Droughts have plagued the UNM men's basketball team all season, but its 11-minute, second-half disappearing act Thursday night against Brigham Young University was both inopportune and insurmountable.
BYU's seniors took advantage of the Lobo lull for a 72-67 win.
The loss drops UNM to 6-7 in Mountain West Conference play and 17-10 overall, while BYU improves to 9-4 in the conference and 20-8 overall.
The Lobos controlled most of the game, but the Cougars surged in the second half to mount a lead as big as seven points late in the game.
The nail in UNM's coffin was the foul trouble that plagued senior forward Wayland White, who plays an average of 30 minutes per game but was on the court Thursday for only five minutes.
"Having him out there for five minutes is as bad as having him sprain his ankle and miss the whole game, so that was a tough break," UNM head coach Fran Fraschilla said. "We had control of the game for most of the game, but we just couldn't overcome losing Wayland. I mean he's a big part of what we do, and I think he would have made a difference in the game."
While White is not the Lobos' leading scorer, he uses energizing dunks and blocked shots to get both the crowd and his teammates into the game.
"I really missed Wayland because I'm used to having him out there," point guard Marlon Parmer said. "He just does so much for us, but it seemed like every time he was getting into the game, they'd call a foul on him. That was really tough."
The Lobos did not score a field goal from the 17:19 mark in the second half until 5:56 was remaining in the game and were clearly bothered throughout the game by the Cougars' trapping double team on their perimeter players. A combination of solid free-throw shooting and strong perimeter play kept UNM in the game, but BYU countered with several baskets as the shot clock wound down.
Parmer twisted his ankle early in the second half, and guard Eric Chatfield ran the point for about five minutes while Parmer was sidelined. When he returned, he helped the Lobos close BYU's 64-57 lead to two points.
With 43 seconds remaining in the game and the Lobos down 64-62, Parmer stepped to the free throw line for two free throws but hit just one. The Lobos fouled BYU guard Matt Montague, who hit his first free throw attempt and missed the second, but as forward Alvin Broussard blocked out, BYU forward Nate Knight grabbed the rebound.
The Lobos had no choice but to foul the Cougars with time running off the clock, and BYU hit the remainder of its free throws to put the game out of reach.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"We had a young player out there and we preach out there that these games are going to come down to the little things and tonight was a perfect example of that," Fraschilla said. "We were down seven and got it to two and you have to get that rebound. That's just what you have to do. You cannot let a guy who is second on the foul lane get the rebound."
The Lobos were led in scoring by Parmer's 18 points, while BYU's seniors staged a scoring clinic. Mekeli Wesley, Terrell Lyday and Trent Whiting combined for 60 of the Cougars' 72 points, with Lyday leading the way with 26. Wesley lured White into many of his fouls and led the Cougars on both ends of the floor, infuriating the 17,311 fans at The Pit.
"Credit BYU because their seniors made good plays," Fraschilla said. "I thought one of the keys to the game was that there were a number of loose balls in the second half that we just didn't come up with, and their seniors did what seniors do. They get to the ball, find the open spots and make the plays that win you games."
The Lobos now have one day to prepare for a reeling University of Utah team, which lost 71-60 to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., Thursday night. It will be the last home game for seniors White and center Brian Smith.
Parmer said that while the final game does not mean much for conference tournament standings, UNM will be ready for Utah.
"We can't come out here down on ourselves," he said. "We have to bring it to them and stop letting people bring it to us first. We have to answer the call."
