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UNM Men's Basketball: Slide Continues in Tough 76-76 Overtime Loss to UNLV

UNM had plenty of chances to win its first road game of the season.

By Jeremy Fowler
Saturday, January 27, 2007

New Mexico coach Ritchie McKay watches his team play UNLV during the second half of a basketball game in Las Vegas on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007. UNLV won 76-72 in overtime.

Isaac Brekken/AP

New Mexico coach Ritchie McKay watches his team play UNLV during the second half of a basketball game in Las Vegas on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007. UNLV won 76-72 in overtime.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Add heartbreak to a season that's slipping away.

The University of New Mexico couldn't make enough plays in a 76-72 overtime loss to UNLV on Saturday.

The Lobos had a chance to tie or win it with 3.1 seconds left, but guard Darren Prentice threw away the inbounds pass intended for teammate Jamaal Smith.

Smith went left, Prentice threw it right. UNLV guard Wink Adams grabbed the loose ball, got fouled and made two free throws to seal UNM's fate in front of a season-high announced crowd of 17,056 in the Thomas and Mack Center.

"The guy was playing behind Jamaal and I didn't know Jamaal was going to move," said Prentice, whose Lobos would have had to go the length of the court to score. "He was doing the right thing. That was my fault."

The Lobos (12-10, 1-6 in Mountain West Conference) strengthen their hold on last place in the conference by a full game and fall to 0-7 on the road this season. This is UNM's seventh loss in the last eight games.

Adams led all players with 27 points, including UNLV's (18-4, 5-2 in MWC) last four points on free throws.

But the biggest shot by UNLV came from reserve Joe Darger, who ruined the Lobos' prime chance to take the game. Darger's 3-pointer in the corner with 36 seconds left tied the game at 65. Smith couldn't counter, missing a contested layup in the lane with 6.2 seconds left.

UNLV's Gaston Essengue tries to block a shot by New Mexico's Darren Prentice during the first half of a basketball game in Las Vegas, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007.

Isaac Brekken/AP

UNLV's Gaston Essengue tries to block a shot by New Mexico's Darren Prentice during the first half of a basketball game in Las Vegas, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007.

UNLV took a quick four-point lead to start the overtime, but the Lobos kept fighting. Guard Ryan Kersten made one of two free throws to tie it at 72 with 12 seconds left in overtime. Adams dribbled the length of the court, drew a foul on Prentice and made both shots before Prentice's inbounds miss.

"I thought our guys played with great effort and showed great character," UNM coach Ritchie McKay said. "A couple of plays, if we execute, we get over the hump. We did a great job playing together, staying together."

McKay said he called a zone when Darger hit the 3.

As the case at Air Force, the Lobos orchestrated an impressive first half. Even a broken shot clock on their basket didn't thwart the Lobos, who took a 32-29 lead into the locker room thanks to guard Darren Prentice's nine points. Tony Danridge's dunk with 24 seconds left puncutated the half, while UNLV never found a rhythm.

UNM's lead stretched to as many as seven points early in the second half. UNLV took its first lead of the second half, 45-44, off an Adams 3-pointer with 13:05 left.

Guard Chad Toppert led the Lobos with 17 points on 5-of-11 from the 3-point line, including two 3s in the last five minutes of regulation that cushioned UNM's lead.

Toppert's last 3 made it 63-60 before the Runnin' Rebels made two free throws and Darger's 3 to force overtime.

Four players scored in double figures for the Lobos, including Prentice (16 points), Danridge (14) and Smith (15), a Las Vegas native who went 4-of-11 in front of his home crowd. Abandoning the post play of forwards Aaron Johnson (17 minutes, two points) and Daniel Faris (eight minutes, no points) seemed to work well for the guard-oriented Lobos. Toppert, at 6-foot-6, was the biggest Lobo on the court for numerous second-half sets.

Players and others on the New Mexico bench look down in the last seconds of overtime in UNLV's 76-72 win in a basketball game in Las Vegas on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007.

Isaac Brekken/AP

Players and others on the New Mexico bench look down in the last seconds of overtime in UNLV's 76-72 win in a basketball game in Las Vegas on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007.

UNLV forward Wendell White took advantage of UNM's defense to start the overtime with four quick points near the basket.

"That's what coach (Lon Kruger) wanted us to establish," said White, who finished with 16 points. "It wasn't pretty, but we got the win."

Guard J.R. Giddens, UNM's top scorer at 16.8 points per game, didn't make the trip because of his nagging sprained left ankle. Next for UNM is Wyoming on Tuesday in The Pit.