Lobos lose to Colorado in final minutes of game
Colorado pulls ahead for win, leaving UNM coach Weir frustrated, angry
ALBUQUERQUE — The lovable underdogs that made the fickle University of New Mexico fan base start to fall in love with men’s basketball again are now but a distant mirage of the past.
In their place is a dysfunctional band of high-profile newcomers with bloated expectations, one that seems to have lost its way just eight games into the season.
The Lobos (4-4) were beaten again Tuesday, this time not by blowout like their previous two outings but in heartwrenching fash- ion before a boisterous Pit crowd and a national TV audience on ESPN2. They blew a 17-point lead and played what head coach Paul Weir said was an embarrassing brand of second half defense, losing 78-75 to visiting Colorado.
It got so bad afterward that the normally calm and collected personality that is Weir boiled over. During his postgame news conference, he showed a side that the fans and local media have never seen; frustrated, embarrassed and completely selfloathing.
Just seven minutes into his question-and-answer session with the news media, he thumped his hands on the table before him and stormed off the dais.
“I’m going to do every single thing in my power to try and bring it out of this team, but it has not come out of this team yet,” he said when responding to a question about why this year’s club isn’t one of those hair-on-fire teams Lobo fans have known in the past.
“That is no one’s fault other than Paul Weir,” he continued. “And Paul Weir will continue to dig and claw and scratch to find a way to make this team do what I want it and we want it to do, and I’m sorry that it hasn’t happened yet. I’m sorry more than you’re ever going to know. I’m done.”
With that he got up and immediately headed out. As soon as the door to the media room shut, a loud crash was heard from the mid-ramp area, causing senior guard Dane Kuiper to pause and glance out the door to see what happened.
“He’s a great coach and he blames a lot of the coaching on him and we’re the ones out there playing,” Kuiper said. “We have to put forth effort. He has a right to be upset like that, you know?”
Up 32-15 in the first half, everything seemed right with the world. The same UNM team that had blown out by 35 at New Mexico State and 25 by Saint Mary’s was suddenly in control and pushing all the right buttons against the Buffs (8-1).
Then came the run. Colorado went on a 14-0 spurt to make it a one-possession game, then trimmed a 52-38 Lobo lead in the second half to two points with just under seven minutes remaining.
The Buffs took the lead for good when McKinley Wright, who changed his shoes midway through the first half after a trainer ran to the team locker room to grab an alternate pair, hit a shot with five minutes remaining to make it 66-64.
The Lobos never tied or led again, although guard Anthony Mathis set up an end-game scenario for a tie when he buried a 3-pointer with 7 seconds left to get UNM within 76-75. Playing with four fouls, the senior guard was forced to foul on the ensuing inbounds play to send CU to the free throw line.
Minus their top 3-point shooter, the Lobos put the ball in Vance Jackson’s hands with a chance to tie it at the buzzer. His 3-point attempt was an airball, ending the game.
As bad as things were, they didn’t seem awful considering the Lobos were doing several of the things Weir said they needed to do in order to get a win; they were hitting 3-point shots, they were avoiding turnovers and the guards were staying out of foul trouble.
One thing they didn’t do was play defense. Weir hammered his team in the postgame news conference, saying the final 20 minutes were as bad as the Lobos could possibly have played on D.
Mathis, who finished with a game-high 23 points on the strength of seven 3-pointers, said there’s a teamwide lackadaisical approach to effort and it’s proving costly nearly every time out.
“I mean we run all the time, so it can’t be a conditioning factor,” Mathis said. “It has to be mental, really. Just mentally wearing down.”
It all goes back to the disconnect Weir spoke about all week, saying there’s something about this team — which came into the season with so much hype and promise — that he can’t put a finger on. If it’s poor shooting one game, it’s defense the next. The common denominator in all of it is effort and poor decision making.
He said after trailing so many times to start the game this season, the team’s double-digit lead early on seemed to take his team’s focus away because it didn’t know how to play from in front.
“Early leads mean nothing,” Weir said. “We’ve had two good early leads this year and both ended in losses.”
Four CU players finished in double figures and the Buffaloes enjoyed huge advantages in two critical categories: Rebounds (51 to 38) and free throws (32 attempts to UNM’s 14). The Lobos attempted just four free throws in the second half compared to the Buffs’ 19.
Jackson had 10 points and eight rebounds for UNM, but he was just 4-for-16 shooting. Kuiper had 11 points and Corey Manigault, back from his onegame hiatus for disciplinary reasons, finished with eight points and five rebounds in 14 minutes of playing time.
NOTES
UNM was seeking its first win over a team from a Power-5 conference in six years. … Scouts from the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls attended Tuesday’s game. … Bill Walton was the color analyst for the ESPN2 broadcast. He received a standing ovation when introduced to the crowd just prior to the start of the second half.