With second place on the line, a battle of potent offenses proved to be as high scoring and contentious as advertised.
The second half, dictated by lengthy runs, highlighted nine UNM free throws out of 10 attempts to slip past Boise State by an 88-83 score for second place in the Mountain West Standings. It improved the Lobos to 6-2 in conference games, and 13-8 overall.
The current generation of UNM’s Big Three made its mark on the statistic sheet in the crucial win.
• Guard Elijah Brown: 30 points, his third 30-plus game of the season, with 12 points coming off 14 free throws.
• Forward Tim Williams: a 70 percent shooting effort, 21 points, 7 of 8 on foul shots.
• Guard Cullen Neal: 14 points despite missing stretches in the second half with foul trouble.
The three helped the league’s top shooting team to a 56 percent mark from the field (28 of 50) and a solid 85.7 percent from the free throw line (24 of 28). The Lobos also contained Boise State to 39.1 percent on field goals (25 of 64).
Boise State pushed ahead 50-45 before UNM’s 14-0 run, kickstarted by seven straight points from guard Sam Logwood, which regained the lead at 59-50. Logwood put forth arguably his best stretch so far this season.
A 15-2 spurt by Boise State gave the Broncos a 65-61. Neal then hit a 3-pointer to pull the Lobos within one point at a 67-66 count. Neal’s 3-pointer started another 15-2 run to push the Lobos ahead 76-67.
Clutch foul shooting secured the win for the UNM victory as Williams and Brown each dropped four foul shots on four tries, and Logwood adding another. The foul shooting was especially vital with BSU guard Lonnie Jackson sinking three 3-pointers late.
Both teams drew fouls with UNM whistled for 23 and Boise State for 24. But the Lobos weathered the situation better than the Broncos (15-7, 6-3 MW). Three key BSU players – Anthony Drmic, Nick Duncan and James Well III – fouled out while Neal and center Obij Aget survived the game at four.
Webb, who some have considered a contender for Mountain West player of the year, was limited to eight points and shot 2 of 11 from the field. Four Broncos did reach double figures with Duncan at 19, guard Mikey Thompson and Lonnie Jackson at 17 each, and Drmic at 10.
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The rebound contest remained close. UNM pulled down 32 while Boise State had 31, but the Broncos held an 11-2 edge on second-chance points.
UNM managed to keep its turnovers down to 12. They had been averaging nearly 20 turnovers in its wins.
J.R. Oppenheim is the assistant sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers men’s basketball and women’s soccer. Contact him at assistantsports@dailylobo.com.
