ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team suffered its second straight defeat, falling to Boise State 91-90 on Saturday night at The Pit. The Lobos (18-6, 9-4 MW) rallied to tie late in the game, but couldn’t never retake the lead from the Broncos (15-9, 7-6 MW).
Luke Haupt led New Mexico with a career-high 30 points, the most points by a Lobo this season. Jake Hall added 19 points, while Uriah Tenette scored 14 points off the bench.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams traded baskets early with UNM holding a 10-9 lead after four minutes of action. A 9-0 Lobo run gave them a 19-12 lead with 12:00 left in the half. New Mexico led 23-18 at the midway point of the half before pushing the margin to 30-23 with 7:00 left with a 6-0 run. The Broncos used a 10-2 run to retake the lead, 36-35, with 4:00 left. The Lobos retook the lead, 41-38, with 1:55 left before Boise State took a 43-42 lead into the break. Hall and Haupt each scored 10 points to lead UNM in the first half.
In the second half, Boise State pushed the lead to 63-54 over the opening five minutes of play. The Lobos closed the margin to 69-67 just past the midway point of the half before the Broncos pushed the lead to 74-67 with 8:45 to go. The lead remained seven in the final five minutes before UNM cut the margin to 78-75 with 4:00 left. Hall’s three with 2:00 to play tied the game at 80-80 before Boise State was able to close out the win at the foul line in the final minute.
LOBO NOTES
• New Mexico lost consecutive home games for the first time since 2023-24 (Boise State, UNLV)
• The Lobos made 11 threes, their 12th game of the season with double-digit threes
• Haupt had UNM’s first 30-point game since Donovan Dent scored 33 at Nevada last season
• Hall scored in double figures for the 10th straight game, tied for the third-longest streak ever by a UNM freshman (and longest in the MW era)
• Boise State tied the opponent record in The Pit with 15 threes
• Boise State shot 26-27 (96.3) from the line, the second-best percentage by a UNM opponent (min. 15 attempts), trailing only Hawaii’s 32-33 (97.0) performance in 1996
QUOTABLE
“Any time we lose its disappointing, especially at home. The crowd was amazing again and that adds to the disappointment when we can’t reward them for that. I was of our effort and we competed at a high level. Luke Haupt was amazing and really gave us a chance. The guys made plays to get us back in it, but just couldn’t make enough down the stretch to get the win.” – Eric Olen
UP NEXT
The Lobos will travel next week to Phoenix for their first conference road trip to Grand Canyon on Wednesday. Game time is 8:00 pm and the game will air on FS1.