BOISE, Idaho – The New Mexico men’s basketball team saw its seven-game win streak snapped with a 62-53 loss at Boise State on Tuesday night at ExtraMile Arena. The Lobos (10-3, 1-1 MW) couldn’t record their second road win of the season, while the Broncos (9-4, 1-1 MW) won their sixth straight at home.
Tomislav Buljan led New Mexico with 16 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Deyton Albury was the only other Lobo in double figures with 12 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lobos jumped out to an early 8-0 lead over the game’s opening four-and-a-half minutes of play. Both teams had a cold stretch for several minutes as UNM held an 8-2 lead with 12:00 left in the half. The Lobos led 11-7 at the midway point, but a 9-0 Bronco run gave them a 14-11 lead. Boise State pushed the advantage to 19-13 with 4:00 left. The Lobos chipped away at the lead and closed the halftime margin to 21-19. Buljan had nine points and five rebounds to lead UNM in the first half.
In the second half, the Lobos retook the lead on the first possession with a Haupt layup-and-one which started an 11-0 run to begin the second half before Boise called timeout at 17:32 with UNM up 30-21. The run continued to 13-0 for UNM’s first double-digit lead at 32-21, but Boise State answered with a 9-2 run to close the gap to 34-30 with 13:45 to play. A 7-0 Bronco run gave them a 40-38 lead at the midway point of the half and extended the margin to 50-41 with 6:30 left with a 10-0 run. Boise State led 55-44 with 3:45 to go as the Lobos were able to close to within five in the final minute before BSU closed out the nine-point win.
LOBO NOTES
• The 53 points were New Mexico’s fewest since 2021-22 (47 at San Diego State)
• UNM shot 3-25 from deep (.120), T-3rd lowest 3-point percentage in school history with a minimum of 20 attempts
• The Lobos lost their eighth straight in Boise, their longest active road losing streak
• UNM’s 19 first-half points were its fewest in a first half since 18 last year at Wyoming (trailed 32-18 at the half before rallying for a 61-53 win)
• New Mexico’s 26.7 field goal percentage (8-30) in the first half was its lowest FG% for a half this season
QUOTABLE
“Ultimately, I think the difference was they were able to finish around the rim a little better than us tonight. They are really physical, they wall up and make it difficult to finish at the basket. Between their defense and us missing some good looks that we normally knock down, that was a tough combination. I thought our defense was good enough to win tonight, but our offense was good enough to make that happen.” – Eric Olen
UP NEXT
The Lobos will return home Saturday to host Wyoming (10-3, 1-1 MW). Game time is 6 p.m. and the contest will air on CBS Sports Network and the Lobo Radio Network. Tickets are on sale now at GoLobos.com/tickets.