Feb. 13, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
From the fryin’ pan to the fire. After dropping a tough 60-51 decision to nationally-ranked Air Force in The Pit on Saturday, the New Mexico Lobos’ next assignment is a raod game against a BYU team that leads the Mountain West Conference and has won six straight. An added degree of difficulty is that the Cougars have won 28 straight games at the Marriott Center, currently tied for the nation’s second-longest home winning streak. Fellow MWC member Air Force has also won 28 in a row on its home floor at Clune Arena.
Tipoff for the Valentine’s Day affair is 7:05 p.m. Mountain Time. The game will be televised live on The mtn., Channel 276 on Comcast Cable in Albuquerque.
The Lobos are 14-11 overall and 3-7 in the Mountain West Conference after the loss to Air Force. New Mexico begins the week alone in eighth place in the nine-team Mountain West Conference. UNM was picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll.
The Lobos, however, did win their last road game – 70-66 at Colorado State on Feb. 3 – to snap a 9-game skid in true road games. New Mexico has not won at BYU since 2000, losing six straight there.
BYU, picked to finish second in the preseason MWC poll, is atop the conference standings at 9-2 and 19-6 overall. The Cougars dealt TCU an 85-72 loss Saturday in Fort Worth. Keena Young scored 25 points and BYU shot 61.5% from the floor, including 68% (15-22) in the second half. BYU is 14-2 since Dec. 16.
Saturday’s game matches two of the top offensive teams in the conference. BYU is scoring at a 77.6 clip to lead the league while UNM is third at 75.4 points a game, although just 67.5 points in 10 MWC contests.
STREAK BUSTERS
Both programs know a little about snapping home winning streaks and they have done so to each other. BYU has put a halt to New Mexico top-three home winning skeins, runs of 41, 24 and 21 games.
Conversely, the Lobos won the 1994 Western Athletic Conference with a thrilling 84-82 triumph at the Marriott Center, which put an end to the Cougars’ 20-game winning streak on its home floor.
REDEEM UNUSED TICKETS
A reminder that Lobo season ticketholders may redeem any unused tickets from the 2006-07 season for the San Diego State game on Feb. 20. This offer if valid only to season ticketholders. Tickets must be redeemed at the ticket office at The Pit during normal business hours.
NEW MEXICO-BYU SERIES
It’s game No. 121 in a series that started Jan. 29, 1950. BYU has a 70-50 lead and has won three straight, 13 of the past 17 overall and six in a row in Provo. The Cougars lead 10-5 in MWC games. BYU has 16 wins against New Mexico in The Pit, more than any other UNM opponent.
BYU slammed the Lobos 70-49 last month in Albuquerque. The 21-point margin is UNM’s largest home loss since a 68-42 setback to Air Force on Jan. 17, 2004. BYU equaled its biggest win over New Mexico in Albuquerque since an 83-62 decision on Feb. 26, 1998.
The first half featured four ties and 17 lead changes, however, BYU closed with an 11-0 run to take a 37-28 halftime lead and never trailed again. The Cougars hit their last six shots of the first half while New Mexico’s last seven trips of the first half resulted in three turnovers and four missed shots. UNM did not score the final 3:41 of the first stanza.
AIR FORCE REVIEW AND NOTES
Jacob Burtschi and Nick Welch combined for a rare four-point trip late in the game and No. 15 Air Force shook off a horrendous start to beat New Mexico 60-51 Saturday.
The Falcons missed nine of their first 10 shots, but consistently hit key shots in the second half to hand the Lobos their third conference loss in The Pit this season.
Dan Nwaelele and Tim Anderson each scored 17 points for Air Force, but it was Burtschi and Welch who sealed the win with four points in a span of 2 seconds.
With Air Force ahead 48-45 after New Mexico’s Roman Martinez scored on a short jumper, Burtschi banked in a shot and was fouled by Chad Toppert. Burtschi missed the free throw, but Welch slipped in to tip in the miss for a 52-45 Falcons lead with 2:38 left.
Anderson added two free throws with 40.8 seconds remaining, and free throws by Burtschi and Nwaelele pushed the lead to 58-48 with 15 seconds to go.
The Falcons had one field goal – a 3-pointer by Anderson – in the game’s first 8 minutes and went scoreless over the final 4:06 of the first half. Still, they trailed just 23-19 at halftime.
New Mexico took a 19-9 lead with 6:31 left in the first half on a basket by Darren Prentice. Air Force then scored 10 straight points. Nwaelele hit a layup, Burtschi hit back-to-back 3s from the same spot at the top of the key and Anderson finished the run by slicing into the lane for a tough 5-footer that got a favorable roll. Giddens, with 10 points, was the only New Mexico player in double figures.
UNM shot a season-low 32.1% from the floor…the Lobos have made just 39.4% (112-284) of their shots the past 5 games, lowering the accuracy in MWC games to 43%
The Falcons won in The Pit for just the 2nd time in 26 games
Air Force swept the season series from UNM for only the second time…the Falcons also did so in 2004…Air Force has won 3 straight over UNM and 7 of the past 9
UNM is 2-3 in The Pit in MWC games…the Lobos have not lost four conference games at home since going 4-4 in 1981
Head coach Ritchie McKay is 4-6 in his Lobo career against ranked teams
There were 5 ties and 4 lead changes in the 2nd half
The 19 points scored by Air Force in the 1st half ties for a season-low by a Lobo opponent…UNM also held Abilene Christian and Wichita State to 19 points in the 1st half
New Mexico started 3 of 4 from 3-point, then missed its next 13 tries from long range…the Lobos finished the game 7 of 23, or 30.4%
The Lobos’ top scorers – J.R. Giddens and Tony Danridge – combined for 18 points on 8 of 24 shooting from the floor, 0-3 from 3-point…they came into the game averaging 29.6 points on the season
UNM made 8 of 11 FTs and has converted 73.3% (66-90) of its charities the past four games…the Lobos made only 57% (42-74) of their attempts the first six MWC games
Tony Danridge scored 8 points and had a streak of scoring in double figures stopped at 8 games
Roman Martinez made his first 3 since the 4th game of the season against Kansas State..he came into the game 4 of 25 from 3-point on the season and had missed 13 in a row
Daniel Faris had 6 points, 4 rebounds and a career-high 3 blocks…he played 22 minutes, the most since 28 against CSU on Jan. 6
Darren Prentice set career-highs with 7 assists and 6 rebounds
SLIPPERY LEADS; NICE COMEBACKS
New Mexico has watched a pair of second-half, double-digit leads go by the wayside in MWC games. The Lobos led at nationally-ranked Air Force 37-16 in the first half and 41-24 early in the second period only to have the Falcons embark on a 28-1 blast. UNM lost 65-57.
The Lobos also led the Falcons 19-9 at home, but came up short 60-51.
Against Utah, New Mexico led 40-25 right after halftime, but the Utes rallied to eventually tie the game. UNM squeaked out an 86-82 overtime win.
The Lobos held a 44-28 advantage over rival New Mexico State only to have the Aggies trim it to one with 21 seconds remaining. UNM hung on to win 79-76.
On the other hand, the Lobos have erased some big deficits this season. UNM trailed Pepperdine 36-23 in the first half before taking off on a 19-0 run and an eventual 101-96 victory. At Texas Tech on Jan. 1, New Mexico fell behind 33-13 and trailed 48-35 early in the second half. The Lobos rallied to take a 66-63 before coming up on the short end of a 70-68 decision, giving Bob Knight his 880th career win, tops among NCAA Div. I-A coaches.