A subpar performance that included 19 turnovers cost the Lobos an important game and likely erased any chance at the Mountain West regular season title on Saturday night.
New Mexico (16-11, 9-6 MW) was just one game out of first place going into the game, but suffered a 71-61 loss at the hands of Fresno State. Now, its NCAA tournament chances will rely heavily on whether the team can win the Mountain West Tournament in March.
“We didn’t move the ball as well as we have been moving it,” UNM head coach Craig Neal said in a statement after the game. “We had opportunities in both the first and second half but we didn’t let our offense work.
The first 20-minute period could have gone either way, as the biggest lead was only a four-point margin, held by Fresno with a little less than six minutes remaining. The first half of the match was a dead heat, with the schools tied 30-30 going into the locker room.
Redshirt junior guard Elijah Brown, along with junior guard/forward Sam Logwood, led the Lobos with nine points a piece at the break. On the Bulldogs’ side, it was redshirt sophomore guard Deshon Taylor who led all scorers with 12 points.
Brown, who leads the Lobos with an 18.8 point per game average, took a while to warm up in Tuesday’s 78-73 win over Boise State. He had just eight points at the half, but heated up to finish with a total of 27 points.
But Saturday was nothing like that.
Brown only collected two more points in the second half, while teammate Damien Jefferson added seven points, after only getting three in the first period.
Logwood topped the team scoring with 14 points, the third in five games he has seen double digits.
The teams tied each other on three more occasions early in the second half, and the Lobos briefly went ahead after guard Jordan Hunter split a pair of free throws to take a 39-38 lead with 15:03 remaining.
But they lost it just as quickly after Fresno State’s Cullen Russo made a layup on the next possession at the 14:39 mark, and the Lobos never found the lead again.
The Bulldogs led by as many as 10 points on three occasions, including the final margin of victory.
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UNM cut the lead to four points after Jefferson drained a shot from beyond the arc with 3:44 to play. The Lobos got a stop on defense and had a chance to make it a single possession game, but didn’t even get a shot off.
New Mexico’s 19th turnover, a Paul Watson steal, proved costly as it led to a fast break dunk at the other end.
The Bulldogs continued to make shots and stretched the lead back to 10 points, holding a 66-56 advantage with 1:52 left in the game.
New Mexico still looked for a comeback, managing to pull back within six points, 66-60. Lobo guard/forward created a turnover and eyed a 3-point attempt to cut the lead in half, but his shot was off the mark.
Fresno State iced the game away at the foul line, connecting on five of its final six free throw attempts to take a 71-61 win.
The Bulldogs ended the night with four players scoring in double figures, Taylor and Jaron Hopkins with 15 a piece, Williams accounted for 14 and Watson had 11 points.
The Lobos will be back at home on Tuesday night to host the Colorado State Rams in their second-to-last home game of the regular season. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. at WisePies Arena.
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.
