Lobos in lead

Lobo leader is more effective on 2-point tries

UNM hoops women top the Mountain West, but need a win Saturday to stay there

There was nobody else the Lobos would have wanted with the ball for a potential game-winner in overtime on Thursday night at Fresno State that senior guard Makuach Maluach.

It was, after all, the senior leader who scored 24 points and was pretty much the lone scoring threat for the Lobos in another offensively difficult game in which UNM was held to 19 first-half points and scored just 0.816 points per possession. That’s below the team’s already dismal season average of 0.944, which ranks 311th in Division I basketball.

Unfortunately for Maluach and the Lobos (5-10, 1-10 Mountain West), the overtime clock proved to be a better defender than the smaller Fresno State guards had been much of the game. The 6-foot-5 wing didn’t have time to gather a partially deflected pass outside the arc in front of the team bench and do anything other than fire a rushed shot that didn’t leave his hand in time and wouldn’t have counted, even if he had hit the would-be game-winning 3-pointer.

Fresno State 64, New Mexico 62 in overtime.

“He made some tough shots,” said Fresno State coach Justin Hutson, who also acknowledged one likely adjustment heading into Saturday’s Game 2 of the series in California.

“We need to put a little bigger guy on him at the start of the game.”

More specifically, what Maluach did at Fresno State (6-6, 4-6) on Thursday was regularly drive his defender two or three dribbles from the perimeter, usually to his preferred left direction, and then elevate for a seemingly unblockable mid-range jumper.

That has been a recent point of emphasis from coach Paul Weir for Maluach, and the numbers don’t lie. He’s been a much bigger offensive threat when heeding his coach’s advice.

“It was 2s for 3s, you know?” Weir said. “I give each of these guys four things, you know that they need to do. And if they do those four things, they probably won’t have any issues playing. And I think my second one with ‘Kuach’ is 2s for 3s. I feel like in the past, he’s really settled for a lot of 3s. And that’s when, to me, all his numbers really drop. And it shows fatigue, it shows immaturity to an extent lack of discipline. And he just has to be focused. He’s such a good 2-point shooter. … I just feel like he settles for 3s a lot.”

last season, when the Lobos twice watched fourth-quarter leads disappear in close losses to the Bulldogs.

“The biggest difference is just persistence,” said UNM senior Antonia Anderson, who scored a team-high 16 points Thursday. “If a team makes a run, we just keep fighting. We’re more confident this year.”

Thursday’s victory kept the Lobos on top of the MWC standings in terms of winning percentage. They’ll need another win Saturday to stay there after Colorado State (12-2, 8-2) completed a series sweep of Boise State (8-5, 5-5) on Friday.

A second win won’t come easily against Fresno State, which also endured a relatively cold shooting night Thursday. Bradbury does not expect the Bulldogs to make dramatic changes for round two.

“It was a one-possession game,” he said. “There will probably be a few new wrinkles on both sides, but when teams are this close, it comes down to execution. Just play your game and try to do things a little more efficiently.”

The Lobos clearly hope to improve their 3-point marksmanship, particularly if FSU opts to remain in its preferred zone defense. UNM’s shooters had more than their share of open looks Thursday but were unable to capitalize on many.

New Mexico’s defense also must account for FSU freshman Kendyll Kinzer, who came off the bench to hit 6-of-7 from 3-point range and score 18 points in round one of the series.

Defensive adjustments aside, Anderson anticipates another back-and-forth battle between teams with similar styles and personnel.

“It’s always a fun game with Fresno State,” she said. “We both like to get up and down and just see who does it better. I always look forward to playing them.”

Anderson and her teammates also took pleasure in playing as a home team at neutral West Texas A&M, where they are allowed to have family members in the stands. The Lobos’ first seven games this season were played on the road, and New Mexico’s coronavirus restrictions do not allow them to play at home.

“It was actually a lot of fun playing here,” Anderson said. “We obviously miss our fans but it’s nice not being in someone else’s home gym for a change.”

NEW MEXICO 82, FRESNO STATE 80 Thursday, Canyon, Texas

FG FT Reb FSU Min M-AM-A O-T Cavinder, Han 39 7-15 4-4 1-9 Cavinder, Hal 36 6-19 3-4 1-8 Brown 2 0-0 0-0 0-0

A PF Pts 4 2 20 2 0 16 0 1 0