Lobos' Win Streak Snapped with 86-78 Loss at Boise State
BOISE, Idaho – The New Mexico men’s basketball team had its eight-game win streak snapped Wednesday night with an 86-78 loss at Boise State at ExtraMile Arena. The Lobos (22-5, 14-2 MW) remain in first place in the Mountain West, while the Broncos (18-8, 10-5 MW) improved to 12-1 at home this season.
Filip Borovicanin scored a career-high 18 points to lead New Mexico in scoring. Donovan Dent had 17 points and tied a season high with 11 assists for his fourth double-double of the season. Nelly Junior Joseph had 17 points while CJ Noland scored 12 points off the bench.
HOW IT HAPPENED
New Mexico got off to a strong start, building a 9-3 lead over the opening four minutes. The Broncos answered with a 6-0 run to tie the game with 14:45 left in the half. The Lobos took a six-point lead with 11:00 to play before Boise State tied it, 17-17 with 9:00 left. The Lobos led 26-23 with 6:00 left before the Broncos took their first lead, 30-28, with 4:45 left. The Broncos took a five-point lead in the final two minutes before leading 42-39 at the break. Joseph led UNM with 14 first-half points.
In the second half, Boise State pushed the margin to 64-45 with 12 minutes to play after an 18-2 run. The Broncos led 66-50 at the midway point before trimming the margin to 13 with 9:00 to go. That was as close as the Lobos would get until the final two minutes when a 9-0 UNM run cut the margin in half. The deficit got as close as seven in the final seconds before Boise State closed out the 86-78 win.
LOBO NOTES
• New Mexico had its eight-game winning streak snapped, its longest in conference play since 2010
• Dent becomes the first Lobo to have four 10-assist games in a season in the Mountain West era
• Dent had his eighth game of the season with at least eight assists, giving him sole possession of the record of eight-assist games by a Lobo in the Mountain West era
• Mustapha Amzil missed his second straight game (third in four games) due to injury
QUOTABLE
“Our defensive disruption was just not where it has been recently. It was just one of those games. We felt good going into halftime, but then they went on that run. We tried to slow them down and came back at the end. Credit to Boise State, they needed that win to get back into the picture. We have a chance to get some rest and get ready to go to San Diego next week.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
The Lobos will have the weekend off before visiting San Diego State on Feb. 25. New Mexico has two home games remaining on their schedule, hosting Air Force on Mar. 1 and UNLV on Mar. 7. Tickets for both of those games are on sale now at GoLobos.com/tickets.