Nov. 24, 2004
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The New Mexico Lobos return home Saturday for a post-holiday affair against Northern Arizona. UNM and NAU play a matinee Saturday with tipoff slated for 1:05 p.m. Mountain Time from The Pit/Bob King Court in Albuquerque.
The Lobos suffered their first loss of the season Monday at Oregon, falling 79-75. UNM is 4-1, which is the best 5-game record since the 2000-01 season.
The Lumberjacks are 2-1 entering tonight’s home game against Oral Roberts in Flagstaff. NAU lost its opener to Iona 77-67 at the Guardians Classic in Omaha, Nebraska, but got past Alcorn State in the consolation game 70-61, then took care of Cal Riverside 78-60 in its home opener.
A win over Northern Arizona would equal the best start for a Ritchie McKay-coached team. His 1997-98 Portland State squad began 5-1 while his 2000-01 team at Colorado State started 6-1.
UNM VS. NORTHERN ARIZONA – The Lobos and Lumberjacks meet for the third time in four years. UNM won 59-57 on Jan. 7, 2003, in The Pit.
This is the 82nd game between New Mexico and NAU in a series that started in 1925-26. The Lobos and Northern Arizona have played just four games since the 1958-59 season. The last Lumberjack win was 64-56, on December 1, 1984, also in The Pit.
Ritchie McKay split four games with NAU when he was the head coach at Portland State from 1996-1998.
OREGON RECAP – The steady shooting hand that propelled New Mexico to its best start in six years disappeared in the second half of a tough 79-75 setback at Oregon Monday night.
The Lobos came into the game shooting 55% from the floor, including 44% from 3-point. Facing a man-to-man defense, UNM connected on 53% of its shots in the first half to lead 43-41 at the break. Senior Danny Granger led the way with 14 points as New Mexico turned a 5-0 deficit into a 30-24 advantage with 7:22 left in the period.
The second half was a different story, but the Lobos were still able to make it interesting. Missing 14 of its first 17 attempts from the floor as Oregon fell back into a zone, UNM fell behind 61-52. Down by eight at 65-57, Troy DeVries capped a 7-0 run with a fast break layup to trim the deficit to one. David Chiotti had a chance to give New Mexico the lead the next time down the floor, but missed a pair of free throws.
The Ducks pushed the margin back to nine at 73-64 with 3:46 to go. UNM rallied with another 7-0 burst on four free throws plus a 3-pointer by Alfred Neale, making it 73-71 with 1:48 left. Down 78-75 with 13 seconds remaining, New Mexico had a chance to cut it to one or tie, but Mark Walters lost the ball out of bounds when he slipped on a hard drive to the basket.
The Lobos shot just 26% (8-31) from the field in the second half to finish at a season-low 39.7% (25-63) for the game. They had trouble from long range all night, making only 7 of 22 for 24%. Neale made 4 of 7 from 3-point while the rest of the team misfired on 19 of 22.
Granger finished with 19 points, although he did not score the final 15:15 of the game. He added a season-high 15 rebounds, plus 4 blocks and 4 steals. Neale came off the bench to toss in 15. Walters came close to his third career double-double with 14 points and 9 boards. Chiotti added 13.
New Mexico did not have an answer for Oregon’s Aaron Brooks. The 6-foot lightning-quick point guard tallied a career-high 22 points, plus 8 assists and remarkably a team-high 6 rebounds and even a blocked shot.
OREGON POSTGAME NOTES
Granger recorded his 20th collegiate double-double and his 9th while at UNM…the 15 rebounds are just 1 shy of his UNM career-best that came at home last year against New Mexico State
New Mexico outrebounded the Ducks 40-28, including 14-3 on the offensive end…UNM now has a +9.8 rebound margin after five games…last year, the Lobos had a +1.2 ratio
The 9 rebounds by Walters is his best total since grabbing 10 last year at New Mexico State, 27 games ago
Neale is shooting 57% (12-21) from 3-point after 5 games, the rest of the team 34 of 95 or 35.7%…he has made 4 treys in 3 different games…DeVries, the second-best 3-point shooter in the league a year ago at 44%, made just 1 of 9 against the Ducks, lowering his season accuracy to 33% (9-27)
The Lobos were 6 of 6 from the line in the first half, then missed 7 of their first 13 after intermission…they finished at 72% (18-25) and are shooting 64.3% (90-140) for the year
UNM committed 16 turnovers and has been guilty of 82 miscues in 5 games, or 16.4 a game…the average last year was 13.1
HEAD COACH Ritchie McKay – Ritchie McKay is in his third season in charge of Lobo hoops and his ninth year as a collegiate head coach. He was named UNM’s 18th head coach on March 28, 2002.
McKay had previous two-year stops at Portland State (1996-98), Colorado State (1998-2000) and Oregon State (2000-02). He has a career record of 111-122, 28-33 at New Mexico. McKay is 28-11 at home, 19-13 in non-conference games and 19-6 in non-league games at The Pit.
While at Mountain West Conference member Colorado State, McKay led the Rams to the NIT in 1999. McKay is the son of the late Joe McKay, who was a three-year letterman at guard for the Lobos from 1961-63.
DOMINATING AT HOME – The Lobos have won their first four home games for the first time since the 2000-01 season. They have also captured 16 of their past 18 in The Pit. A few homecourt notes:
> UNM’s average lead at halftime is 14 points (40.5 to 26.5)
> The Lobos are shooting a steamy 55.5% from the floor, and have shot no lower than 51% in any home game to date…the 63.4% accuracy in the opener against North Carolina A&T is UNM’s best since making 67.9% (36-53) at Air Force on Feb. 14, 1998.
> UNM nailed a school-record 20 treys against Santa Clara, including 13 of 20 in the first half…to put that number in perspective, UNM made more than 13 in an entire game just three times last year..the previous standard for 3-point proficiency was 18 on two occasions: vs. Holy Cross on Dec. 29, 1997, and vs. UTEP on Feb. 19, 1998. Both games were played in The Pit…thanks to that barrage against Santa Clara, the Lobos have hit 44.8% (39-87) of their attempts from long range, or 9.8 a game, at The Pit
SHOOT BETTER AND WIN – The Lobos have won 20 straight games when shooting better than their opponent, including a perfect 12-0 in 2003-04. The last loss was at Tennessee on Jan. 4, 2003. UNM shot 45% (18-40) to the Vols’ 43% (22-51). The Lobos are 55-4 in such situations since 2000-01, 152-13 since the 1995-96 season.
SEASON NO. 102 – The 2004-05 season is the 102nd in school history. The Lobos first laced up the hightops on Feb. 2, 1900, when they lost 8-6 to the Albuquerque Guards. While this season is actually the 105th anniversary of that inaugural year, UNM did not field a team for various reasons in 1900-01, 1903-04, 1917-18 and 1920-21.
The Lobos have been on the hardwoods continuously since the 1921-22 season and have compiled an all-time record of 1,210-961 (.556). New Mexico was 418-495 (.458) from 1900-62, but has gone 792-466 (.632) over the past 42-plus seasons, an average of nearly 19 wins per year. The Lobos have made 26 trips to the postseason during that span, including 10 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and 16 showings in the NIT.
LOBOS PREDICTED FOR 4TH-PLACE FINISH IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST – New Mexico was picked to finish fourth in the 2004-05 Mountain West Conference race during the league’s preseason media gathering Oct. 24, in Denver. Voters were a combination of head coaches and media. It’s the highest predicted finish for the Lobos since they were selected to place second behind Utah in the inaugural MWC season of 1999-2000. UNM was picked to finish seventh each of the past two seasons.
GRANGER NAMED MWC’S TOP RETURNING PLAYER – The MWC head coaches and the media that cover the loop picked UNM senior forward Danny Granger as the league’s top returning player. The 6-8 All-America candidate led the conference in scoring last year, averaging 19.5 ppg. He also led UNM in rebounding (9.0 rpg), steals (29) and blocked shots (31).