Isabel Gonzalez
@cisabelg
New Mexico at Wyoming
Sat. March 9, 2019 – 4pm
Watch: ESPN3
After back-to-back victories, New Mexico is looking to finish the regular season with a road win against the Wyoming Cowboys on Saturday night. The Lobos could enter next week’s Mountain West Tournament as the No. 6, 7 or 8 seed.
When the two teams faced off on Jan. 19, the Lobos picked up an 83-53 win in Albuquerque. The Pokes had a poor shooting night going 19-54 from the field, which translates to a 35.2 percent success rate. They made six out of 22 three-pointer attempts and only half of their free throws. The Wyoming offense had been struggling even prior to that game, coming in with a four-game losing streak in which each game saw 56 or less points from the Cowboys.
New Mexico had a 48.3 field goal percentage. That game showed the Lobos can share the responsibility in the offense with six players seeing double digits led by Carlton Bragg’s 16 points.
Box score.
Lobos going around the Wyoming defense and Keith McGee hitting his third 3ptr of the day. pic.twitter.com/nuc90KsOwx
— The Lair New Mexico (@thelairnm) January 20, 2019
Wyoming is currently is 7-23 overall and 3-14 in the MW. The Cowboys were on a six-game losing streak until an 81-71 victory over San Jose State on Wednesday. Senior Justin James led the Pokes with 25 points. While doing that, he also became the sixth player in the history of the MW conference to reach 2,000 points. The team had a good showing on defense, holding the Spartans to 27 percent shooting from the field during the second half.
New Mexico’s latest win, a 73-72 result over Boise State, was made possible by senior Dane Kuiper’s defensive efforts. Boise State hit a three-pointer at the two-minute mark to take the lead, but UNM’s Makuach Maluach hit one in response. The Broncos had the ball with only a couple of seconds remaining, but Kuiper made the steal that turned Senior Night into a success.
The Lobos enter Saturday night with a 13-16, 7-10 MW record.
Notes
The last time the Lobos made the trip to Laramie, they got a 119-114 victory, which is the most points scored by an opponent at the Cowboys’ home arena.
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