No moral victories for Lobos after a close defeat
UNM starts strong, but fades down the stretch in 53-46 loss
That Paul Weir was even being asked about moral victories after Monday’s 53-46 road loss at UNLV was a sign of how hard this season has been for Lobo basketball. But all things are relative. And relative to what has become of the 2020-21 season for the UNM men’s basketball team so far, there was plenty to take away from Monday night’s game.
It just isn’t the message the embattled fourth-year Lobos coach is looking for.
“I don’t believe in a moral victory,” Weir said. “But I do believe that we’re continuing to maybe find some things that make us a better basketball team. And the guys are actually executing that.
“Losing sucks. That will never change, but I do feel like our team is finding itself and becoming a more authentic version of what we need to be to win games.”
The Lobos fell to 4-8 overall (0-8 Mountain West) while UNLV (4-6, 2-2), two days after beating the Lobos by 23, was frustrated by UNM’s high-energy defense that held the Runnin’ Rebels to their second worst offensive efficiency game of the season.
At least for the first 35 minutes on Monday, the Lobos did everything they had to do to have a chance at what would have been a huge shot-in-the-arm type of road win for a program desperate for any taste of success.
And in the final five minutes, they did everything that hasn’t given them much of a chance in every other league game this season.
“It was our first time being that close (at the end of) the game, so we didn’t feel com
fortable,” acknowledged junior forward Valdir Manuel, who had 10 points and a pair of blocked shots. “We didn’t execute the way we should execute.”
With a reshuffled starting lineup that moved junior Saquan Singleton to the point guard spot, gave freshman wing Javonte Johnson his first start as a Lobo, and had both big men — Manuel and Bayron Matos — on the floor together, the Lobos got off to a great start, leading by as many as 10 points in the first half.
An Emmanuel Kuac 3-pointer from the corner at the buzzer — feet in front of the UNLV bench — gave the Lobos a 28-27 lead at the break, the first halftime lead the Lobos have had in eight Mountain West games.
The back-and-forth game was tied 42-42 with under five minutes left in the game when preseason All-MWC guard Bryce Hamilton finally left his mark on the game. The junior scored eight consecutive UNLV points (he had 14 in the game), pushing the Rebels to a 50-43 lead with 1:49 left — mostly on tough, contested shots.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Lobos in the final five minutes had 10 possessions. The results?
1-for-6 shooting (the lone make was a Makuach Maluach 3-pointer with 1:21 left to pull within 50-46); 1-for-2 on free throws; Three turnovers Singleton finished with a teamhigh 11 points, six assists, six rebounds, four steals and also four turnovers.
UNLV shot just 36.7% in the game, but the Lobos were at 34.7% and committed 20 turnovers.
“I felt like, going into this, we could guard them,” Weir said. “I think we have a very good defensive team — if our offense stays the heck out of the way.”
The Lobos technically host San Jose State on Thursday, but the game will be played in Burns Arena on the campus of Dixie State University in St. George, Utah. It will be the first of a two-game series with the Spartans, who are also 0-8 in league play.