(Editor's note: UW Athletics release)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The 22nd-ranked Wyoming Cowboys saw their six-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday evening falling on the road at New Mexico 75-66 inside the Pit. The Pokes shot 41 percent from the field and recorded 15 turnovers falling to 21-4 overall and 10-2 in the conference.
“Give New Mexico credit and they made some tough shots,” UW head coach Jeff Linder said. “It was a make or miss game and we had a lot of looks and it didn’t go in. We have been making those winning plays late, but tonight we didn’t. It is disappointing and we can’t let this affect us.”
Wyoming was led by Graham Ike with 26 points. He recorded 24 points in the second half of the contest. Jeremiah Oden added 14 points for the Pokes and was 5-of-5 from the field. Hunter Maldonado added eight points but was 2-of-12 from the field.
The Lobos shot 55 percent from the field in the contest and shot 47 percent from behind the arc. Wyoming shot 52 percent in the second half but struggled from the field early in the contest.
New Mexico would race out to a 5-0 lead and would then make it 10-4 five minutes into the game, as Wyoming opened 2-of-10 from the field. The Pokes would answer back with back-to-back threes from Brendan Wenzel and Drake Jeffries to tie the contest at the 13:36 mark of the opening frame.
The Lobos responded with a 5-0 run of their own a minute later to take a 15-10 lead. But Wenzel hit his third triple of the game and would tie the contest with just under 10 minutes left in the frame. The Pokes would take their first lead at 19-18 on a triple from Hunter Thompson at the 7:58 mark.
Jaelen House would give the Lobos a 21-19 lead, but Jeremiah Oden hit a trio of free throws for a 22-21 Wyoming lead with 4:35 left in the first half. Maldonado made it a three-point contest with free throws and pushed it to five with his first basket making it a 28-23 game with just over two minutes left in the half.
Oden would score five-straight points with a three-pointer and thunderous slam, but a basket late by the Lobos made it a 33-30 game for UW at the half. Wyoming was held to 33 percent from the field in the half with the Lobos shooting 50 percent.
Ike would help the Pokes build the lead to seven points in the opening minutes of the second half thanks to a pair of and-one plays. The Pokes would record four turnovers in just over two minutes, as the Lobos made it a three-point game at 41-38 with 14 minutes remaining.
House would hit a three-pointer to cut the Wyoming lead to two-points at 43-41 at the 11:50 mark of the second stanza. Jamal Mashburn Jr. tied the game with a layup at the 11:29 mark. Mashburn would then give the Lobos the lead with a pair of free throws seconds later.
Maldonado added a bucket and later a free throw to push the Pokes back into the lead at 46-45 halfway through the half. Jay Allen-Tovar gave the Lobos a 49-47 lead with a layup with just over nine minutes left in the contest.
All-Tovar would hit a free throw and off the miss on the second shot, House would hit a three-pointer to make it a 53-49 game for the Lobos with seven and a half minutes left. Mashburn made it a six-point game less than a minute later.
House and Mashburn would push the lead to seven points at 60-53 with five minutes remaining. Ike would add an and-one play to cut it to a four-point Lobo lead, but House pushed it back to six points at 64-58 with 4:13 left on the clock.
House would again push the lead to seven points, but slams from Ike and Oden made it a 66-63 game with 1:48 remaining. House once again went to the rack and made it a five-point game at 68-63 with 1:25 left.
Ike added a layup, but Allen-Tovar added a three-pointer to make it a six-point contest with 40 seconds remaining. The Lobos would get it done at the line and would take the contest 75-66.
The Lobos were led by House with 34 points going 12-of-21 from the field. Mashburn Jr. added 18 points.
The Cowboys return to action on Saturday hosting Air Force in the Arena-Auditorium for a 2 p.m. start in a contest on AT&T SportsNet and the MW Network.
