Lobos Edged by Boise State 72-69 in Mountain West Semifinals
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team saw its run in the Mountain West Tournament come to an end Friday night with a 72-69 loss to Boise State in the semifinals at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Lobos (26-7) will await Sunday’s NCAA Selection Show while the Broncos (24-9) advance to Saturday night’s championship game.
Donovan Dent had 23 points and five assists to lead New Mexico, while Nelly Junior Joseph added 19 points and eight rebounds. Tru Washington and Mustapha Amzil each scored 10 points for the Lobos.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lobos jumped out to a quick start, taking a 10-2 lead over the first three minutes of play. The Broncos used an 8-0 run to take their first lead, 17-15, with 12:40 to play. The Lobos answered with a 7-0 run to take a 22-17 lead with 9:30 to play. Both teams had a scoring drought for several minutes, as UNM led 25-21 with 5:00 left. UNM would extend the lead to 32-26 with 1:00 left before taking a 34-28 lead into the break. Joseph had 10 first-half points to lead New Mexico.
In the second half, the teams traded scores over the first four minutes as UNM continued to hold a six-point lead, 42-36. Boise State tied the game, 47-47, with 12:00 to go before UNM led 51-49 at the midway point of the half. The Broncos used a 10-0 run to take a 59-53 lead with 5:45 left to play and led 61-59 with 3:30 left. A three from Dent cut the margin to 63-62 with 3:00 left and a putback dunk by Dent with 1:00 left gave UNM a 66-65 lead. But Boise State scored five straight to take a 70-66 lead with 30 seconds left and held on for the 72-69 win.
LOBO NOTES
• Lobos lost when leading at the half for just the third time this season (20-3)
• Donovan Dent became the first player in Mountain West history to have six consecutive games of 20 points and five assists
• Dent had his 33rd consecutive game of at least 10 points and two assists, the longest such streak in Mountain West history and the longest active streak in Division I
• Nelly Junior Joseph recorded his 100th block as a Lobo, just the 10th player in program history to reach that milestone
• The Lobos fell to 19-1 this season when Tru Washington scores in double figures
• The Lobos outscored the Broncos in the first half, the 11th consecutive half UNM had outscored its opponent in the Mountain West Tournament, dating back to last season, the longest such streak in conference history
QUOTABLE
“That was quite a battle. You are disappointed when you don’t win a championship, especially when you have such a great crowd that made it feel like a home game. We squandered the opportunity, but a lot of that was due to Boise making big plays. It was a one-point game, Tru gets a deflection and can’t get that loose ball and Meadow, who was 1-for-9 at the time, makes a huge three. We both fought hard and they made one more play than we did. I told the team, yes it’s disappointing to not win another championship, but we are 26-7 and we are going to the NCAA Tournament. Now we can take a little rest and get ready for Selection Sunday.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
The Lobos will find out the NCAA Tournament draw on Sunday when the selection show airs on CBS at 4:00 pm MT.