Cougars Come Up Short at New Mexico, 78-69

ALBUQUERQUE -- Losing back-to-back games for the first time this season, BYU came up short in its second-half come-back effort at The Pit, dropping its third straight game to New Mexico, 78-69.

After leading 34-32 at the break thanks to a 17-point first-half effort by Terrell Lyday, BYU could not contain New Mexico's Lamont Long who scored 17 points of his own in the second half after totaling 10 first-half points. Despite Long's 27-point night and the Lobos' 14-point second half lead, BYU was able to fight back and get within two points with 2:45 left in the game.

Nathan Cooper, who had not scored for the first time this year in BYU's loss Thursday at

Air Force, scored 11 straight points for BYU, including nine in 1:40, to cut the Lobo lead to seven at 70-63 with four minutes remaining. The Cougars then cut the lead to two at 70-68 after two Wesley free throws, a Matt Montague layin and a Terrell Lyday breakaway layup off a full-court Montague assist.

Down three points with less than a minute remaining, the Cougars could not get any closer and fouls pushed the final margin to a nine points at 78-69.

"We had our opportunities," BYU coach Steve Cleveland said. "New Mexico played with a lot of energy. I was proud of our effort and the way we fought back after being down 14. I was pleased how Nathan Cooper stepped up, relaxed and played well."

Cooper finished with 11 points and five rebounds in only 12 minutes after having only scored 13 points in the last six games combined. Lyday led BYU with 21 points but only managed four points in the second half as his sprained ankle and fatigue made it difficult to get lift on his jump shots and limited his ability to penetrate. Silester Rivers added 12 points and nine rebounds and Mekeli Wesley 10 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars.

New Mexico was led by Long's 27 points, followed by Roland Hannah with 14 points and 11 rebounds and Wayland White with 10 points. New Mexico out rebounded BYU 40-38 and shot 45 percent to BYU's 40 percent. The Cougars shot 30 percent in the second half after making 54 percent in the first half.

BYU made a season-low one three-point shot in 13 attempts. Lyday (1-7) did manage to extend his record with his 19th straight game with a three-pointer.

BYU falls to 14-5 overall and 3-3 in the Mountain West Conference. New Mexico improves to 11-9 and 3-2.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Brigham Young vs New Mexico
01/29/00 7:05 at Albuquerque, NM
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VISITORS: Brigham Young 14-5, 3-3 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
15 WESLEY, Mekeli...... f  3-12   0-2    4-6    3  4  7   4  10  0  3  2  2  27
25 NIELSEN, Eric....... f  4-6    0-0    0-0    1  4  5   4   8  0  1  0  0  21
13 VRANES, Michael..... g  1-6    0-2    1-2    0  2  2   1   3  2  2  0  0  26
24 LYDAY, Terrell...... g  7-18   1-7    6-7    2  2  4   3  21  2  3  0  2  38
31 MONTAGUE, Matt...... g  2-4    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   1   4  6  1  0  1  36
02 RIVERS, Silester....    3-5    0-0    6-12   3  6  9   3  12  2  2  0  0  29
04 CHRISTENSEN, Todd...    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  1   8
05 ROBERTS, Marc.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   3
42 COOPER, Nathan......    3-5    0-2    5-5    3  2  5   4  11  0  1  0  0  12
   TEAM................                         2  2  4
   Totals..............   23-57   1-13  22-32  14 24 38  20  69 12 14  2  6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-24  .542   2nd Half: 10-33  .303   Game:  .404  DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-6   .167   2nd Half:  0-7   .000   Game:  .077  REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half:  7-11  .636   2nd Half: 15-21  .714   Game:  .688     3
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HOME TEAM: New Mexico 11-9, 3-2 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
33 WALKER, Damion...... f  3-8    0-0    3-5    1  5  6   4   9  0  2  1  1  18
34 GUINN, R.T.......... f  3-7    0-0    0-0    1  3  4   1   6  0  1  0  1  18
03 LONG, Lamont........ g  7-11   1-2   12-14   1  4  5   2  27  2  0  0  1  37
04 WHITE, Wayland...... g  5-10   0-0    0-0    2  4  6   4  10  3  2  2  2  27
11 HENRY, Kevin........ g  1-6    1-4    0-0    0  2  2   4   3  1  1  0  0  20
10 LIGHTFOOT, Tim......    3-5    1-3    0-0    0  0  0   1   7  0  1  1  0  22
13 PARMER, Marlon......    0-4    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  5  2  0  0  21
21 SMITH, Brian........    1-4    0-0    0-0    1  3  4   4   2  1  0  0  0  11
42 HANNAH, Roland......    5-7    0-0    4-5    5  6 11   3  14  0  3  0  1  26
   TEAM................                         2     2
   Totals..............   28-62   3-10  19-24  13 27 40  24  78 12 12  4  6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-29  .448   2nd Half: 15-33  .455   Game:  .452  DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-6   .333   2nd Half:  1-4   .250   Game:  .300  REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-6   .667   2nd Half: 15-18  .833   Game:  .792     2
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Officials: Jim Stupin (R), Bob Staffen/Greg Burks (U)
Technical fouls: Brigham Young-WESLEY, Mekeli. New Mexico-None.
Attendance: 17242
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Brigham Young.................   34   35  -   69
New Mexico....................   32   46  -   78