The Lobos (3-2) led 31-26 at halftime, but couldn’t stop a second-half rally by the Aggies. The Aggies defeated UNM 64-51 behind guard Danuel House’s 18 points, 11 of which came in the second half.
The Aggies shot a scorching 62.5 percent in the second half, following a mere 31 percent in the first half. Lobo head coach Craig Neal said he liked his team’s defense in the first half, but that the second half was a different story.
“It was a tale of two halves in this game,” he said. “I was impressed with our guys in the first half. I thought they battled, but didn’t take the punch in the second half to respond and we couldn’t really get anything going.”
Senior guard Deshawn Delaney seemed to be the only Lobo to find a groove offensively. He had a team-high 13 points (4 of 10 FG, 4 of 5 FT) and added three rebounds.
Hugh Greenwood was the only other Lobo in double-digits as he finished with 10 points, four rebounds and seven assists. He struggled once again from the floor, only going 3 of 12, and connecting on 1 of 7 attempts from 3-point range.
Turnovers have hurt the Lobos this season, and Sunday’s game was no different. The team turned the ball over 16 times, which led to 16 Aggie points. However, UNM forced 12 turnovers and converted 12 points off of them as well.
The Lobos were without their leading scorer Cullen Neal (17.0 points per game). He missed his second straight game due to an ankle injury he sustained early in the second half against Boston College on Thursday. His return is still questionable and he will receive an MRI this week.
“We missed not having Cullen in the game, and it put a lot of extra pressure on Hugh,” Craig Neal said. “We need to relieve some of this pressure from Hugh. We have to get some guys handling the ball better and making plays.”
If one injured player wasn’t bad enough, the Lobos received news after the game that junior guard Arthur Edwards fractured his hand late in the second half of Sunday’s loss.
Craig Neal will be forced to play yet another starting lineup if Cullen Neal is not ready for their game on Sunday against USC. Craig Neal said he is optimistic that his young guys will step up, but needs to see consistency this coming week.
“I really like my team, and hopefully the newcomers will get better,” he said. “We can’t keep making the same mental mistakes over and over. I told the guys if they keep doing it we will keep subbing until we get consistent in doing it all right.”
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The Lobos return to The Pit on Nov. 30 to host USC (2-3).
Kyle Tomasi is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @KyTo22.
