Jan. 27, 2006
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New Mexico (12-7, 3-3 MWC) completes its two-game road trip Saturday, visiting UNLV (10-8, 4-2 MWC). UNM is tied with BYU for sixth place in the league while the Rebels share third with Wyoming.
Game time is 8:07 p.m. MST from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The game will be shown live by SportsWest with local coverage on KRQE-TV. The telecast will also be part of the ESPN Full Court package. It’s “Pack the Mack” night with all balcony level seats going for just $5.
Both teams are coming off losses. The Lobos gave league-leader San Diego State a scare before dropping a 75-69 decision at Cox Arena. Mark Walters led UNM with 25 points, his third straight game of 20 or more points.
Despite leading by 11 late in the first half, UNLV lost at home to Air Force 52-50. The game produced only three free throw attempts and 16 fouls. UNLV missed its only try from the line, while the Falcons were 1 of 2.
Dustin Villepigue led three UNLV players in double figures with 12 points, making all six of his shots from the floor. Air Force caused 16 turnovers and had a 17-6 scoring edge in points after turnovers.
While UNM has won 21 straight games in The Pit, it has yet to be victorious in seven tries away from Albuquerque in 2005-06. In fact, New Mexico is the only team in NCAA Div. I hoops to be undefeated at home, but winless on the road.
Picked to finish third in the MWC, UNLV is 8-3 at the Thomas and Mack this year with losses to Nevada, Pepperdine and Air Force. The Rebels, however, are 2-1 in conference road games so far, winning at Wyoming and Utah.
Senior F Louis Amundson leads a balanced scoring attack, averaging 14.2 points. He is also among the league’s top rebounders at 9.6 a game. Freshman Jo’Van Adams is first in the MWC in steals, averaging 3.5 after six league games.
In MWC games only, UNLV is No. 1 in FG percentage defense at 40.7%.
LOBO NITTY-GRITTY – Next Wednesday’s home game against BYU will be the 700th for the Lobos in The Pit…they have a 566-133 record, including 21 straight victories
New Mexico has won 21 straight home games, tied for the 3rd-longest streak in school history and currently 4th in NCAA Div. I hoops through games of Jan. 25…Illinois and Southern Illinois lead with 33, followed by Gonzaga (32)…it’s New Mexico’s most successful string since taking a school-record 41 straight from Feb. 10, 1996 to Feb. 26, 1998…the last home loss for the Lobos was more than 13 months ago, an 81-74 setback to No. 5 Wake Forest on Dec. 22, 2004…after going 18-1 at home last year, the Lobos have also won 30 of their past 31 in The Pit and are 42-3 in their last 45
New Mexico is 0-7 away from The Pit this year and has lost eight straight including the setback to Villanova in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament…the Lobos won eight games away from Albuquerque last season, tied for 5th-most in school history
The Lobos have prevailed in 10 consecutive MWC home games and they are 14-1 in their last 15 MWC contests in The Pit…the most recent loss was dealt by UNLV (78-75) on March 1, 2004
The Lobos have a 39-14 record since 2004-05, the most wins among Mountain West Conference schools during that span
The Lobos have shot 50% or better in three straight games for the first time since doing so in the first four games of the 2004-05 season
Mark Walters has scored 20 or more points in three straight games…the last Lobo to reach that plateau in four consecutive was Danny Granger last season between Nov. 27-Dec. 9, 2004…however, the last UNM player to get four in a row in conference play was Ruben Douglas, who did so in 13 straight in 2002-03
Walters, Air Force’s Jacob Burtschi and Utah’s Bryant Markson are the only players in the MWC that rank in the top-20 in points, rebounds, assists and steals
Walters and David Chiotti each gained admttance into UNM’s 1,000-point club in the Jan. 14 contest at Wyoming…the last time two Lobos reached 1,000 points in the same season, let alone the same game, was Luc Longley and Rob Robbins in 1989-90
Walters could gain entrance into a more exclusive club, that of 1,000 points and 500 rebounds…there are presently 13 members with Chiotti the most recent addition…Walters is 58 caroms shy with at least 11 games remaining
UNLV SERIES – UNLV has an 18-11 lead in a series that started Jan. 17, 1976. The Lobos swept the regular-season series last year for the first time since 1998 when both schools were in their final season of the Western Athletic Conference. Ritchie McKay started 0-9 in his career against UNLV until last year’s sweep.
The Rebels had won seven consecutive over UNM in Las Vegas before the Lobos won 77-66 last year. The 11-point margin is UNM’s largest over UNLV in Las Vegas. The Runnin’ Rebels still have an 8-4 advantage in MWC games.
Last year in Las Vegas: Danny Granger scored a game-high 22 points along with eight rebounds to lead New Mexico to a 77-66 win. Granger scored 15 second-half points as the Lobos won their fifth consecutive game and eighth in nine tries.
Also for New Mexico, Troy DeVries scored 18 points, going 6 of 8 from 3-point range. David Chiotti had 18 points on 7 of 9 from the field, and Mark Walters added 14 points, making 9 of 11 from the free throw line.
The Lobos were 10-for-20 from 3-point, while the Rebels were 8-for-24 for 33 percent. From the field, New Mexico shot 58 percent compared with UNLV’s 40 percent. New Mexico never trailed after leading 29-24 at halftime.
For UNLV, Odartey Blankson led with 20 points and eight rebounds. Michael Umeh had 18 points and Romel Beck added 10 points.
The Rebels cut the lead to 37-36 with 13:46 left in the game, but New Mexico pulled away, eventually building its largest lead at 64-47 with 4:50 remaining. UNLV later trimmed the lead to seven on two occasions in the final 1:21 but came no closer.
Last year in Albuquerque: Mark Walters scored 15 points, four of them in the final minute, and New Mexico got a big lift from backup guard Jeff Hart in a 62-58 win. New Mexico overcame a nine-point second half deficit to beat the Rebels for the first time since 2002.
The Lobos had four players score in double figures, but equally huge was the play of Hart, who broke into the starting lineup for the first time in two years because point guard Kris Collins broke a bone in his right foot earlier in the week.
The 6-foot-1 Hart scored 6 points, tied his career-high with 5 rebounds, had a career-best 3 steals and defended Rebels point guard Jerel Blassingame so well that Blassingame hit just 2 of 10 shots and dealt four assists, three below his league-leading average. Odartey Blankson led UNLV with 21 points, with 16 of them in the second half. He also had 9 rebounds.
UNLV’s Louis Amundson hit the final basket of the first half to cut the Lobos’ lead to 29-24 and the Rebels started the second half with a 14-0 run to take a 38-29 lead. New Mexico went more than six minutes without scoring to start the second half. Guard Ryan Wall ended the drought by hitting one of two free throws and that kicked off a 15-6 run. A layup by Danny Granger tied it at 44 with 7:54 left and after three ties, the Lobos took the lead for good at 53-50 on a three-point play by Granger with 3:29 left.
Granger, playing for the first time since undergoing surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee, had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. After Granger’s 3-point play, Blankson got the Rebels within a point with a basket inside. David Chiotti countered with a short jumper with 2:07 left and Walters, Hart and Chiotti sealed the win with seven free throws in the final minute.
SAN DIEGO STATE RECAP & NOTES – Marcus Slaughter scored 18 points and Kyle Spain had 14 as San Diego State won its fifth straight game, beating New Mexico 75-69. With the victory San Diego State stayed in first place in the Mountain West Conference. The Aztecs are off to their best start in more than 20 years and their best conference start in more than 30 years.
New Mexico got a game-high 25 points from Mark Walters. The Lobos have yet to win a road game this season, going 0-7. They are 12-0 at home.
Spain scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half, including three crucial 3-pointers that helped slow New Mexico rallies. The Lobos, who trailed 50-35 early in the second half, had cut the lead to five at 54-49 when Spain drained a 3-pointer from the left corner. After Walters made two free-throws, Spain hit another 3 from the same spot.
New Mexico closed to 60-57 with 10 minutes to play when John Shaper made a 3-pointer for the Aztecs. Slaughter, who was 4-for-6 from the field, made 10 of 13 free throws and the Aztecs made 20 of 24 as a team to hold off the Lobos down the stretch. New Mexico was 8-for-9 from the foul line.
Sharper and Mohamed Abukar each had 12 points for the Aztecs while Brandon Heath added 10. Kyle Prochaska and Tony Danridge had 11 points apiece for the Lobos.
New Mexico trailed 50-35 early in the second half, but cut the margin to 60-57 on a basket by David Chiotti
San Diego State shot 61% (23-38) from the floor, the best accuracy against the Lobos this year…the previous high was 55.3% by Kansas State and Wyoming…the 61% is actually the highest against New Mexico since Utah made 63% (27-43) last year in Salt Lake City
SDSU held a 43-32 halftime lead as it shot 68% (15-22) in the first half…the 43 points ties for the most allowed by UNM in the first half this year…Washington also scored 43
Under Ritchie McKay, New Mexico had been 32-5 when shooting at least 50% from the floor…the Lobos made 51% (28-55) and have hit at least 50% in three consecutive games…UNM came into the game converting just 43% of its shots away from The Pit this season
However, the Lobos made just 5 of 16 attempts from 3-point, or 31%, while San Diego State hit 9 of 13, or 69.2%…with a minimum of 7 treys made, that’s the best percentage against UNM in 15 years, since Colorado State made 70% (7-10) on Feb. 7, 1991
The Lobos came into the game averaging 6.7 steals a game…they finished with a season-high 15, including 10 in the first half
New Mexico committed only 11 turnovers, but the two point guards – Ryan Kersten (3) and Kris Collins (4) – had seven
For the first time in his career, senior G Mark Walters has scored at least 20 points in three straight games…he had 25 while attempting a career-high 21 shots…Walters also tied a career-high with 5 steals and now has 130 as a Lobo, tying Royce Olney for 10th place
Walters’ numbers the past 3 games: 71 points (23.7 ppg) on 26-49 FGs, 9-17 on 3s, 10-14 FTs, 18 rebounds and 9 steals…he is shooting 52% (14-27) from 3-point in MWC games, best in the league
Senior F David Chiotti had 5 rebounds, tying him with Francis Grant for 20th place all-time at UNM with 545 boards
Junior F Kyle Prochaska had career-highs with 11 points and 3 steals…he had 10 points against Washington