer started a 9-2 run to close within six at 27-21 before Boise State scored a last-second basket for the 29-21 halftime score.
A Wilson free throw opened the third quarter before an 8-3 BSU run put the deficit back to double digits at 12 less than three minutes in. The Lobos rattled off the next nine points with Wilson scoring four, Augmon two, Kohl two and Cumber one to make it a one-possession game at 37-34. However, the Broncos scored the next five points to create some separation with the margin at the end of the third quarter seven at 45-38.
Consecutive threes by Cumber and Augmon to start the fourth quarter made it a one-point game less than two minutes in, which the Broncos answered with four-straight points to push the gap to five at 49-44 at the media timeout. Two Cumber free throws and a Wilson fast-break layup again pulled UNM within one, with the Lobos later tying the game at 50 on two Lara Langermann free throws with 3:47 on the clock. A Cumber steal led to a fast-break layup to give UNM’s its first lead of the game at 52-50 with 3:33 to play, with the Broncos evening the score at the 2:29 mark.
A BSU free throw with 1:40 broke the tie, but Cumber gave the Lobos the lead back on a Cumber corner three 13 seconds later. The Lobos had an empty possession with 40 seconds remaining, which led to the go-ahead three-pointer late in the shot clock. UNM missed a three-pointer with six seconds left and left to foul, the Broncos made two free throws with two seconds remaining. Following their final timeout, the Lobos were unable to get a shot off for the final score.
The Lobos remain on the road to face Wyoming on Saturday at 2 p.m. MT.