Dec. 26, 2005
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A vision of the late Bob King, the Comcast Lobo Invitational celebrates its 41st anniversary this week. Started at Johnson Gym in December of 1965 when Mel Daniels was dominating the court for UNM, the Lobo Invitational is the nation’s fifth-oldest in-season tournament.
The University of New Mexico welcomes Dartmouth, Radford and Texas-Arlington to the 2005 invite. Including this year’s visitors, a total of 98 teams will have taken part in the late-December tournament since it’s inception more than four decades ago.
Wednesday’s first-round games match the host Lobos (7-4) against the Big Green of Dartmouth (1-6) at 6:05 p.m. Mountain Time. Radford (6-4) and Texas-Arlington (6-5) meet in the nightcap at approximately 8:20. Thursday’s third-place game begins at 6 with the championship to follow 30 minutes after.
FAMILY PACK AVAILABLE FOR COMCAST LOBO INVITATIONAL – The Comcast Lobo Invitational Family Pack is currently available exclusively at the ticket office at The Pit. Fans can get four tickets, four hot dogs and two Comcast On-Demand pay-per-view vouchers for only $48. This offer is only good at The Pit.
HOLIDAY TICKET OFFICE HOURS AT THE PIT
Dec. 27 closed
Dec. 28-29 open at 3 p.m.
Dec. 30 open at 4 p.m.
Dec. 31 closed
Jan. 1 open at 11 a.m.
Jan. 2 closed
Jan. 3 open at 8:30 a.m.
The ticket office at the UNM bookstore is closed through Jan. 2.
LOBO INVITE PREVIEW – New Mexico is 7-4 following a 63-56 loss at the University of San Diego on Dec. 22. It was Ritchie McKay’s 100th game as the Lobos’ head coach. He is 57-43 in his fourth season at UNM. McKay went 24-32 in his first two seasons, but is 33-11 since the start of 2004-05, a .750 winning percentage. Among Mountain West Conference schools, only Utah with 35 has more wins than the Lobos the past two years.
The combined record of the four schools UNM has lost to this season is 30-11. Kansas State is 7-2, New Mexico State is 4-6 and Washington (10-0) remains undefeated and is ranked in the top-10. San Diego is 9-3.
The Lobos have won 16 straight at The Pit. The last loss was more than a year ago, an 81-74 setback to No. 5 Wake Forest on Dec. 22, 2004. The current winning streak ties for the sixth-longest in school history and currently ranks No. 7 in NCAA Div. I hoops through games of Dec. 23. Washington leads with 31 in a row. It’s New Mexico’s most successful string since taking 16 straight from Nov. 13, 1998 to Feb. 1, 1999. The most recent 17-game run was Feb. 15, 1990 to Jan. 5, 1991.
Head coach Terry Dunn’s Dartmouth team has a 1-6 mark after losing at home to Vermont last week. Despite starting just two games, junior guard Leon Pattman leads a balanced scoring attack, averaging 11.6 points a game.
Does Dunn look familiar? Possibly, but only because twin brother Jerry is also in collegiate coaching. Terry Dunn is in his second year with the Big Green. Jerry is in his third season as an assistant coach at West Virginia, who played in the NCAA Tournament in The Pit last March. Jerry Dunn came to WVU after spending 20 years at Penn State, including the last final eight years (1995-03) as head coach of the Nittany Lions.
Dartmouth has been the most frequent visitor to the Lobo Invitational. The Ivy League school is making its fifth appearance, more than any other visiting team. Dartmouth was here in 1972, `89, ’95 and ’01. The Big Green has a 1-7 record in the tournament, winning its first-round game over Southeastern Louisiana in 2001 before falling to the Lobos in the championship game.
UNM and Dartmouth meet for the fourth time and all previous meetings have come in the Lobo Invitational. New Mexico defeated the Big Green in 1972 (107-36), 1995 (91-66) and 2001 (77-60). The Lobos have never lost to an Ivy League school, posting a 13-0 record against the eight institutions.
Radford is off to a solid start with a 6-4 record. They have not played a game since Dec. 10, an 81-69 loss at George Mason. The Highlanders’ other defeats came at Virginia Tech, Arkansas and Hampton. Head coach Byron Samuels has one of the nation’s top scorers in senior guard Whit Holcomb-Faye, who is averaging 23 points a game. Additionally, junior forward Chris Oliver is one of the few players in the game who is averaging a double-double at 18.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest. New Mexico and Radford have never met.
Likewise, Texas-Arlington boasts a winning record at 6-5 following a 87-72 blowout of Texas-Tyler last week. Included in the Mavericks’ win total is a 94-91 overtime victory at the University of San Diego earlier this month. Head coach Eddie McCarter’s squad is led by a pair of seniors in forward Steven Thomas and guard Jarrett Howell, both who are averaging in double figures. Thomas is also averaging nearly eight rebounds a game. The Lobos knocked off UTA last year in Arlington, 64-55.
LOBO INVITATIONAL HISTORY – New Mexico has a 68-12 record with 28 championships in 40 previous years of the Lobo Invitational. New Mexico has won eight of the past 10 championships. The most consecutive crowns for UNM is seven between 1987-93. New Mexico’s longest drought is three years from 1984-86. The Lobos have failed to reach the title game just twice, 1970 and `75.
Troy DeVries was named MVP of last year’s Invitational. The Lobo guard scored 49 points on 16-25 FGs, including 13-20 tries from 3-point, in wins over Mississippi Valley State and Troy.
Michigan State has enjoyed coming to the Lobo Invitational. The Spartans won the title in 1970 and 1985. Big Ten teams have won three titles. Other non-UNM champions include St. John’s (1971), California (1975), Syracuse (1977), Idaho State (1978), Utah State (1979), Wisconsin (1984), Drake (1986), UNC Charlotte (1994) and Pepperdine (2002).
LOBO HEAD COACH Ritchie McKay – Ritchie McKay is his fourth season in charge of Lobo hoops and his 11th year as a collegiate head coach. He was named UNM’s 18th head coach on March 28, 2002.
He has a career record of 140-132, 57-43 at New Mexico. McKay is 49-12 at home, 38-20 in all non-conference games, 33-7 in non-league games at The Pit and 5-13 in road/neutral games. He is 19-23 in MWC games, 16-5 at home and 3-18 on the road.
The 26-7 record in 2004-05 is easily McKay’s best season, surpassing a 19-11 ledger at Colorado State in 1998-99. The Lobos won the MWC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999. It was McKay’s first trip to the Big Dance. McKay had previous two-year stops at Portland State (1996-98), Colorado State (1998-2000) and Oregon State (2000-02).
SAN DIEGO RECAP & NOTES – Nick Lewis scored a game-high 22 points as San Diego, which scored the first 11 points of the game, topped New Mexico 63-56. The Toreros ended New Mexico’s three-game winning streak, while matching their best start since 1998-99 when they were 10-3.
Gyno Pomare had a game-high 14 rebounds and added 11 points for San Diego, which dropped the Lobos to 0-4 away from home this season. Mark Walters scored 13 points to lead the Lobos even though he went just 3-of-10 from the free-throw line.
The Toreros opened up their 11-0 lead as New Mexico missed on its first four shots from the field. UNM didn’t score until Ryan Kersten hit a layup at 5:39 into the game.
Down 29-20 at halftime, the Lobos narrowed it to 39-44 with 10:29 left. San Diego, however, answered with back-to-back three pointers by Corey Belser and Brandon Johnson, and New Mexico could come no closer until the final minute when it moved within four points. Lewis went 8-of-13 from the field while making all six of his free-throw attempts. David Chiotti and Tony Danridge each had 10 points for the Lobos.
The series with USD is now tied at 2-2
UNM never led, falling behind 11-0, 20-9 and 41-25…the Lobos did close to 60-56 in the final minute
New Mexico did not score until its 10th possession on a Ryan Kersten layup at the 14:21 mark…UNM’s first nine possessions resulted in four missed shots and five turnovers
FT shooting was key as USD hit 12 of 14 or 86%…the Lobos made just 44% (7-16), their worst accuracy from the line since 42.1% (8-19) last year in a 69-58 loss at Utah
UNM stats in the four games away from Albuquerque this season: 61 ppg, 43.7% (91-206) from the floor, 30.9% (25-81) from 3-point and 55% (37-67) from the FT line…the Lobos have also been outrebounded by a 140-105 margin or 8.8 a game
UNM trailed 29-20 at halftime, which is the fewest points scored in either half this season…the previous low was 21 in the second half of a 68-56 loss at Kansas State
San Diego was averaging 84.2 points a game and 94 points at home
Senior F David Chiotti recorded consecutive double-doubles for the first time in his career with 10 points and 10 rebounds…it’s his 3rd d-d of the season and 7th of his career…Chiotti also snared his 500th career rebound…he now has 503 boards in his 99-game career, good for 24th place all-time at UNM
Senior G Mark Walters finished with a team-high 13 points and has surpassed 900 in his career…he has 911 points in 97 career games…Walters, a 71% FT shooter entering the game. had a tough night at the line, going 3 of 10
Mark Walters: A LOT OF TOOLS – Doing his best Danny Granger imitation, although about six inches shorter, 6-2 senior guard Mark Walters ranks in the top-16 in the Mountain West Conference in seven different statistical categories through games of Dec. 20.
Scoring 16.0 5th
Rebounding 5.1 16th
3-Pt. FGs Made 2.2 T8th
3-Pt. FG Pct. 34.8 10th
FT Pct. 65.2 11th
Steals 2.2 3rd
Assists 2.7 T11th
SEASON NOTES – New Mexico opened the year by doing something it had not accomplished in 60 years and that is holding its first three opponents to less than 50 points…in 1945-46, UNM shackled New Mexico State twice (38-31 and 50-23) and Arizona (42-37) to begin the season
Although only 11 games into the season, the Lobos are allowing just 62.9 points a game, 2nd-best in the conference…for an entire season, that would be the lowest figure in 22 years, since the 1983-84 Lobos yielded just 59.2 ppg
Lobo opponents are shooting 48.7% (131-269) from the field the past five games after being held to 41.5% accuracy the first six games, raising the season percentage to 44.9%
The 53-point victory margin over Ole Miss (95-42) ties for UNM’s 7th largest win in school history and ties for the 5th-widest margin in The Pit
UNM held Ole Miss to 25.5% shooting from the floor, the lowest by a Lobo opponent since Northwestern State was held to 24.2% (15-62) in The Pit on Dec. 28, 2003
Opponents are shooting 30.9% from 3-point…the lowest percentage since the shot became rule in 1986-87 is 29.7% in 1992-93
The Lobos had won 21 straight games – and 28 of 29 – when leading at halftime before the 68-56 loss at Kansas State…UNM led the Wildcats 36-27 at the break…the last setback was at Oregon a year ago…UNM led the Ducks 43-41 before losing 79-75 at Eugene
New Mexico was outrebounded 33-20 at Kansas State…that’s the fewest caroms for UNM in eight seasons, since gathering 20 in a 77-62 win over Colorado State on Feb. 7, 1998
In 33 games last year, the Lobos were 2-2 in games decided by 4 points or less…so far, they’re 2-0