For the second year in a row, New Mexico went one-and-done at the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada.
UNM, the fourth seed in the tourney, suffered a 64-62 loss to No. 5 seed Nevada in the quarterfinals of the tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Lobos let a 6-point lead slip away in the last six minutes of the game.
“I just feel bad for the guys because they were in a good frame of mind. They played hard,” head coach Craig Neal said in his postgame press conference. “We did some things. But it was a hard-fought battle and we just didn't come out on top, but you've got to give Nevada credit.”
Down two points with less than 10 seconds left, guard Cullen Neal hoisted a 3-pointer from the corner but forward Cameron Oliver blocked the shot to seal the game for the Wolf Pack.
Along with his game clinching block, Oliver became the first freshman in MW tournament history to score 20 or more points and grab at least 15 boards. Oliver recorded 26 points and secured 15 rebounds in the win.
“Cam has been unbelievable. He's a special freshman,” Nevada head coach Eric Musselman said. “As the season's progressed we've kind of gone to him a little bit more offensively. And sometimes when you're dealing with people and players this age it's a constant learning experience.”
The first half was a back-and-forth affair of sloppy basketball. Both teams shot less than 34 percent and Nevada went into halftime with a 29-28 edge.
The Lobos (17-15) had three players in double figures led by Elijah Brown’s 26 points. The guard struggled over the course of the game and hit just 6 of 15 shots but went 10 of 11 from the free throw line.
Guard Tyron Criswell was the Wolf Pack’s only other player in double digits as he scored 20 points on 8 of 9 attempts. UNM’s Sam Logwood had 16 points in the loss.
UNM had swept the regular season series from Nevada and beat the Wolf Pack in Reno five days prior.
“I think we had a really good week of preparation. We tried to be as detailed as possible,” Musselman said. “We watched every single basket as a team that New Mexico scored in both games. We came up with some specific defensive rules called Lobo rules.”
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Nevada (19-12) advances to play No. 1 seed San Diego State in Friday’s semifinal matchup. The Aztecs barely escaped its quarterfinals matchup against No. 9 Utah State with a 71-65 victory.
Thomas Romero-Salas is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
