The Bronco duo scored a combined 54 points on UNM, marking the Lobos’ first home loss in Mountain West play this season.
“Well, we got beat by a better team today,” head coach Craig Neal said. “They were spectacular. They made 11 3s, made it hard for us to guard. Webb was really good and Marks was as good as it comes.”
The Lobos (12-6, 4-2 MW) got off to a hot 8-2 start against the Broncos but never shook them completely. Webb shot an impressive 6 of 7 from the field in the first half along with a perfect 5 of 5 from behind the 3-point arc. He finished with a career-high 23 points (8 of 9 FG, 7-7 3FG) and seven rebounds.
Neal praised Webb for his offensive ability the previous week but didn’t think he was going to have the game he did on Sunday evening.
“One thing that we didn’t do, and this is my fault, we didn’t put them out of rhythm,” Neal said. “We let them get their rhythm, we let them get their offense going, we never changed it up enough — that’s on me.”
The Lobos took a 31-30 lead into halftime but couldn’t find an answer to another hot shooting player on the Broncos roster in the second half. Marks exploded for 22 points after intermission and finished with a game-high 31 points. This was his fourth game of 30 points or more this season and second in conference play.
Senior guard Deshawn Delaney led all Lobo scorers with 13 points and added four rebounds. Fellow senior guard Hugh Greenwood struggled from the floor as he went 3 of 14 shooting the ball. Over the last two games, Greenwood has shot 5 of 24.
“It’s kind of tough because Hugh is our motor guy; he gets the team going,” Delaney said. “He encourages us to go hard and play better, so it’s kind of hard to play when he’s not into it.”
Sophomore center Obij Aget had six of the Lobos first 10 points but only found the basket one more time during the contest. Neal said the reason for his lack of production late in halves is because the guards don’t throw him the ball down low.
“We threw him the ball early and he was very productive,” he said. “We’ve got to throw the ball in there and that’s all I can say is that we don’t throw it in there.”
The Lobos trailed for most of the second half but saw the game tied on more than one occasion. UNM tied the game up at 55 with 5:36 left in the game after a Tim Jacobs layup.
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“We had our chances,” Neal said. “I thought at 55-55, that would get us over the hump but then we only scored one more basket.”
Boise State (12-6, 2-3 MW) went on a 14-4 run after the Jacobs layup to seal the 10-point victory on the road.
Devon Williams got his usual start for the Lobos but was subbed out at the 4:37 mark in the first half. He did not return to the game, Neal said, after telling UNM athletic trainer Nate Burney he was tired.
“If he can’t bring it up for his team and do things for his team after we believed in him, then I don’t know what else we can do,” Neal said.
Head athletic trainer to leave the program
Burney will be leaving the program to pursue professional opportunities in the private sector closer to his home state of Kansas according to Matt Ensor, assistant director of communications.
“We are very sad to see Nate leave our program after being such a big part of our success over the last five and a half years,” Neal said in a statement. “Nate was a key component of six Mountain West Championships and I can’t thank him enough for everything he did for our program. He will be missed.”
Burney has been a part of the program since 2009 and has won six MWC championships as a member of the Lobos staff.
“I am very appreciative and thankful for being a part of the Lobo family over the past few years,” Burney said in the statement. “I am going to miss this program and everyone that is a part of it. I wish the team the best moving forward.”
Kyle Tomasi is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @KyTo22.
