Lobos tumble
Senior scores 30, but 3s by Utah State prove too much
UNM falls to Utah State despite 30 points by Tim Williams
LOGAN, Utah — Tim Williams did all he could. But when you’re playing by 2s and the opposing team is playing by 3s, matching basket for basket won’t get the job done.
Despite 30 points from the University of New Mexico senior, the Utah State Aggies hit 10 3-pointers en route to a 79-75 win over the visiting Lobos in front of an announced crowd of 3,897 in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Wednesday night.
The Aggies (7-7, 1-2 Mountain West) had no answer for the 6-foot-8 Williams, who got his points on 13-of-18 shooting on a night when the Lobos (9-6, 2-1) had very little scoring help much of the night thanks in large part to Elijah Brown getting in foul trouble and being
limited to 15 minutes. After two first half fouls, Brown picked up Nos. 3 (18:48 mark) and 4 (18:37) early in the second half sending him to the bench.
Meanwhile, the Aggies had four players score in double figures, led by Jalen Moore’s 20, including hitting four 3-pointers.
Freshman point guard Koby McEwen (18 points, including 12-of-16 free throws) hit a pair of free throws with 8:51 remaining in the game to tie the score 57-57. That started an 8-0 Utah State run that the Lobos weren’t able to recover from.
As good as Williams was, he didn’t get a point in the final 5:54 of the game, leaving him one point off a career high and the struggles for the Lobos were highlighted with Brown missing an uncontested layup with 13 seconds remaining in a game that, unlike Sunday’s monumental road win at San Diego State, the Lobos unraveled.
While UNM remains the No. 1 ranked team in the country in terms of points scored from free throw line, it was Utah State that hit eight free throws to ice the game in the final 2:48 of the game.
UNM was 15-of-20 from the free throw line and falls to 0-6 this season when attempting 23 or fewer free throws (they are 9-0 when shooting more than 23 from the line).
With 6:03 remaining in the first half, junior Xavier Adams went down with a right knee injury on a layup. He was helped off the court without putting weight on the leg, but was later walking, without a limp, on his own power, though he did not return to the game.