Saturday night’s game was a tale of two halves for the Lobo Basketball team, as they found themselves in a huge hole at halftime but found enough of a spark to make it a game in the second half. Ultimately, they ended up losing to USC 90-82, but the fight the Lobos showed in the second half after the lackluster first half performance showed the potential the team can have this season. This game against USC was going to be a tough one to win, so we shouldn’t be extremely disappointed with the loss. This game is also a reminder that this season will be a process, but the talent is there to be a very good team.

Game Recap

The first half of this game was all about the guard play, which unfortunately didn’t go in the Lobos’ favor. USC had great play from Jordan McLaughlin and Elijah Stewart, who combined for 23 points and 5 assists on nine shots, while Cullen Neal and Elijah Brown combined for 5 points and 1 assist on 17 shots. USC as a team was 7 of 12 from the three-point line in the first half, while UNM was 0-7, so it was easy to see why the Lobos were down 48-31 at halftime. The only bright spot in the first half for the Lobos was the play of their starting front court of Tim Williams and Obij Aget, who combined for 21 points and 11 rebounds on only 12 shots.

The second half was a much better showing from the Lobos, but giving a good USC team a 17 point lead at half time was just too much to overcome. The Lobos were able to make some runs in the game, but most of the time it seemed like USC was able to match a run by going on a run themselves. There were a few chances for the Lobos to cut the lead to under 10 with plenty of time left, but they weren’t able to until there wasn’t much time left on the clock. The USC run that probably hurt the worst was when the Lobos cut the lead to 14 and USC responded by hitting back-to-back threes to put their lead back at 20.

The Lobos had a lot of positives in the second half of this game, evidenced by them scoring 51 points in the half. Tim Williams had a double-double in the half, scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, Elijah Brown came back to be much more effective in the second half, scoring 16 points and grabbing 5 rebounds, and Tim Jacobs came into play 16 second half minutes, scoring 3 points on 1 shot and dishing out 7 assists. The Lobos shot the three ball extremely well in the second half hitting 10 of 18.

In the end, the Lobos great second half, especially the last 10 or so minutes, was not enough to overcome the halftime deficit, and a good USC basketball team won the game 90-82

Players of the Game

As before, I’m choosing my top three players of the game and giving them points (3 for first, 2 for second, and 1 for third).

1. Tim Williams (7 points on the season):Tim Williams was simply the best player on the court on Saturday. He was able to control the inside for the Lobos and finished with a monster game of 25 points and 15 rebounds. This was a great performance that showed Lobo fans the type of player he can be. Lobo fans should be glad that he is a Lobo and enjoy watching him play these next two seasons.
2. Obij Aget (3 points on the season):O had a great first half in the game, when he scored 9 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and blocked 4 shots. The second half of the game was played differently, as the Lobos had to try to climb back into the game, so O wasn’t a key figure in the offense. O finished the game with a double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
3. (Tie) Elijah Brown (7 points on the season): It was a tale of two halves for Elijah, but his second half was tremendous, scoring 16 points and grabbing 5 boards. Elijah gave us a chance to climb back in the game with his shooting and shutting down Elijah Stewart. The only reason Elijah wasn’t number 2 for this game was his first half performance.
   (Tie) Tim Jacobs (1 point on the season): After playing very little in the Loyola Chicago game, Jacobs was counted on in the second half to run the offense to get Elijah and Cullen open shots. Jacobs did a great job of running the point, leading to his 7 assists in the second half. Jacobs finished the game with 3 points, 3 rebounds and 8 assists, which was one of his best performances for the Lobos.

Scattered Thoughts

• After it looked like Jordan Hunter had taken control of the backup point guard spot, Tim Jacobs played 22 minutes in this game and played very well. This position might change every game and depend on the matchups of who we are playing and how well Cullen and Elijah are playing the whole game.
• After a great performance against Loyola Chicago, Sam Logwood had a difficult time against USC. The Lobos need to Logwood to be productive and hit corner threes and attack the rim for the Lobos to reach their full potential.
• Watching Anthony Mathis bury his lone three-point attempt showed how great of a shooter he is and how he has the potential to be a knock-down shooter for the Lobos. It will take time, but Mathis has a chance to be one of the best shooters to put on a Lobo uniform.

Up Next

The Lobos return to Albuquerque and the friendly confines of WisePies Arena AKA The PIT on Wednesday, when they take on Nicholls State. It should be a good game for the Lobos to work on things before they get ready to face stiffer competition, such as Purdue in a couple of weeks.