Another second-half lead slipped away from the UNM men’s basketball team, costing the Lobos victory again at WisePies Arena on Tuesday night.
Although New Mexico (9-8, 2-3 MW) was the favorite to win, UNM wasn’t able to close things out and deliver,
The 2017 year looked promising for the Lobos, who pulled off a 68-62 road upset over San Diego State on Jan 1. But they haven’t won a game since and are mired in a three-game losing streak.
In the previous game, the team blew a 25-point lead in the span of 11 minutes in a 105-104 overtime loss to Nevada. Prior to the UNLV game, head coach Craig Neal said the players had energy and were looking forward to being back on the floor.
But that energy faded down the stretch again. The head coach seemed unsure about what’s been going on with the team
"We just couldn't get it going," Neal said. "It looked like we didn't have any oomph in our step. It looked like we were in quicksand all night.”
He said that Tuesday’s result could have been a hangover from Saturday’s stunning loss. Neal said the outside noise and social media may have also had a negative effect on the players.
But if that was the case, it didn’t seem to phase the team during the first half of the game.
The Lobos took a lead 15 seconds
New Mexico scored the first five points of the game before allowing UNLV’s Uche Ofoegbu a three-pointer to put his team on the board.
But the first half belonged to the Lobos, who never trailed in the opening frame, and enjoyed a 37-31 lead at the break.
New Mexico was up by as many as 11 points, shooting 55.6 percent from the floor— 24.2 percent better than UNLV.
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Dane Kuiper led the way in the first 20 minutes with 13 points, going 5-of-5 on field goals, knocking down three 3-pointers.
The second half was a different
UNLV started out strong, tying the game one minute and twelve seconds into the period, and getting their first lead of the night when the clock ready 17:45 after a three-pointer by Jovan Mooring.
The Rebels went on a 22-9 run to start the half and enjoyed its biggest lead at the 12:31 mark, with the score being 53-46.
But it didn’t last long, as the Lobos reclaimed the lead at 55-53 on a Jalen Harris 3-pointer about two minutes later.
New Mexico maintained the lead until UNLV went back on top 61-60 with 5:13 remaining. The lead changed hands on a few occasions, but the Rebels used some timely offensive rebounds and solid free throw shooting to close out the game.
UNM junior guard Elijah Brown had a chance to tie the game at 69-69 with about three seconds remaining, but his 3-point attempt was off the mark, finishing 0-of-5 from beyond the arc.
UNLV tacked on a pair of free throws to cap the scoring and seal the victory, 71-66.
The Rebels had three players finish in double figures. Jovan Mooring led the Rebels with 19 points, followed by Ofoegbu with 14 and Jalen Poyser with 10.
Four Lobos had double-digit scoring nights. Kuiper finished with a career-high 17, Brown put up 13, and Harris and Tim Williams both chipped in 11.
Kuiper said setting a career-high in points wasn’t something he could enjoy, since the accomplishment came in a loss.
“I don’t care how much I score. If the team loses, I’m not happy about that,” he said.
Kuiper said he didn’t know what happened to the team in the second half, especially after playing well in the first 20 minutes. Neal said he wasn’t sure either, but emphasized that the team will continue to move forward and look at the positives.
"We've got to figure it out together," Neal said in the postgame conference. "They've shown signs of playing excellent basketball and I think they'll get back to playing excellent basketball.”
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She mainly covers men’s soccer and basketball. She can be reached at sports @dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cisabelg.
