Dec. 4, 2006
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Youth Day vs. N.C. A&T – Saturday, Dec. 16 – 1:00 p.m. – $5 Youth Tickets
Call (505) 925-LOBO or Click Here for Tickets
Next Student Ticket Pick-up is Wednesday
New Mexico (5-1) looks to get back on the winning track in a difficult venue when it faces in-state rival New Mexico State (3-3) Tuesday in Las Cruces. Tipoff is 7 p.m. from the Pan American Center. The game will be televised live in Albuquerque over Comcast channel 77. It’s the 198th game between the two schools.
After opening the season at home with a five-game winning streak – its best start in eight years – UNM was brought back to earth in a big way Sunday at UTEP. The Miners took control early and coasted to an 87-63 victory, the Lobos’ worst loss in El Paso since 1972.
Since falling 79-76 to the Lobos last Tuesday, NMSU has beaten Chicago State and San Francisco in the Lou Henson Classic.
The Lobos have won five of the past six games against NMSU and go after a season sweep for the third time in the past six years.
New Mexico State is the Lobos’ second road game of the season. UNM will venture out of The Pit – where it is 38-3 since 2004-05 – five times during the non-conference season, the most contests away from home in 19 years.
New Mexico has lost seven straight non-conference contests away from Albuquerque, including games played at neutral sites. The last win was over Utah in the championship game of the 2005 MWC Tournament played at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
NEXT STUDENT TICKET PICK-UP IS WEDNESDAY
Tickets for Lobo men’s basketball are free for all full-time UNM students (enrolled in 6+ hours) during the 2006-07 season. Students can pick up tickets Wednesday for the North Carolina A&T (Dec.16), Longwood (Dec. 17) and Charleston Southern (Dec. 19) games.
Tickets are available at the Center for the Arts ticket window outside of Popejoy Hall Wednesday from 7:30-11 a.m. After that time, tickets can be picked up at the UNM Bookstore or the Lobo Ticket Office at The Pit.
THE LOBO-AGGIE SERIES
It all started in Las Cruces on Dec. 22, 1904, with a 21-9 victory by the “University Boys,” – the precursor to the school’s current nickname, the Lobos.
New Mexico has a 105-92 lead, and has won five of the past six. The Aggies took a 67-61 win a year ago in Las Cruces. NMSU has a 56-39 lead in Las Cruces, including 25-13 in The Pan American Center.
Lobos head coach Ritchie McKay is 5-4 in his career against the Aggies, 1-3 in Las Cruces.
LAST TUESDAY IN ALBUQUERQUE
J.R. Giddens scored 19 points, Aaron Johnson grabbed 14 rebounds and Darren Prentice hit plenty of clutch shots in unbeaten New Mexico’s 79-76 win over New Mexico State on Tuesday night. New Mexico led by 16 points late in the first half, then had to hold off a tenacious rally by the Aggies.
New Mexico State missed three 3-point shots in the final 19 seconds. The Aggies also hurt themselves at the free throw line, where they missed 12 free throws in the second half and hit just 12 of 28 in the game. Center Martin Iti led the Aggies’ futility at the foul line, missing all eight free throws he took, six of them in the second half.
Still the Aggies, who got 23 points from Justin Hawkins and 15 points from reserve guard Ted Knauber on five 3-pointers, had a chance to at least force overtime. Freshman point guard Jamaal Smith hit two free throws to give New Mexico a 79-76 lead with 22.1 seconds remaining.
The Aggies took a time-out, then freed up Fred Peete for a 3 from the right side that missed. The Aggies rebounded the miss and Hawkins misfired on a 3-pointer from the left baseline. Giddens was fouled with 5.7 seconds remaining, but he missed both free throws. With the clock winding down, Aggie freshman Jonathan Gibson put up a 3-pointer that was long as the buzzer sounded.
New Mexico led through most of the game and built a 44-28 lead with 29 seconds left in the first half on the shooting of Tony Danridge and Prentice. Danridge scored 11 straight points in one stretch and by halftime had matched his career high of 15 points. He was 7-for-7 in the first half but took just two shots in the second half. Prentice matched his career-high with 16 points and hit 5 of 6 shots and had 3 3-pointers. His two free throws with 2:19 remaining gave New Mexico a 75-71 lead and after Giddens hit a 12-footer, the Lobos led 77-71 with a minute left.
But the Aggies weren’t done. Hawkins hit a 3 with 41.7 seconds left and Iti a layup with 22.6 seconds remaining to get the Aggies within 77-76.
POSTGAME NOTES FROM NEW MEXICO STATE
A capacity crowd of 18,018 was UNM’s first sellout since the final game of the 2004-05 season against Colorado State…it’s the largest crowd for a New Mexico State game since 18,018 were on hand Dec. 16, 2001…the largest crowd last year was 16,311 for Air Force
New Mexico never trailed after the 17:01 mark of the first half…the Lobos’ biggest lead was 42-26 late in the first half…NMSU cut the lead to 77-76 with 22.6 seconds remaining before Jamaal Smith hit two free throws for the final margin
UNM shot 66.7% (18-27) from the floor in the first half, but hit just 10-27 (37%) over the final 20 minutes
Reserve G Darren Prentice tied his career-high with 16 points, making 5-6 FGs, 3-4 3s and 3-4 FTs…he added 2 assists, 1 steal and no turnovers in 23 minutes
Tony Danridge tied his career-high with 15 points – all in the 1st half – on 7-7 FGs…he scored 11 straight points, increasing a 19-15 lead to 30-17
Senior post Aaron Johnson logged his second straight double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds…it’s the 21st double-double of his collegiate career and he has 30 career double-digit rebound games
Junior point guard Jamaal Smith scored a season-high 15 points, including 8-9 FTs
Junior guard J.R. Giddens tied a career-high with 5 assists, all in the first half…he also had 19 points and 8 rebounds, but 6 turnovers
LAST YEAR IN LAS CRUCES
Tyrone Nelson’s double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds and New Mexico State’s free throw shooting in the final six minutes carried the Aggies to a 67-61 win.
New Mexico State lost a 13-point first-half lead but held on for the win by scoring 15 of its last 17 points from the free throw line. Nelson hit 11 of 13 free throws, including two with 20.2 seconds left that sealed the win. New Mexico State hit 30 of 36 free throws.
New Mexico trailed 32-19 with 2:20 left in the first half, but scored the final eight points – the last three on a 3-pointer by Jeff Hart with a second remaining. The Lobos’ rally continued through the first five minutes of the second half behind eight straight points from Mark Walters, who led the Lobos with 18 points.
But New Mexico struggled to get into an offensive flow all night and hit just 33.9 percent of its shots. Back-to-back 3s by Mark Walters cut New Mexico State’s lead to 36-35 with 15:57 left and a field goal by Kris Collins gave the Lobos a 40-38 lead. There were seven ties before the Aggies took the lead for good on a pair of free throws by David Fisher with 3:52 remaining.
NMSU got its last field goal – a baseline jumper by Fisher – with 6:30 remaining, but the Aggies repeatedly hit free throws down the stretch. New Mexico hurt its chances by missing three of four free throws in the final 1:09. That, coupled with a late turnover by center David Chiotti, an airball 3-point shot by Hart and a missed layup by Tony Danridge, contributed to the loss. Tony Danridge scored 12 for New Mexico.
LOBO HEAD COACH Ritchie McKay
Ritchie McKay is in his fifth season in charge of Lobo hoops and 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 155-142, 72-53 in his fifth season at New Mexico, The Lobos are 48-21 since the start of the 2004-05 season, the most wins of any school in the Mountain West Conference. They are 62-35 since 2003-04.
McKay is 62-14 in Albuquerque, 45-22 in all non-conference games, 41-7 in non-league games at The Pit and 5-15 in road/neutral games. He is 27-31 in the MWC, 22-7 at home, 5-24 on the road.
The 26-7 record in 2004-05 is 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 46-20 record since 2004-05.
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
The Lobos have produced a first team all-MWC performer all four years that McKay has been at UNM
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 is 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
New Mexico won five straight games away from The Pit in 2004-05, a feat last accomplished in 1977-78
Seven Lobo seniors who completed their eligibility at UNM between 2003-06 are – or have – playing professionally: Javin Tindall, Ruben Douglas, Alfred Neale, Troy DeVries, Danny Granger, David Chiotti and Mark Walters
UTEP REVIEW
Stefon Jackson scored 25 points and UTEP’s 3-point shooters punched early holes in New Mexico’s zone defense in the Miners’ 87-63 win Sunday. UTEP hit six 3-pointers in the first half as New Mexico stayed in the zone and steadily fell behind the scrappy Miners. UTEP hit just one 3-pointer in the second half, but by then the Miners were safely in front.
Jeremy Sampson hit 7-of-9 shots and added 15 points for the Miners.
Sampson’s nine rebounds led UTEP to a 44-28 edge on the boards.
New Mexico guard J.R. Giddens, who scored 16 points on 6-of-18 shooting, led a brief second-half rally that trimmed a 19-point UTEP lead to 61-47 with just over 12 minutes left. Miners guard Marvin Kilgore halted the run with a left-handed dunk after intercepting a Giddens pass near midcourt.
New Mexico got no closer than 15 the rest of the way and the final score matched the Miners’ biggest lead. Giddens came in averaging 20.4 points a game and sporting a plastic mask to protect his nose, which caught an elbow in the Lobos’ 79-76 win over New Mexico State on Tuesday.
With the mask on, Giddens hit just 2 of 10 shots in the first half. He played without the mask in the second half, and for a while found his shot, hitting four of his first five after the break.
The Miners, who lost at home to Chicago State three days earlier, were a much more physical team against the previously undefeated Lobos. UTEP grabbed most of the loose balls and pounded the boards at both ends in the decisive first half that put the Miners in front 50-34.
Five Miners hit 3-pointers in the first half, three of them in a 17-5 run that turned a 15-13 UTEP lead into a 32-18 cushion with 8:07 left in the opening period. Jackson hit a pair of 3s and Kevin Henderson had the other. UTEP’s shooters cooled off in the second half, hitting 10 of 28 shots. But it didn’t matter after the Miners hit 19 of 35 shots in the first half and 6-of-11 from 3-point range.
Tony Danridge, who scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half, and Giddens’ second half scoring carried the Lobos’ offense. On 3-pointers the Lobos were 5-of 23.
The Lobos suffered their worst loss since a 73-43 defeat at Utah on Feb. 23, 2004…it’s the most points allowed by UNM since an 88-71 defeat at Wyoming on Feb. 7, 2005…it’s the biggest loss to UTEP since an 89-57 decision in the 1989 Western Athletic Conference Tournament in Salt Lake City and the worst loss to the Miners in El Paso since 1972 when UTEP won 65-42
The Lobos led only three times, the last at 9-7…a 10-1 run gave UTEP a 25-14 lead and New Mexico never got closer than 10 points the rest of the game
New Mexico scored 26 points less than it was averaging through the first five games while it gave up 26 more points than it was allowing
UTEP came into the game shooting 40% from the field and 26% from 3-point while New Mexico was allowing 35% shooting and 25.5% from 3-point…the Miners converted 50% overall, including 41% (7-17) from 3-point
Conversely, the Lobos were shooting 52.8% from the field and 41% from 3-point…UNM shot a season-low 38% (21-55) overall, 22% (5-23) from beyond the arc…New Mexico was averaging 10.6 treys a game
UTEP led 50-34 at halftime, the most points UNM has allowed in a first half since Texas Tech had a 56-32 lead in Lubbock on Dec. 18, 2002
The Lobos out-rebounded their first five opponents by +5.4 a game…today, the Miners had a 44-28 edge, including 15-9 on the offensive end
J.R. Giddens tied a career-high with 4 steals…scored 16 points, making 6-18 FGs and 2-9 from 3-point…he came into the game averaging 20.4 points and 9 rebounds…Giddens is 13 of 37 (35%) shooting the past 2 games and 5 of 18 (28%) from 3-point the past 3 games
Aaron Johnson scored 1 point and had 4 rebounds in 20 minutes…he came into the game averaging 8.4 points and 12 rebounds
Forward and El Paso native Roman Martinez had a team-high 7 rebounds, setting a career high for the second straight game…he also had 6 points, 3 assists and just 1 turnover in 22 minutes