The UNM men's basketball team let No. 25 BYU slip through its fingers 70-69 in overtime Tuesday at The Pit.
Letting BYU off the hook in the closing seconds of the game is going to sting for a while, Lobo forward J.R. Giddens said.
"When you have a tough game like this that you lose, it's going to hurt," he said. "It's very frustrating, considering we fought hard all game. We made some mistakes down the stretch and couldn't hit free throws and lost the ball game."
The Cougars shot 0-of-3 from the field in the extra period but went 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
With the win, BYU improved to 22-6 overall and 11-2 in the Mountain West Conference.
The Lobos had more opportunities than the Cougars in overtime but made only 2-of-7 field goals.
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The game was tied eight times and saw nine lead changes, and neither team had a double-digit lead.
Fouls plagued the Lobos all game, as they committed 24 as a team. Juniors Roman Martinez and Daniel Farris fouled out of the game in overtime. Giddens and Jamaal Smith finished with four fouls each.
Giddens led all scorers with 30 points and had seven rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal.
But the Lobo standout struggled from the line, going 6-of-13, accounting for more than half of UNM's foul shots.
BYU's Trent Plaisted led his team in scoring with 23 points and proved to be troublesome for the Lobos in the post.
After Tuesday's loss, the Lobos are 22-7 overall and 9-5 in the MWC.
The loss was disappointing, but there is plenty UNM can take from it, head coach Steve Alford said.
"It's not the end of the world when you get beat by the 25th-ranked team in the country by one point in overtime," he said. "I thought our kids battled. I thought we gave tremendous effort. We just came up a point shy."
Up next on the Lobos schedule is UNLV, which is second in the conference at 20-6 overall and 9-3 in the MWC.
Martinez said the Lobos can hold their own against anyone, and this loss is a learning experience as they prepare to face the Rebels.
"We feel we could compete with any team," he said. "I think we learned a lot as a team. We just have to get mentally ready in these two days off and get ready for UNLV."
Men's basketball vs. UNLV
Tuesday, 7 p.m.
The Pit
