LAS VEGAS - The UNM men's basketball team waited all season to return to the team that started 5-0.
Unfortunately for the Lobos, another second-half collapse means there won't be another chance to turn this season around.
UNM lost to Texas Christian 62-54 in the play-in game of the Mountain West Conference Tournament in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
Head coach Ritchie McKay said the Lobos couldn't sustain their first-half momentum.
"I thought we played well in the first half," he said. "(We) never got back in sync."
UNM went on an 18-0 run in the first half, held Texas Christian without a point for about seven minutes and built a 14-point lead. Still, the Lobos (15-16 overall, 4-13 in the MWC), seeded last in the nine-team conference, lost to the No. 8-seeded Horned Frogs (12-16, 5-12) for the second time this season. TCU will now go on to play No. 1-seeded Brigham Young on Thursday.
After holding a 34-26 lead at halftime, the Lobos' offense disappeared.
UNM shot 54 percent from the field in the first half but converted just 24 percent of its shots in the second. J.R. Giddens recorded a double-double for the Lobos with 10 points and 12 rebounds, but he did not score a point in the second half.
While the Lobos had a meltdown after the first half, TCU came out with a fire UNM couldn't match.
The Horned Frogs converted 58 percent of their field-goal attempts in the second after shooting 35 percent in the first half.
TCU head coach Neil Dougherty said the Horned Frogs overcame early-game jitters.
"The kids found a lot of toughness to battle back and stay with a plan and eventually get back into the game and hold off a pretty feisty New Mexico team," he said.
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UNM struggled throughout the game to find any presence in the paint. Daniel Faris scored the Lobos' first six points - all in the post - but scored only one more field goal the rest of the game after getting in early foul trouble.
The Lobos' 3-point shooting did nothing to bail them out, either. Of UNM's 49 field-goal attempts, 25 came from beyond the arc, and only seven went in.
McKay said the Lobos' lack of an inside presence hurt them in the end.
"We didn't obviously shoot the ball very well - stopped attacking the paint," he said. "Those usually lead to a lack of success."
Meanwhile, TCU's Brent Hackett was lights out from deep, hitting 5-of-11 from the 3-point line. He finished with a game-high 24 points, including 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Hackett said the Horned Frogs didn't lose confidence despite falling behind in the first half.
"We knew we had to get stops, keep making shots," he said. "We just had to keep defending. They got hot for a minute, but we sustained it and got a victory."
