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Colorado State could not stop a hot-shooting New Mexico team and lost the physical contest to the visiting Lobos, 84-71 at Moby Arena, Jan. 14. Colorado State dropped the physical contest to New Mexico 84-71. The Rams fell to 11-7 on the year and 3-2 in Mountain West action, while the Lobos improved to 10-8 overall and 3-3 in the league.
The game was back and forth in the first 10 minutes of the game, with a CSU season-high 10 lead changes in that span. UNM took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Jordan Hunter with 10:30 to go in the first half, starting a 7-0 run for the Lobos. From there, the game got no closer than four in the rest of the first half, with New Mexico holding a 44-34 halftime advantage.
Behind 60.9 percent shooting from the field in the final 20 minutes, the Lobos continued to push the lead higher the second half, building their advantage to as many as 21 at 72-51 with 9:54 to go in the game. CSU did trim it down to 13 with just over four minutes to go in the game but could get no closer.
The Rams (11-7, 3-2), were carried by the performance from senior guard Gian Clavell who shot 7 of 14 with 22 points, and 6 rebounds. The Lobos (9-9, 3-3) best performer was Elijah Brown who had 25 points in 30 minutes of action.
For the game, CSU shot just 35.8 percent (19-of-53) from the floor while New Mexico was (55.6 percent (30-of-54), including 6-of-9 from the 3-point line. New Mexico won the rebounding battle 39-29 and outscored the hosts 32-16 in the paint. Colorado State struggled from the charity strip during the contest shooting 66.7 percent (26-of-39) while the Lobos were also 66.7 percent (18-of-27) on free throws.
Senior guard Gian Clavell led the Rams with 22 points, six rebounds and a season-high five steals, while senior forward Emmanuel Omogbo picked up 14 points, eight rebounds and a career-high four blocks in 38 minutes of play. Sophomore guard Prentiss Nixon finished with 19 points, including 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Elijah Brown led UNM with 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists while Tim Williams added 15 points and nine boards.
Featured Image Credit: Twitter, CSU Men’s Basketball