Freshman Jose Juan Barea's three-point attempt as time expired rimmed out as Northeastern nearly shocked New Mexico, 90-88, at The Pit in Albuquerque on Monday night.
On the Lobos' final possession, trailing by one, 88-87, Ruben Douglas beat his man off the dribble and penetrated the lane. NU's Cornellius Wright rotated over from the weak side of play to attempt to take the charge. Wright was whistled for a questionable blocking foul and Douglas's runner fell through. Douglas made his free throw, giving the game its final margin with 5.7 seconds remaining.
Junior Sylbrin Robinson inbounded the ball to Barea, who sprinted the length of the floor and had a contested, but clean look at the rim from 22 feet.
Barea led the NU offensive attack with 24 points, while Javorie Wilson added 19. UNM was paced by Douglas's 30 points. Teammate Jamaal Williams chipped in with 16 of his own.
With 1:01 remaining in the game, Northeastern took its first lead of the night, 86-85, courtesy of a three-point play from Sylbrin Robinson. On UNM's next possession, Douglas got to the line and netted both free throws to put the Lobos back on top 87-86. Barea responded with a tough high-arching layup off the glass to give NU its final lead, 88-87. The Lobos called timeout with 10 seconds left to set up their final play.
Leading by just two at the half, 38-36, New Mexico came out strong in the second half. The Lobos started the second frame on an 11-6 run to push their lead to seven, 49-42, at 16:11.
Both teams traded small runs for nearly the next 10 minutes until UNM gained a 10-point advantage, 70-60, at 7:37. NU would go on a 15-6 run to pull within one, 76-75, with 3:56 remaining, setting up the game's final four-minute drama.
The Huskies closed the opening half on an 11-1 run to trail by just two, 38-36, at the break. With 3:29 remaining in the first frame, the Lobos led by a first-half high of 12 points, 37-25.
The catalysts of NU's half-ending run were Barea, who had five points, and Adrian Martinez with four. The Huskies picked up their defensive pressure in the final 3:29 as they recorded three of their five first-half steals.
UNM came out as it jumped out to an early 10-2 lead. The Lobos were paced by Javin Tindall's 12 points in the first 20 minutes of action.
NU outshot UNM 46.9 percent to 41.7 in the first half. The Lobos went to the line 18 times, making 13, compared to the Huskies 3-7 free throw shooting. NU showed the depth of its bench in the first half as seven Huskies scored.
Next up for Northeastern is a trip to meet Northern Arizona on Wednesday, Dec. 4 in Flagstaff. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. (EST).
VISITORS: Northeastern 2-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
No. N A M E FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
04 Wilson, Javorie f 7-8 3-3 2-2 0 4 4 5 19 1 5 0 1 34
32 Dunn, Jesse f 2-5 0-3 0-0 1 1 2 2 4 0 1 0 0 13
33 Robinson, Sylbrin f 4-10 0-3 1-1 5 3 8 4 9 5 0 0 0 28
05 Barea, Jose Juan g 8-19 2-6 6-8 1 1 2 2 24 4 0 1 3 30
12 Davis, Aaron g 4-8 1-3 0-0 3 2 5 4 9 1 0 0 1 33
11 Martinez, Adrian 4-8 1-3 3-4 0 2 2 2 12 3 0 0 2 22
20 Walker, Jamaar 1-2 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 2 3 2 1 0 2 12
30 Wright, Cornellius 4-5 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 4 8 1 0 0 0 23
41 Drain, Adam 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 5
TEAM ........................................ 2 1 3 1
TOTALS 34-65 7-21 13-17 13 17 30 25 88 18 8 1 9 200
TOT-FG 1stH: 15-32 46.9% 2ndH: 19-33 57.6% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 52.3% Deadbl
3pt-FG 1stH: 3-10 30.0% 2ndH: 4-11 36.4% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 33.3% Rebs
FThrow 1stH: 3-7 42.9% 2ndH: 10-10 100.% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 76.5% 3
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HOME TEAM: New Mexico 2-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
No. N A M E FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
24 Williams, Jamaal f 7-9 1-1 1-4 4 0 4 1 16 2 1 2 0 26
00 Walters, Mark g 3-7 0-2 6-10 6 5 11 2 12 4 2 0 0 30
05 Douglas, Ruben g 7-17 4-7 12-15 4 2 6 2 30 2 3 1 2 29
11 Tindall, Javin g 3-8 2-6 6-6 1 2 3 4 14 1 2 1 1 35
22 Hart, Jeff g 4-9 1-6 1-1 1 4 5 2 10 3 2 0 0 31
01 Bell, Chad 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 7
12 Ashcraft, Ryan 2-4 2-4 0-0 1 1 2 0 6 1 1 0 0 22
13 Chiotti, David 0-0 0-0 2-4 0 2 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 13
34 Monette, Mikal 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 7
TEAM ........................................ 2 3 5
TOTALS 26-54 10-26 28-40 20 19 39 16 90 16 13 4 3 200
TOT-FG 1stH: 10-24 41.7% 2ndH: 16-30 53.3% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 48.1% Deadbl
3pt-FG 1stH: 5-12 41.7% 2ndH: 5-14 35.7% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 38.5% Rebs
FThrow 1stH: 13-18 72.2% 2ndH: 15-22 68.2% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 70.0% 3
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OFFICIALS: Steve Welmer, Ron Zetcher, Shawn Leigh
TECHNICAL FOULS:
Northeastern - none
New Mexico - none
ATTENDANCE: 13,897
SCORE BY PERIODS: 1st 2nd OT1 OT2 OT3 OT4 TOTAL
Northeastern 36 52 88
New Mexico 38 52 90
PTS IN THE PAINT: Northeastern - 40 New Mexico - 33
PTS OFF TURNOVERS: Northeastern - 18 New Mexico - 08
2ND CHANCE POINTS: Northeastern - 22 New Mexico - 24
FAST BREAK POINTS: Northeastern - 10 New Mexico - 07
