After a close battle, the Lobos eventually fell on the road, losing 79-74 Saturday evening to the Illinois State Redbirds.
It was, officially, New Mexico’s first road loss, but the team has also lost a pair of neutral-site games, making its overall record 5-3.
New Mexico started out well, hitting four of its first five shots to lead 9-5 after the first media timeout.
The Lobos led for most of the first half, but with 8:16 left, the Redbirds started taking control. A 3-pointer by Keyshawn Evans put the Redbirds up 25-23.
New Mexico tied the score on a jumper by Damien Jefferson, but Evans put his team back on top with another 3-pointer. Evans ended the game with 12 points, all from deep range.
UNM junior guard Elijah Brown put the Lobos back on top after he followed up a steal with a 3-point shot to make it 40-39. Brown struck again, drilling another shot from deep to put the Lobos up by four.
Despite the Redbirds hitting 10 first-half 3-pointers, the Lobos held a 45-42 lead at the break. New Mexico was shooting at 57.1 percent on the field, Illinois State 46.9 percent.
In the second half, both teams were less accurate with shooting the ball, as New Mexico dropped to 35.4 percent. Illinois State outpaced the Lobos with 37.9 percent shooting after halftime.
Illinois State’s Mikyle McIntosh tied things up at 49-49 with a jump shot early in the second half.
The teams traded baskets for a while, but near the 10-minute mark, the Redbirds made a push and built a double-digit lead, 74-64, with 3:35 on the clock.
The Lobos quickly closed the gap and Brown hit a late 3-pointer that gave the Lobos some hope.
Just like in last weekend’s game against Dayton, there was a 1-point difference in the final minute, with the score being 75-74. But just like last weekend, the Lobos were not able to pull ahead.
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Illinois State closed things out and earned its third straight win, finishing with 14 total 3-pointers. However, it was Paris Lee who led the Redbirds with 18 points, a season high for him.
With Tim Williams being absent, Brown stepped up and scored 21 points for the Lobos on 6-of-17 shooting and a perfect 6-of-6 on free throws. Damien Jefferson also scored in double figures, getting a total of 12 points.
The Lobos will be back in Albuquerque, where they are undefeated, to host University of Texas at El Paso on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She mainly covers men’s soccer and basketball. She can be reached at sports @dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cisabelg.
