Feb. 10, 2006
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The New Mexico Lobos (14-9, 5-5 MWC) look to climb above the .500 mark in conference play when they travel to TCU (5-18, 1-8 MWC) Saturday evening. Game time is 6:05 p.m. MST from Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in Fort Worth. There is no TV for the game. UNM’s next home game is Wednesday against Wyoming.
A win at TCU would equal the Lobos’ longest winning streak of the season at three games accomplished two other times
The Lobos are coming off their first road win of the season, an invigorating 80-78 triumph at Colorado State. UNM trailed 40-29 after CSU scored the first six points of the second half. The win snapped a nine-game road losing streak for New Mexico, dating to last year. UNM was 0-8 away from Albuquerque this season.
It’s been 10 years since New Mexico came back from at least an 11-point second-half deficit to win on the road. The last time was at UTEP on Jan. 20, 1996. The Lobos trailed 30-18 at the break, but rallied to win 64-60 in El Paso.
The Horned Frogs have lost four in a row and are 5-7 at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum this season. Despite the tough record, TCU has been in several close games in MWC play only to fall down the stretch.
One of those was in The Pit last month as the Lobos scored the final nine points to win 56-54. TCU lost at Wyoming on Wednesday 67-65 when the Cowboys’ Justin Williams scored on a put-back with .2 seconds left. The Frogs had a 49-36 lead early in the second half of that game. TCU also led at BYU 40-25 and 69-61 with 1:04 remaining only to lose 89-80 in overtime.
GAME PREVIEW – TCU is shooting just 36.4% from the floor, 63.6% from the FT line and is averaging 62.4 points a game, all numbers that rank last in the MWC. However, the Lobos are last in the league in FG% defense, allowing opponents to shoot 46.4% in all games, 48.6% in conference play and 52% or higher in four of the past seven games. UNM did hold the Frogs to only 32.7% (17-52) accuracy in The Pit last month.
Senior guard Nile Murry ranks fourth in the MWC in scoring at 16.4 ppg and he’s fourth in steals at 1.83 a game. He had a game-high 18 against the Lobos in The Pit. Fellow guard Brent Hackett averages 11.1 ppg.
LOBO NITTY-GRITTY – The Lobos have a 40-16 record since 2004-05, tied with Utah for most wins among Mountain West Conference schools…the Utes are also 40-16
Solid D from Chiotti…senior forward David Chiotti has done an outstanding job of shutting done opponents’ big men the past two games…on Wednesday, Colorado State 7-footer Jason Smith was limited to 8 points on 3 of 8 FGs, only the second time this season he has failed to score in double figures…Smith came into the game averaging 17 ppg…last Saturday against Utah, Chiotti held 7-foot Luke Nevill to a mere 3 points on 1 of 6 shooting…averaging 10.3 ppg coming into the game, that was Nevill’s lowest output in an MWC game
The Lobos got 37 points and 8 rebounds from their reserves against Colorado State…the past three games, the Lobo bench has contributed 86 points and 32 rebounds
UNM’s Mark Walters and Air Force’s Jacob Burtschi are the only players in the MWC that rank in the top-20 in points, rebounds, assists and steals…Walters is the lone MWC player who ranks in the those four categories and 3-point FGs made (1.91 per game)
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 46 caroms shy
New Mexico needs 17,034 fans to reach 11 million in all-time attendance at The Pit
UNM-TCU SERIES NOTES – The two schools meet for the ninth time since the first contest on Dec. 29, 1964, at the Sun Bowl Tournament in El Paso. The Lobos won 76-58. UNM has a 6-2 series lead, including a 56-54 win in The Pit on Jan. 11.
UNM and TCU met five times from 1997-98 when both were members of the Western Athletic Conference. The Lobos were nationally ranked going into all five of those games. Each team went 2-0 on its home floor during that time, while the 20th-ranked Lobos nipped Billy Tubbs’ 13th-ranked Horned Frogs 80-73 in the semifinals of the 1998 WAC Tournament in Las Vegas.
The last game in Fort Worth was Feb. 21, 1998, with 19th-ranked TCU taking a resounding 95-64 victory over No. 11 New Mexico. It was in that game when senior Royce Olney had his collegiate career end prematurely when he suffered a torn ACL.
Jan. 11 in Albuquerque – Guards Darren Prentice and Ryan Kersten hit key 3-pointers down the stretch and New Mexico held TCU scoreless over the final four minutes to take a 56-54 win.
The Lobos had to rally from a seven-point deficit late in the second half, then survived a flurry of last second shots by the Horned Frogs that could have won the game or forced overtime. Nile Murry led the Frogs with 18 points.
TCU nearly pulled off the win by hitting 8 3-pointers. But the Frogs, who shot just 32.7 percent for the game, couldn’t get a shot to fall at the end.
Kersten broke a 54-54 tie with a layup with 1:58 left. Kersten rebounded a missed shot by Murry, raced down the court and wedged his way through a couple of TCU players to hit what turned out to be the final points of the night.
TCU’s Neiman Owens missed a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left but the Frogs rebounded the miss and called time. When play resumed Murry misfired on a 2-point shot and teammate Judson Stubbs got another offensive board for the Frogs. As the final seconds ticked away Brent Hackett missed a 3-pointer and Murry’s off-balance rebound and attempt at the buzzer came up short.
New Mexico trailed 54-47 with 4:20 left after Murry hit a 12-footer. Prentice, who finished with a season-high 8 points, hit a 3-pointer. Murry was called for a charging foul seconds later and Kersten hit a 3 with 3:36 remaining to cut the Frogs lead to 54-53.
New Mexico’s Mark Walters hit one of two free throws with 2:31 left to tie it and Kersten followed with his coast-to-coast lay-up. David Chiotti led New Mexico in scoring with 12 points, nine of them in the first half. Walters scored 10.
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 147-137, 64-48 at New Mexico. McKay is 55-13 at home, 40-20 in all non-conference games, 35-7 in non-league games at The Pit and 5-13 in road/neutral games. He is 24-28 in MWC games, 20-6 at home and 4-22 on the road.
The 26-7 record in 2004-05 is easily the best season of McKay’s career, 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, while posting the second-highest win total in school history. It was McKay’s first trip to the Big Dance.
COLORADO STATE RECAP & NOTES – Mark Walters scored 21 points as New Mexico rallied from 11 points down to beat Colorado State 80-78. Colorado State led 34-29 at halftime and extended that lead to 11 early in the second half.
But New Mexico, which made just 1-of-6 3-pointers in the first half, hit 8-of-16 3-pointers in the second to take a five-point lead with 3:09 remaining. The Lobos also scored 23 points off turnovers to Colorado State’s 11.
Colorado State closed to within two points with 11 seconds left. David Chiotti added 14 points for New Mexico, while senior Kris Collins scored 13.
Freddy Robinson and Michael Harrison scored 15 points each for Colorado State, while added Cory Lewis 13 points.
UNM snapped a nine-game losing streak in games away from Albuquerque…that skid dated to last year…the Lobos had been 0-8 on the road this season
The Lobos’ overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to win…UNM trailed 40-29 after CSU scored the first six points of the 2nd half…the 11-point margin is New Mexico’s largest comeback in an MWC game under head coach Ritchie McKay…the previous best was 9 points against UNLV last year in The Pit…the Lobos trailed in that game 38-29 only to win 62-58
The last time New Mexico came back from at least an 11-point second-half deficit to win a road game was at UTEP on Jan. 20, 1996…the Lobos trailed 30-18 at the break, but rallied to win 64-60
Somehow the Lobos won despite CSU shooting better from the field (57% to 46%) and grabbing more rebounds (33 to 25)…however, the Rams committed 16 turnovers to UNM’s 7, which is a season-low…the Lobos had been 0-6 this season when allowing an opponent to shoot at least 50% from the field
The Lobos had 19 assists to just 7 turnovers…that’s the best ratio (2.7 to 1) by a Lobo team since Jan. 24, 2004, when UNM had 14 assists and only 4 turnovers (3.5 to 1) in a 70-54 victory over Utah
Before the game, New Mexico had been 4-33 when trailing at halftime under Ritchie McKay…they are now 5-33 with 3 of the wins having come this year (Air Force and New Mexico State at home)…the last time UNM trailed at halftime on the road and came back to win was at New Mexico State on Dec. 5, 2001…UNM was down 35-30 at the break, but won 66-64 in Las Cruces
The Lobos were 1 of 6 from 3-point the first half, but heated up to make 8 of 16 after halftime…they really got hot down the stretch, making 5 straight (then two misses) in the final 7:28…UNM finished 9 of 22 (41%), the best accuracy in an MWC road game this season
Despite not getting his first points until the 3:59 mark of the first half, senior Mark Walters finished with a team-high 21 points, 16 of those in the second half and 11 coming in the final 5:42 of the game…he scored 11 of the Lobos’ final 19 points before fouling out with 6.8 seconds left…Walters gave UNM its first lead since 6-4 when he nailed his second of two straight 3-pointers to make it 68-67…he also had 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and just 1 turnover in 34 minutes
Walters and David Chiotti both passed Ike Williams (1,086 points) for 19th and 20th place on the career scoring list…Walters has 1,104 points, Chiotti 1,087
New Mexico received 37 points off the bench, the most since getting 51 in the 95-42 victory over Ole Miss on Nov. 19…the reserves scored 27 of UNM’s 51 points in the 2nd half…senior guard Kris Collins played 30 minutes, netting a season-high 13 points on 4-6 FGs, 1-2 on 3s and 4-6 FTs…he also tied a career-high with 5 rebounds and added 3 assists, 2 steals and a block…Collins has scored 21 points the past 2 games, 19 of those coming in the 2nd half
Other key reserves were walk-ons Kellen Walter (0.7 ppg) and Chad Toppert (0.6 ppg)…the twosome came into the game having scored a combined 11 points in nine MWC games…they combined for 14, all in the 2nd half…Walter had 8 points on 2-3 FGs from 3-point and 2-2 FTs in just 6 minutes…Toppert scored 6 points, making 2-4 3s, plus dishing a career-high 3 assists in 14 minutes
The Lobo bench has now contributed 86 points and 32 rebounds the past 3 games
Senior David Chiotti had 14 points, a team-high 8 rebounds and a career-high 6 assists…he has 569 career rebounds and is 6 from moving past Bill Morgan, Khari Jaxon and Charles Smith into 12th place on UNM’s career list
UNM has won 4 straight over CSU and is 20-2 against the Rams since Feb. 12, 1994
In 85 games between 2002-04, UNM was 7-10 in games decided by 5 points or less…they are 5-0 this season
Averaging nearly 10 ppg, sophomore Tony Danridge did not score for the second straight game…despite only averaging 3 points a game during his freshman season, he was held scoreless in consecutive games just twice last year