Despite a spirited effort by the UNM men's basketball team, the University of Wyoming battled back from a five-point halftime deficit to hand the Lobos their second loss in a row by a score of 79-67.
After falling behind 9-2 in the opening minutes of the game, UNM (12-6, 2-2 in the Mountain West Conference), led by senior guard Tim Lightfoot's 12 points in the first half, took a 36-31 lead into the locker room at halftime, leaving the crowd of 12,254 in Wyoming's Arena Auditorium stunned.
It took a career high 22 points from guard Donta Richardson, center Uche Nsonwu-Amadi's 12 made free throws out of 14 attempts and a Lobo scoring drought of 6:06 in the second half to allow the Cowboys (13-4, 4-0 MWC) to pull away for the win.
"I thought the big part of the game, and probably, this had a lot to do with Wyoming, we were sucking wind a little bit after the first three or four minutes of the second half," UNM head coach Fran Fraschilla said during his post-game radio show. "We were really just hanging on for dear life, and then they made that run and got up on us and we were playing from behind."
The patient Lobo offense and a two-three zone employed by Fraschilla neutralized Wyoming's inside game and its efforts to play an up-tempo style in the first half.
Lightfoot gave UNM its first lead at 23-22 after converting a free-throw and nailing a 3-pointer to complete a four point play. The Lobos increased their lead to 27-22, but a seven-point run by the Cowboys gave them the upper hand once more. The Lobos followed with a 9-2 scoring run as time dwindled in the first half, and they took a 36-31 halftime lead as a chorus of boos rained down from the home town crowd.
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The Lobos started the second half by taking their largest lead at 42-35 with more than 17 minutes to play, but consecutive 3-pointers by Richardson and freshman point guard Jason Straight ignited a 16-0 Cowboy run. The run eventually ended more than six minutes later on two Lobo free-throws, and by then, the deficit would prove too much for them to overcome.
"I just like the way our kids responded today," Fraschilla said. "We were four or five plays from making this a game that would have gone down to the wire. We didn't make them."
The Lobos got as close as 65-61 on a free throw by junior guard Ruben Douglas, but Nsonwu-Amadi's repeated trips to the charity stripe helped the Cowboys hang on.
The disparity in free throw attempts - Wyoming's 32 to UNM's 16 - played a big hand in the loss as the Lobos sank 13 of those attempts, one of their best efforts from the line this season. Conversely, the Cowboys connected on 23.
Both teams finished the game shooting 47 percent on identical 24-of-51 shooting efforts, as the Cowboys shot eight-of-17 from beyond the arc, including Richardson's six. UNM guard Eric Chatfield finished seven-of-10, including two-of-five from 3-point land for 18 points, and Douglas finished with 20 points and nine rebounds. Lightfoot finished with 12 points, all in the first half, and post Patrick Dennehy finished with 11 points.
The Lobos now turn their attention to Colorado State University (9-9, 1-3 MWC), a team that earned its first conference win of the season Saturday, a 60-57 victory over the Air Force Academy.
The Rams and Lobos face each other tonight in Fort Collins, Colo., with game time set for 7 p.m.
KRQE-13 will provide television coverage in Albuquerque and 770-KKOB AM will have the radio call.
