New Mexico’s defensive effort continued to fall off on Saturday.
For the third straight game, UNM’s defense in the second half became problematic. Fresno State took advantage of the Lobos’ lack of effort for a 92-82 win at WisePies Arena.
UNM has allowed opponents to score an average of 49 points in the second half of the past three games, resulting in a three-game losing streak. After spending most of the Mountain West season near the top of the standings, UNM now sits in fifth place with two games left in the regular season.
Head coach Craig Neal said the team still isn’t putting enough work in on the defensive end.
“I’m trying to convince them that they’re going to be able to score points, but are they going to be able to stop anybody?” Neal said. “That’s my battle with them. I’m trying to teach them to guard and play defense as a team. We have a lot of breakdowns on team defense.”
The game might have gotten out of hand much sooner if guard Elijah Brown hadn’t kept UNM alive. Brown tallied half of the Lobos’ point total with a career-high of 41 points on 13 of 23 attempts and 11 boards.
More than half of Brown’s points (27) came in the second half when UNM was desperate to keep the game close.
“We’re going to have to do some things team-wise. We have to get more ball movement,” Neal said. “The problem that we have with our offense is that it’s one side. We’re not attacking both sides of the floor, we’re not sharing the ball and we’re not getting people the ball.”
Fresno State (20-9, 11-5 Mountain West) battled back from a double-digit deficit in the first half to take control of the game. In the second half, the Bulldogs used a 9-2 run to retake the lead late and keep the game out of reach for the Lobos.
UNM (16-13, 9-7 MW) was able to cut Fresno State’s edge to just five points over the last 6:30, but was unable to make stops when it needed them the most.
“I think part of it was we weren’t able to execute what the coaches were trying to have us do. But I think all of that falls back on effort,” Brown said. “We knew what to do and weren’t able to get back to shooters. A lot of it came down to effort and urgency.”
The Bulldogs had four double-digit scores with guard Marvelle Harris leading the way with 32 points on 10 of 22 shots. Harris didn’t have much resistance getting to the rim and made plays throughout the game. He hit 11 of 17 free throws and had 10 assists with zero turnovers.
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Guard Julien Lewis was Fresno State’s second leading scorer with 21 points, hitting 8 of 11 attempts. UNM’s Tim Williams had 18 points on 7 of 9 shots, but only two of those were in the second half.
Neal said after the game that center Obij Aget hurt his knee taking the jump ball to start the game.
Aget also got into foul trouble early and played just 11 minutes.
“He hurt his knee on the jump ball. He could never get back,” Neal said. “He had a bone bruise on his knee cap. He didn’t look comfortable or feel well.”
In the first half of Lobos’ game against Fresno State, the University announced in a promotional video that the alumni game between UNM and New Mexico State will take place at Wisepies Arena on June 25.
Thomas Romero-Salas is the culture editor of the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
