Feb. 6, 2006
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The final two-game road swing of the regular season begins Wednesday when New Mexico (13-9, 4-5 MWC) visits Colorado State (12-10, 1-8 MWC). Game time is 7:05 p.m. from Moby Arena in Fort Collins. There is no television coverage for the game, live or delayed. UNM meets TCU in Fort Worth on Saturday. The next home game is Wednesday, Feb. 15 against Wyoming.
The Lobos avoided their first four-game losing streak under current head coach Ritchie McKay last Saturday when they outlasted Utah 64-53 in The Pit. UNM held the Utes to 39% shooting and forced 19 turnovers.
Now, New Mexico would like to eliminate a road losing streak that is nearing double figures. UNM is 0-8 away from The Pit this year and has lost nine 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.
After a promising start in non-conference play, Colorado State finds itself at the bottom of the MWC standings. The Rams have lost six in a row after falling to league leader San Diego State 85-81 last Saturday in Fort Collins.
Wednesday’s game pits a pair of old friends. UNM head coach Ritchie McKay worked for current Colorado State boss Dale Layer at Queens College in North Carolina during the 1989-90 season when Layer was the head coach. And, Layer succeeded McKay as head coach at Colorado State following the 1999-2000 season. McKay was 37-23 in his two years with the Rams, including 2-1 in the 1999 NIT.
UNM-CSU SERIES – UNM has a 58-40 lead and has won 3 straight, 5 of 6 and 19 of 21 since Feb. 12, 1994. The Lobos have a 11-2 lead in MWC games, including a sweep last year. CSU leads 29-17 in Fort Collins, but just 18-16 in Moby Arena. The Rams only wins in The Pit have come in 1970, `71 and `93.
LAST YEAR IN FORT COLLINS – Danny Granger had 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead New Mexico over Colorado State 55-47. Ryan Wall added a career-high 12 points, and another reserve, Alfred Neale, had 10. Wall came into the game having scored just 9 points on the season and 25 in his 29-game Lobo career.
New Mexico shot a season-low 31 percent from the field, but Colorado State shot just 30 percent. The Lobos also scored 13 points off turnovers.
UNM used an 11-3 run to pull ahead 48-38 with less than six minutes to go, but Colorado State was within three twice in the last 2 minutes. Seven free throws in the final few minutes sealed the victory for the Lobos.
JAN. 7 IN THE PIT – David Chiotti scored 17 points and Mark Walters 16 as New Mexico beat Colorado State 83-75. New Mexico beat the Rams in The Pit for the 34th time in the last 35 games, including the last 11.
Chiotti, Walters and Tony Danridge, who finished with 14 points, led the Lobos to 56.3 percent shooting. CSU 7-footer Jason Smith scored a career-high 28 points and just missed a double-double with 9 rebounds.
The Rams trailed 52-37 with 14:36 left but got within three points on three occasions in the final 2:23. Smith and guard Sean Morris led the rally. Morris had a four-point play – he hit a 3-pointer, was fouled and hit the free throw – and a conventional three-point play in the second half. Smith hit 8 of 16 shots and went 12-for-12 on free throws.
A free throw by Cory Lewis got CSU within 74-71 with 2:23 left. Walters fouled out on the play. The Rams also were within 76-73 on a dunk by Smith and trailed 78-75 with 1:44 remaining after a 16-foot jumper by Smith.
New Mexico put it away as reserve guard Jeff Hart hit two free throws after being fouled on a 3-point shot and Chiotti came up with a steal with 44 seconds remaining. Danridge, Kris Collins and Chiotti each hit a free throw the rest of the way.
Junior forward Joel Box, who quit the New Mexico team on Dec. 27 and returned on Thursday, scored 8 points while playing just nine minutes. Box was 3-for-3 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers. New Mexico led 44-31 at halftime, nearly equaling what it scored in the entire game in 64-49 loss to Utah earlier in the week.
GAME PREVIEW – The Rams feature four underclassmen in a starting lineup led by one of the league’s top players in 7-foot forward Jason Smith. Just a sophomore, Smith is among the MWC’s leaders in scoring (17.4 ppg), rebounding (7.1 rpg) and blocks (1.86 bpg). He had a career-best 28 points and 9 rebounds against the Lobos in The Pit on Jan. 7.
Forward Michael Harrison has been a pleasant addition as well. The 6-9 junior college transfer is averaging 11.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.23 blocks a game.
CSU’s tall frontline has produced one of the nation’s best shot-blocking units at 6.18 rejections a game. By contrast, the Lobos average just a little less than two blocks a game.
The Rams rank second in the MWC in scoring offense at 75.5 points a game, but they are last in the league in scoring defense, allowing nearly 72 ppg. UNM is giving up just 63.8 ppg, second-stingiest in the conference. The Lobos are last in the MWC In FG% defense at 46%, while CSU is the second-best shooting team in the loop at 48.8%.
New Mexico commits just a hair more than 12 turnovers a game, second-fewest in the MWC. CSU has been guilty of 17 miscues a game. Only Wyoming is worse at 17.2 a game.
THE HOME WINNING STREAK ENDS – Before the BYU loss on Feb. 1, New Mexico’s 21-game home winning streak tied for the 3rd-longest streak in school history and was the 4th-longest current string in NCAA Div. I hoops. The Cougars have now snapped the top-three home winning streaks in Lobo history.
The last home loss for the Lobos before BYU was 81-74 to No. 5 Wake Forest on Dec. 22, 2004. UNM had also prevailed in 10 consecutive MWC home games, the most recent loss being dealt by UNLV (78-75) on March 1, 2004.
Still, after going 18-1 at home last year, the Lobos have won 31 of their past 33 in The Pit and are 43-4 in their last 47.
LOBO NITTY-GRITTY – The Lobos have a 39-16 record since 2004-05, tied with Utah for most wins among Mountain West Conference schools…the Utes are also 39-16
Against Utah last Saturday, the Lobos got 24 points and 11 rebounds from their reserves compared to 6 points and 4 boards for the Utes…the past two games, the Lobo bench has contributed 49 points and 24 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 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 51 caroms shy
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 146-137, 63-48 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 23-28 in MWC games, 20-6 at home and 3-22 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.
McKay had previous two-year stops at Portland State (1996-98), Colorado State (1998-2000) and Oregon State (2000-02).
BIG-TIME TURNAROUND UNDER McKAY – Head coach Ritchie McKay’s first two Lobo teams went 24-32, but UNM had just eight scholarship players available in his first season of 2002-03 and only 10 in his second year. Since the 5/8 rule was repealed after the 2003-04 season, the Lobos have posted a 39-16 record since 2004-05, tied with Utah for most wins among MWC schools. Other tidbits:
McKay, Norm Ellenberger and Dave Bliss are the only head coaches to take the Lobos to the NCAA Tournament within their first three years at the post
Picked to finish 4th in the MWC in 2004-05, the Lobos finished 26-7 overall, 2nd in the conference at 10-4, won the MWC Tournament for the first time in nine years and only the third time in school history, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years
The 26 wins in 2004-05 were the second-best total in school history and were a 12-win improvement from 2003-04…that tied for the 2nd-largest jump in program history and tied for the 3rd-highest in NCAA Div. I men’s basketball
Won five straight games away from The Pit in 2004-05, a feat last accomplished in 1977-78
Five Lobo seniors who completed their eligibility at UNM are now playing professionally (Javin Tindall, Ruben Douglas, Alfred Neale, Troy DeVries and Danny Granger)…the other two – Ryan Ashcraft and Senque Carey – had their careers cut short by injury
ROUGH START FOR McKAY AT UNM – It was a daunting challenging for McKay in his first two seasons at New Mexico. In his second game as Lobos head coach on Nov. 25, 2002, starting senior point guard Senque (sen-Q) Carey suffered a freak spinal cord injury in the first half against Northwestern (La.) State. He was partially paralyzed for several weeks before regaining full movement, but was unable to resume his playing career. Carey’s absence left New Mexico with just eight scholarship players and two walk-ons. Of those 10 players, seven were in their first year at UNM.
Sophomores Jamaal Williams (Washington) and Chad Bell (Nevada) transferred after the 2002-03 season, leaving New Mexico with just 10 scholarship players for the 2003-04. Mark Walters suffered a torn ACL in May of 2003 and never fully recovered until the 2004-05 season. In August of 2003, Billy Feeney, a promising 6-9 sophomore who had transferred from Portland State, took his own life.
The elimination of the 5/8 rule really helped before the 2004-05 campaign as it was able to add five scholarship players, reaching the full complement of 13.
UTAH RECAP & NOTES – The people’s choice finally got some prime time and he didn’t let them down. Joel Box, popular with New Mexico fans but for most of the season out-of-favor with coach Ritchie McKay, got his first start Saturday. In a solid and season-high 25 minutes on the court, Box scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds and had two steals in the Lobos’ 64-53 win over Utah.
“It felt really good to start,” the soft-spoken power forward said. “I’ve been working harder and doing some extra work and stuff and it really paid off.”
Box’s first season with the Lobos has been a mix of potential and problems. He came to New Mexico as a highly touted scorer from junior college, but quickly found himself at the end of McKay’s bench. Box quit the team right after Christmas, was reinstated less than two weeks later, then briefly quit the team again. He had a season-high 14 points in 14 minutes against Brigham Young on Wednesday night, a game the Lobos lost 77-71.
McKay has caught considerable criticism from New Mexico fans for not giving Box more playing time. On talk shows, the fans overwhelmingly came down on Box’s side and Box finally got the starting call Saturday. He scored the game’s first points on a 12-foot jumper, added a 3-pointer and scored five points in an 11-2 run that gave New Mexico the lead for good in the first half.
The scoring of Box, David Chiotti and Mark Walters allowed the Lobos to overcome another late game scoring slump. New Mexico snapped a three-game losing streak. The Lobos had back-to-back losses to UNLV and Brigham Young in games in which New Mexico failed to score a field goal in the final five minutes of those games.
This time it was Utah that struggled offensively. The Utes also had 19 turnovers, 13 of them in the first half. Utah had just five field goals in the first half, missing 15 of 20 field goals. The Utes shot better in the second half, hitting 11 of 21 shots, but still trailed 56-40 with 5:48 left after Chiotti scored inside.
But New Mexico’s shooters then went cold and Utah scored nine straight points. The run ended with a 3-pointer by point guard Johnnie Bryant that got the Utes within 56-49 with 3:41 left. Bryant led the Utes in scoring with 15 points, 10 of them in the second half.
Walters got the Lobos offense going again with a basket inside with 1:24 remaining. Kyle Prochaska followed with a layup and Chiotti hit two free throws and a dunk off a steal. Walters and Chiotti each scored 14 points and Prochaska had five offensive rebounds and 9 points.
The Lobos have won 4 in a row over Utah in The Pit…Ritchie McKay is 6-5 in his career against Utah, 4-0 in Albuquerque
The Lobos have won 22 of their past 23 in The Pit, and 31 of the past 33
The 53 points are the fewest allowed by UNM in MWC play this season…it’s also the fewest points Utah has scored against the Lobos since a 56-53 UNM victory in Las Vegas on March 9, 2001
The 21 first-half points by Utah are the fewest allowed by UNM in any half of an MWC game this season
UNM forced 19 turnovers, tied for the most by a Lobo foe this year…New Mexico State also had 19 in The Pit…consequently, the Lobos had 12 steals vs. the Utes, the second-highest total of the season
After allowing 52.5% shooting in the previous five games, New Mexico limited Utah to 39% accuracy, the lowest in seven games since 32.7% by TCU
The Lobos are 7-0 when holding opponents under 60 points, 3-0 in MWC games
New Mexico, and specifically senior center David Chiotti, held Utah center Luke Nevill to just 3 points on 1 of 6 shooting…averaging 10.3 ppg coming into the game, Nevill scored his fewest points in an MWC game and the lowest since 3 against High Point on Dec. 28
Junior F Joel Box made his first start of the season…New Mexico has used six different starting lineups this season…Box finished with 12 points (10 in the first half) in a career-high 25 minutes…he tied a career-high for the second straight game with 5 rebounds
Junior F Kyle Prochaska came off the bench to score 9 points and grab all 5 of his rebounds on the offensive end…that’s the most offensive boards by a Lobo this year…despite averaging just 17.3 minutes a game, Prochaska is tied with Tony Danridge for 2nd on the team with 28 offense caroms…David Chiotti has 31
Senior G Kris Collins was 1 of 18 from 3-point this year and 4 of 43 in his career before connecting in the second half…all of Collins’ 8 points came in the 2nd half…he has also made 11 straight FTs over the last five games
New Mexico was 15 of 17 from the FT line, 88.2%, after going 12 of 21 against BYU