Down 6 with 50 seconds left in game, the University of Central Florida's Knights seemed finished.
The UNM men's basketball team was about to hand the Knights another chink in their armor with a second loss - but the Lobos couldn't hold on to the lead Saturday night, dropping the game 72-71.
UCF rose from the grave and, with 35 seconds left, the Knights' Jermaine Taylor buried a 3-pointer, making it 70-67. Taylor then poked the ball away from Jonathan Wills and threw down to cut UNM's lead to 1.
UCF quickly fouled, but Phillip McDonald converted one of two free-throw attempts to put the Lobos up 2, 71-69.
Knights guard Chris Baez nailed a wide-open 3-pointer from the corner to take a 72-71 lead with four seconds left and spoil a 3-1 start on the season for UNM.
"It's (a lack of) concentration on our half," UNM point guard Dairese Gary said.
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"We knew they were a 3-point-shooting team. We shouldn't have collapsed on that last play. That is just a mental breakdown. We have to get better at listening and executing."
Gary attempted a desperation 3-pointer, but it sailed left of the rim.
Baez's game-winning basket ended a 34-game non-conference home win streak for the Lobos.
The last time UNM lost in The Pit to a non-conference opponent was to a Chris Paul-led Wake Forest team in 2004.
Going into the second half Saturday, it seemed the Lobos had all the momentum.
With 5:18 left in the game, an inside drive by Gary led to a two-handed dunk by Tony Danridge, putting the Lobos up 56-49.
With 2:07 left, Gary made two free throws to put the Lobos up by 9, and they looked to seal the deal against the Golden Knights.
But Taylor brought UCF back, finishing with a team-high 18 points.
Taylor said he took being 18-point underdogs to heart.
"In the paper, it said they was going to 'roll over' us," he said. "If any other team wants to say something like that, go ahead. We are a good team, and I have faith in my teammates. There are going to be plenty more games like that from us."
Gary, who was one of the only Lobos to convert free throws, was 10-for-13 from the line. He led UNM in scoring with 20 points and notched seven assists.
Danridge finished with 13 points and a career-best four steals.
But free throws killed UNM, as the Lobos went 24-of-39, frustrating head coach Steve Alford.
"We shoot 39 free throws and we can't win," he said.
The Lobos are 2-2 on the year, and both losses have come from blown leads late in the game. UNM dropped a 63-53 lead over Creighton with 7:32 left on Nov. 16.
"We are learning some valuable lessons now," Alford said. "For the most part, we defended for 36 minutes. But (UCF) made the plays (in) the end. We didn't make any plays ourselves, (and we) couldn't make any stops. When you give up 18 points in four minutes, you are going to lose a lot of games."
Up Next: Men's basketball vs. Cal State Northridge
Tonight, 7 p.m.
The Pit
