Jan. 14, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
New Mexico (10-7, 1-1 MWC) faces a stern challenge Saturday afternoon when BYU (14-2, 2-0 MWC) makes a stop at The Pit/Bob King Court in Albuquerque. Tip-off is 2:05 p.m. Mountain Time. This is the final game of a three-game home stand for New Mexico. The Lobos have lost six straight to BYU.
VERSUS will provide national television coverage of the game: channel 37 on Comcast Cable in Albuquerque, channel 603 on DirecTV and channel 151 on Dish Network. Tim Neverett and Tim McCormick will call the action.
The first 5,000 fans will receive Lobo red t-shirts courtesy of Route 66 Casino Hotel. Game sponsors are Route 66 Casino Hotel, 106.3 The Range and Wild 97.7.
The Lobos evened their MWC record at 1-1 last Saturday with an impressive 78-53 victory over Air Force in the 750th game in The Pit. UNM is 10-7 overall. New Mexico shot 54% from the floor, 56% from 3-point and held the Falcons to 39% accuracy.
Picked to finish second the MWC in the preseason poll, BYU is 14-2 overall and 2-0 in league play following Tuesday’s 73-61 home win over TCU. The Cougars’ losses have come against a pair of nationally-ranked foes: 76-75 to then-No. 20 Arizona State (currently 14-2) on Dec. 20, and 94-87 to then-No. 6 Wake Forest (currently 14-0) on Jan. 3. The loss to the Demon Deacons snapped BYU’s 53-game home court winning streak, which was the longest in the nation at the time.
THE NEW MEXICO-BYU SERIES – It’s game No. 124 in a series that started Jan. 29, 1950. BYU has a 73-50 lead and has won 6 straight and 16 of the past 20. The Courgars have taken 3 straight from UNM in The Pit and 8 in a row in Provo. BYU leads 13-5 in MWC games.
The Lobos’ have their longest losing streak to BYU since dropping the first 22 games between 1950-62. UNM’s last win was 85-71 in the quarterfinals of the 2005 MWC Tournament in Denver.
BYU has won more games against New Mexico in The Pit (17) than any other opponent. The Cougars have also snapped UNM’s three longest home court winning streaks of 41, 24 and 21 games, respectively.
In the two losses to BYU last year, the Lobos shot 35.6% (48-135) from the floor and just 23% (9-39) from 3-point.
SEASON TICKET HOLDER UNUSED TICKET REDEMPTION POLICY – Lobo season ticket holders can redeem any previously unused tickets for upcoming home games against Colorado State on Jan. 28 and Wyoming on Feb. 3. Tickets must be redeemed no later than the day before the game. New tickets will be located in bench rows 1-10, based on availability.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS – BYU returns two starters and eight letterwinners from last year’s team that won the MWC regular season title at 14-2. The Cougars were 27-8 overall, losing to Texas A&M in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Cougars have two of the top-four scorers in the MWC in senior Lee Cummard (18.1 ppg) and junior Jonathan Tavernari (17.5). Sophomore Jimmer Fredette (14.6) is also in double figures. Tavernari is averaging a team-high 7 rebounds a game, Cummard 6.1
BYU enters the game 1st in the MWC in scoring margin (+17.5), FG% (50.9%), rebound margin (+5.2), assists (17.63), 3-point FG% defense (28.6%), and assist/turnover ratio (1.45).
Head coach Dave Rose is 86-28 in his 4th season overall and at BYU. He is 6-0 against the Lobos.
NOTES TO KNOW BEFORE THE GAME
FG percentage defense has been a strength of UNM teams under Steve Alford…last year, New Mexico held opponents to 41.0%, the 4th-lowest allowed by a Lobo team in the past 43 years…it’s even better this season at 39.1%, which currently ranks 2nd in the MWC…the last time New Mexico held the opposition to under 40% for an entire season was 1964-65 (36.7%)…opponents have shot just 40.4% (1,017-2,517) in 50 games against Alford’s Lobo teams
UNM has held 4 straight opponents to less than 40% shooting (38.5%, 77-200) for the first time since the first 4 games of the 2006-07 season…the last time for 5 in a row was a 6-game roll against Western Kentucky, New Mexico State, Furman, Mercer, William & Mary and Mercer from Dec. 2-30, 2000
Utah was the last opponent to shoot 50% or better against UNM, a streak that is now 21 games in length…the Utes hit 52.4% (22-42) in Salt Lake City on Feb. 23, 2008
New Mexico was 2nd in the nation in 3-point percentage last year at 42%…accuracy is 38.1% this season, but the Lobos made 56% (9-16) against Air Force last Saturday
Last year, UNM’s 7th loss did not come until the 29th game of the season – a 22-7 start – on Feb. 26 against BYU
The Lobos have won 26 straight games when allowing less than 60 points, and they are 47-2 in such games since 2004-05
Of UNM’s 33 games in 2007-08, six were decided by 3 points or less, and it went 2-4…the 2008-09 squad has already equaled that total for nail-biters, recording a 4-2 mark
Even though UNM has made 76% (44-58) of its FTs the past 2 games, it is still last in the MWC at 66.5% from the FT line, and ithe number is just 59% (34-58) in the last 3 minutes of games
Three Lobos did not play basketball last season: senior Tony Danridge was out with a broken leg while freshmen Will Brown and A.J. Hardeman were tending to academics
New Mexico has the top-3 single-game assist totals in the MWC this year: 29 vs. Ole Miss, 26 vs. Southeast Missouri and 25 vs. Grambling State
The Lobos are 2-3 in true road games this year, and 10-9 in head coach Steve Alford’s tenure at New Mexico…in the five seasons before Alford arrived, UNM had an 8-43 road record…UNM went 8-6 in 2007-08, tying a school record
The Lobos are 38-2 in their last 40 non-conference home games and are 7-2 in The Pit this season
New Mexico had to rally from 12 or more points twice during a 4-game winning streak in December…UNM trailed Southern Miss 30-18, before prevailing 60-58…there was a 34-19 hole against Oral Roberts, but the Lobos rallied for a 66-63 victory
Senior Chad Toppert ranks No. 1 at UNM by making 45% of his career 3-point attempts…he is 3rd all-time at UNM and 5th in the MWC record book with 229 career 3s
It certainly looks like four true scholarship freshmen will letter for UNM in 2008-09: Will Brown, Nate Garth, A.J. Hardeman and Phillip McDonald…that has happened only one other time in the history of Lobo basketball: 1983-84 when five Lobos – Paul Connery, Hunter Greene, Larry Markland, Kelvin Scarborough and Mike Winters – all saw time…freshmen became eligible to play with the varsity in 1973-74
UNM-BYU LAST YEAR IN THE PIT – Trent Plaisted scored 23 points, hitting two big free throws with 5.7 seconds remaining in overtime as BYU survived a shaky first half to beat New Mexico 70-69.
Plaisted, held to six points in the first half, was fouled as time ran down but calmly stepped to the line and made the first attempt to tie it at 69 and, after a New Mexico timeout, made the next for a 70-69 lead. Lee Cummard added 14 points for BYU.
The ending featured some confusion and controversy.
New Mexico’s Jamaal Smith raced downcourt and got an errant 12-footer airborne. It bounced off the backboard and then the horn sounded. BYU players celebrated, but officials converged to view a television replay.
They decided the ball had touched a BYU player before the horn and put 0.1 seconds back on the clock. That allowed New Mexico to try an inbound play to score, but J.R. Giddens missed a catch-and-shoot attempt in the lane.
Giddens scored 30 points and had seven rebounds for the Lobos, who had their six-game winning streak snapped.
New Mexico seemed to have control when Dairese Gary made two free throws for a 69-66 lead with 1:06 to play in overtime, but BYU’s Sam Burgess answered with two of his own free throws to pull the Cougars to 69-68 with 57.1 seconds to go.
Each team missed a chance to win it at the end of regulation, with Gary’s runner off the mark, and Fredette unable to make a 55-footer at the horn.
New Mexico led 52-48 with 8 1/2 minutes remaining in regulation when Roman Martinez hit a 3-pointer to bring the capacity crowd of 18,018 to full cheer. After a timeout, freshman Jonathan Wills added another 3-pointer to push the lead to 55-48.
Plaisted scored for BYU but Gary came away with a loose ball to start a fastbreak, which Martinez capped with a basket and a foul. He made the ensuing free throw, and the Lobos led 58-50 with 6:25 to go.
BYU wouldn’t quit, though, and the Cougars tied it at 58 with 3:01 on the clock. Plaisted scored three baskets inside, Chris Collinsworth made a free throw and Cummard swished a 3-pointer, forcing a New Mexico timeout.
UNM-BYU LAST YEAR AT PROVO – Lee Cummard scored 20 points and Jonathan Tavernari added 19 to lead BYU past New Mexico 83-66. BYU wasted no time securing its 42nd consecutive home win in front of 19,932 fans. The Cougars trailed at 2-0, but after Sam Burgess connected on a 3-pointer to give BYU a 5-2 lead they never trailed again.
Burgess gave BYU a hot start by scoring all nine of his first half points in the first five minutes of the game. Then it was Tavernari’s turn. He followed with 16 first-half points as the Cougars took a commanding 44-24 lead at the break.
BYU shot 51 percent overall for the game and was 13-of-16 from behind the 3-point line, including 5-of-6 from long range by Tavernari and 3-of-3 from Burgess. New Mexico shot 27 percent in the first half including 1-of-5 from beyond the 3-point line and a season-low 34 percent for the game.
Dairese Gary led the Lobos with 17 points along with Daniel Faris and Darren Prentice with 12 and 10 points, respectively. J.R. Giddens tied a season-low with just 4 points on 2 of 8 shooting.
UNM’S POSTGAME NOTES FROM AIR FORCE
– Phillip McDonald scored 11 of his 15 points during a key 15-0 run that carried New Mexico to a 78-53 win over Air Force last Saturday night in the 750th game played at The Pit.
The Lobos had four players reach double digits in scoring with Tony Danridge and Chad Toppert each getting 15 points. It was the most points that Air Force has allowed this season.
McDonald had been mired in a scoring slump with just 10 total points in the past three games. But he hit three 3-pointers during the decisive span that pushed New Mexico’s first-half lead from 9-6 to 24-6.
Air Force didn’t get closer than 15 points the rest of the game despite Matt Holland’s 14 points. The Lobos displayed sharp shooting throughout the game, hitting 9-of-16 from 3-point range and connecting on 54 percent from the field.
It was Steve Alford’s 50th game as the Lobos’ head coach – he is 34-16 midway through his second season at UNM
It was UNM’s biggest win over Air Force since a 92-59 victory in The Pit on Jan. 3, 1998
New Mexico has recorded 3 straight wins over Air Force for the first time since a 7-game run between 1996-2001 – UNM improved its series lead to 44-18, including a commanding 26-2 advantage in The Pit
New Mexico trailed 3-2 one minute into the game and held a 9-6 lead at the 14:46 mark of the first half before going on a 15-0 run over the next 2:55 to go up 24-6 – the Lobos hit 9 of their first 13 shots, including 5-7 from 3-point range to surge out to a 24-6 lead 8:23 into the game
Four days after its worst shooting performance in The Pit in 12 years (28.8% vs. UTEP), New Mexico shot 54.3% (25-46) from the floor…UNM had hit just 36% (59-163) of its shots in its previous 3 games, including 29.6% (16-44) from beyond the arc…it was the best FG and 3-point shooting performance this year against Air Force, which entered the game ranked first in the MWC in FG percentage defense (37.6%)
The Lobos’ 78 points were the most scored against the Falcons this season – Stanford’s 76 were the previous high – Air Force entered the night second in the MWC in scoring defense, allowing just 58.2 ppg
UNM has held 4 straight opponents to less than 40% shooting from the floor (38.5%, 77-200) for the first time since the first 4 games of the 2006-07 season – Air Force has hit just 30.2% (29-96) of its shots in its last 2 trips to The Pit
The Lobos have now won 26 straight games when allowing less than 60 points and are 47-2 in such games since 2004-05
UNM committed just 8 turnovers, improving to 3-0 this season when giving the ball away 10 times or less – the Lobos are 9-2 when they commit fewer turnovers than the opponent this season
New Mexico has made a 3-pointer in 598 consecutive games; the last time it didn’t connect was Jan. 3, 1991, going 0-8 against Colorado State
True Freshman Phillip McDonald
15 points with 11 coming in the first half – reached double figures for the 7th time this season after scoring a combined 10 the past 3 games
season-high 4 3-pointers – 3 in the first half
Sophomore Jonathan Wills
season-highs of 8 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds…had season totals of 25 points, 9 assists and 2 rebounds in his previous 16 games
career-high 25 minutes played
Senior Daniel Faris
4th-straight game scoring in double figures (11) – one shy of matching his career-high…averaging 15.8/game during that span
3 blocked shots, increasing his season total to a career-best 29 (1.7/game)…9th game with multiple blocked shots this season
Senior Tony Danridge
10th-straight game scoring in double figures (15), extending his career-high…averaging 15/game during that span
Senior Chad Toppert
scored in double figures (15) for the 10th time this season and hit 3 3-pointers for the second straight night
moved back atop the UNM career 3-point percentage list at 45.08% (229-508)
Freshman Will Brown
season-high 6 rebounds along with 2 blocks
UNM HEAD COACH Steve Alford – Steve Alford, 44, is in his second season in charge of Lobo hoops and his 18th year as a collegiate head coach. He was named UNM’s 19th head coach on March 23, 2007.
Alford, who has never been an assistant coach is his career, has a 342-199 (63%) career record in his 18th season as a head coach, 34-16 at New Mexico. His teams have qualified for postseason play 12 times, produced 14 winning seasons and reached 21 wins on nine occasion