Isabel Gonzalez
@cisabelg
New Mexico picked up an 88-81 loss at Laramie, Wyo against the Cowboys on Saturday night. After that result, and the results of a couple other conference games, the Lobos officially became the No. 7 seed for the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas next week.
The score at halftime was tight with Wyoming only leading by one point at 42-41. Sophomore Vance Jackson gave the Lobos the lead at the beginning of the half with a layup, but this would be the only time New Mexico would be ahead during this period. The Lobos only made 13 out of 36 shot attempts from the field during the second half.
But it wasn’t all bad for New Mexico. The team outscored Wyoming in the paint 34-26 and off second chance points 18-2. Carlton Bragg led the Lobos with 22 points and 20 rebounds. He tied the school record for most rebounds in a conference season at 190. This is specially impressive since Bragg didn’t start playing until December.
The Cowboys shot 52 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc. They spread out their offensive efforts and finished the night with five players seeing double figures. Justin James led with 28 points and completed a double-double, his 10th of the season, with 12 rebounds.
Box score.
Wyoming ended the regular season with an 8-23 overall record and a 4-14 conference record that earned the Cowboys the No. 10 seed. This means there will be a rematch as they face the Lobos for the first round of the MW Tournament.
Wyoming head coach Allen Edwards said their win on Wednesday was not going to make them overconfident.
“Our preparation would be no different. We still have to attack it with the right mindset and the right game plan,” He said during the post game press conference. “It is the tournament now. Either you win or go home, and now it’s in a neutral court. We can’t just be excited about winning and think that it’s just going to happen in Vegas.”
Notes
Senior Anthony Mathis tied the UNM record for most three-pointers in one season (102). The record was set in the 1998-99 season by Kevin Henry.
Mathis TIES the all-time UNM single-season record with his 102nd 3-pointer of the season! Lobos battling down by seven, 70-63 with 6:55 left. #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/g9kAsek9gK
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) March 10, 2019
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