‘It’s obviously frustrating’ as Lobos lose again
UNM falls to Fresno State as players look to make mark at conference tournament
ALBUQUERQUE — As it turns out, it was, indeed, just a one-game sample.
University of New Mexico men’s basketball coach Paul Weir cautioned that last week’s blowout win at home against hapless San Jose State may have been a blip on the radar, that further work was needed to point to it and say it was the long-awaited turning point in UNM’s disappointing season.
He was right. The Lobos followed that win with a deflating 81-73 loss to Fresno State on Saturday night in The Pit. It drops UNM to 11-14 overall, 5-8 in the Mountain West and all but assures the Lobos a dreaded first round play-in game at the upcoming conference tournament.
A win would have left them in a tie for sixth place, just one spot out of a coveted top-five finish required to avoid a first round MWC game.
“We’re all tired of losing,” sophomore Vance Jackson said. “We still have the conference tournament, you know, so it’s not over. Anything can happen.” The mindset that”anything can happen” has become a way of life for this year’s Lobos. Blown out in a handful of games and riding into the final three weeks of the regular season with losing records in the conference and overall, plus a .500 record at home, and it’s clear that the potential upside of the Lobos is outdone only by their inescapable penchant for falling flat when it matters most.
Fresno St. 81 UNM 73
Touted as a big-time post machine this season, UNM has been anything but. Despite 16 points from power forward Corey Manigault and 10 rebounds, two blocks and seven points from center Carlton Bragg, the Lobos missed several open layups under the basket against a Fresno State team that was doing everything in its power to give up the game.
The Bulldogs (19-6, 10-3) were severely hampered by foul trouble. They finished with four players with four fouls and two more with three apiece. It led to 37 free throw attempts by UNM, of which it missed nine. Still, no one fouled out.
“It’s obviously frustrating,” Weir said. “I told the guys I know it’s frustrating. The losses are piling up and it’s hard, but we just have to keep working and trying and improve to eventually win a game like this.”
Fresno State closed the game on a 10-3 run in which UNM scored only from the free throw line in the final three minutes.
Jackson played out of his mind in
the first half, scoring 20 points with a game-high six rebounds in just over 15 minutes of playing time. He finished with a career-high 30 points and eight boards. It helped the Lobos close the first half on a 16-5 run and take a 38-35 lead at the break.
What he wasn’t doing, the fouls certainly did. Fresno State had 13 compared to eight for UNM in the first 20 minutes. Bulldogs stars Braxton Huggins, who averaged 26.3 points in his previous four games, played just four-and-a-half minutes after picking up three fouls.
Nate Grimes, who had 19 points and 19 rebounds in Fresno State’s first meeting with the Lobos, played just seven minutes after picking up two fouls. He and Huggins combined for two points and two rebounds in the first half.
They were both on the floor to start the second half but UNM opened with five unanswered points to take its largest lead of the day, 43-35. It didn’t last long.
The Bulldogs responded with a 12-0 run that slingshot them into the lead. Weir said it was the defining moment of the game.
“They drilled us from there,” Weir said. “They called a timeout a minute-and-a-half into the half and they went on a run from there that we just couldn’t stop. … They just kind of recalibrated themselves, or we ran out of a little bit of mojo or gas, I don’t know.”
Huggins erupted for 19 points the rest of the way while Deshon Taylor had a team-high 26, including five 3-pointers. Grimes never was much of a factor, but his presence helped neutralize UNM’s low post game down the stretch.
It was a 71-70 Fresno State lead with just over three minutes remaining when Huggins hit a bucket in the lane and then assisted on a New Williams 3-pointer with one minute left. It was the backbreaker the Bulldogs needed.
Anthony Mathis had 13 points on just five shot attempts for the Lobos. He, Manigault and Jackson had 59 of the team’s 73 points, taking 30 of the team’s 50 shot attempts.
Mathis said there’s still hope for the Lobos, although the team is definitely down.
“I’d say a little discouraged,” he said. “I mean, we put in so much work and to see the results that we’re getting are kind of discouraging.”
GAME NOTES
Uni-watch: The Lobos wore special cancer awareness uniforms for Saturday’s games. The white kits were replicas of the usual cherry-highlighted jerseys and shorts the team usually wears, but all the red was replaced by pink lettering, numbers and stripes.
Attendance: Saturday’s game drew 12,494 fans, the most since the Jan. 5 win over Nevada that was attended by 12,702. A good portion of Saturday’s crowd was due to a halftime cheerleading performance by a number of area elementary and middle school girls, as well as a large number of Boy Scouts and their families.