March 19, 2008
Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes
New Mexico at Cal
MasterCard NIT
March 19, 2008, Berkeley, Calif.
- New Mexico loses a 68-66 nailbiter at Cal in the 1st round of the MasterCard NIT…New Mexico ends its season at 24-9 while the Bears improve to 17-15
The Lobos had been 21-0 this season when holding opponents under 70 points
New Mexico trailed 37-24 with 1:45 left in the 1st half, but eventually tied the score at 53-all and it was 66-66 in the final minute of the game
UNM’s undoing was at the foul line where it started just 2 of 9 and finished 9 of 20, or 45%, which is the worst accuracy of the 2007-08 season
The Lobos also shot just 28% (7-25) from the 3-point line…they came into the game leading the nation in 3-point shooting at 42.5%…UNM finishes the season at 42%, the second-highest in school history
Cal’s Ryan Anderson scored 26 points, the most against New Mexico this season
UNM is now 16-18 in 17 NIT appearances, 0-6 on the road
Senior J.R. Giddens
26 points and 13 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season and 3rd in the last 4 games
also had 6 assists and 2 steals in 39 minutes
54 points, 30 rebounds and 7 assists in his final 2 collegiate games
averaged 22.6 points and 9.5 rebounds in his final 11 games at UNM
finished his senior season with 537 points (16.3 ppg), 290 rebounds (8.8 rpg), 103 assists, 47 steals and 39 blocks
Junior Chad Toppert
1 of 3 from 3-point
85 3-pointers this season, the same amount he had last year, which ranks 7th for a single-season at UNM
No. 1 all-time at UNM at 45.6% (184-403) from 3-point
Senior Jamaal Smith
finishes his career 7th all-time at UNM in FT shooting at 80.2% (158-197)