March 5, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Another huge challenge awaits New Mexico (20-10, 11-4 MWC) in its quest for the program’s first conference title in 15 years. In order to hoist a trophy, the Lobos must get past a tough Wyoming (18-11, 7-8 MWC) team Saturday in Laramie. Tip-off is 1:35 p.m. Mountain Time from the Arena-Auditorium.
What: Lobos at Wyoming
When/Where: 1:30 p.m. Saturday — Laramie, Wyo.
TV: The Mtn (Comcast 276, DirecTV 616)
Radio: 770-AM KKOB
Online: GameTracker on GoLobos.com
Picked to finish 5th in the MWC preseason poll, the Lobos enter the final game of the regular season tied with Utah and BYU for first place in the Mountain West. San Diego State is a game back at 10-5. UNM is on a 4-game winning streak after Tuesday’s roof-raising 77-71 victory over Utah.
A look at the final conference game for the contenders:
New Mexico (11-4): Saturday at Wyoming, 1:30 p.m.
Utah (11-4): Saturday at home vs. TCU, 4 p.m.
BYU (11-4): Saturday at home vs. Air Force, 7 p.m.
San Diego State (10-5): Saturday at home vs. UNLV, 8 p.m.
Wyoming lost 78-68 at home to BYU on Wednesday, putting an end to the Cowboys’ 4-game winning streak. Wyoming, 12-2 at home this year, also was defeated by Utah at the Arena-Auditorium. New Mexico has won just once in its past 11 trips to the Arena- Auditorium. It came last year in a dramatic fashion, a 99-92 double-overtime win as UNM staged its largest second-half comeback in a road game in school history. The Lobos trailed 48-32 at halftime, but eventually snagged their first triumph at the Double-A since Feb. 18, 1995 to halt a 10-game slide in Laramie.
THE NEW MEXICO-WYOMING SERIES – It’s game No. 118 in a series that started Dec. 18, 1950. Wyoming has a slight 62-55 lead, although UNM has won three straight for the first time since a 5-game run between 1992-94. The Lobos took a 86-57 decision in The Pit on Feb. 3. Chad Toppert came off the bench to score a game-high 17 points, making five 3-pointers. Wyoming has a 37-19 lead in games played in Laramie, 16-10 in the Arena-Auditorium. The last time UNM won consecutive games in Laramie was three straight from 1993-95.
UTAH RECAP – Tony Danridge scored a career-high 29 points, a fitting farewell on Senior Night, leading New Mexico to a 77-71 win over Utah. Daniel Faris had 16 points and 10 rebounds while New Mexico’s third senior, Chad Toppert, scored 12 points for the streaking Lobos. Utah lost its seventh straight to UNM at The Pit. Luke Nevill scored 16 points for the Utes but had just four points and one rebound after halftime. He fouled out for the first time this season with 3:41 left in the game. The Lobos went 6-1 in February and kept the momentum going with their fourth straight victory. New Mexico led 36-34 at halftime but went on a 12-0 run midway through the second half to seize control.
SENIORS IMPRESSIVE ON AND OFF THE COURT – UNM’s three seniors – Tony Danridge (San Bernardino, Calif.), Daniel Faris (Albuquerque) and Chad Toppert (Albuquerque) – are scheduled to graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree. Danridge is majoring in University Studies, Faris in Mass Media/Communications and Toppert in Business. The team’s top-three scorers in 2008-09, the trio has participated in at least 119 games in their careers at New Mexico: Danridge (125), Toppert (123) and Faris (119). They have combined to score 3,051 points.
NOTES TO KNOW BEFORE THE GAME
Steve Alford has posted 44 wins at New Mexico, the most by a head coach in his first two years…he is 31-4 in The Pit, 14-2 in MWC games
New Mexico has 22 conference wins the past 2 seasons, the most in consecutive years since 22 in 1997 (11) and `98 (11)…the last time for 23 or more was 25 in 1996 (14) and 1997 (11)
UNM’s 11 conference wins have been by an average of 15.5 points while its 4 losses – all on the road at UNLV, San Diego State, Utah and BYU – have been by a combined 19 points, or 4.8 points
For the first time since 2005, the Lobos were undefeated (8-0) in home MWC games, winning by an average of 17.7 points…in four of those games, UNM held the opponent to a season scoring low: BYU (62), Colorado State (50), Wyoming (57) and San Diego State (49)
Including last year’s home win over UNLV, the Lobos have won 9 straight MWC home games…the victory margin in those games is an impressive 17.9 points
The Lobos are 5-6 in true road games this year, and 13-12 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
Dating to last season, UNM is 7-4 in its last 11 MWC road games
Big Shots for Faris: Senior Daniel Faris’ improbable shot last Saturday that sent the Colorado State game into overtime was really his third biggie of the season…he made a 6-footer in the lane with 39 seconds left at New Mexico State that gave UNM a 68-66 victory…he tied the UNLV game at 69-all with a bucket with 47.5 seconds left in OT…UNM won 73-69
Danridge Rollin’: After a career-best 29 points against Utah, senior Tony Danridge is arguably playing as well as anyone in the league…he has averaged 20.2 points in the past 6 games, making 53% (48-90) of his FGs and 77% (43-56) of his FTs…with 1,195 career points, he is 18th on UNM’s all-time scoring list…Tony needs 6 points to pass former teammate Mark Walters (1,200) for 17th
Impressive Numbers for Toppert: Senior Chad Toppert ranks 1st at UNM, 3rd in the MWC and 18th in the NCAA record book with a career 3-point accuracy of 45.23%
And He’s Surpassed 1,000 Points: Toppert has become the 26th member of UNM’s 1,000-point club…teammate Tony Danridge was the 25th Lobo to do so earlier this season…what’s unique about Toppert is that he has only started 28 games in his 123-game career…every other Lobo to reach 1,000 points has started at least 53 games
UNM is 9-0 in MWC games this year when Toppert scores in double figures
In MWC games only, the Lobos lead the league in scoring defense (63.5 ppg) and 3-point FG% (41.5%)
FG% defense has been a strength of UNM teams under Steve Alford…last year, UNM held opponents to 41.0%, the 4th-lowest by a Lobo team in the past 43 years…it’s even better this season at 40.4%, 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 40.8% (1,286-3,155) in 63 games against Alford’s Lobo teams
Stay in the Game Ro: The Lobos are 15-1 this season – with 15 consecutive wins – when junior Roman Martinez plays more than 30 minutes…the loss was at Creighton on Nov. 16…that means UNM is 5-9 when “Ro” plays 30 minutes or less
Lobos Like 3s on the Road: Surprisingly, UNM is shooting 42.3% from 3-point range in 11 true road games this season compared to 37% accuracy in The Pit…the trend is the same for the Lobos’ top-two 3-point threats: Chad Toppert makes 43% at home, 45.5% on the road; Roman Martinez is making 40% in The Pit, 44% away…freshman Nate Garth is 6-30 (20%) at home, but 10-19 (52.6%) on the road
Keep `Em Below 60: The Lobos have won 31 straight games when allowing less than 60 points, and they are 51-2 in such games since 2004-05…the last loss was 51-46 at Air Force on Feb. 22, 2006
UNM-WYOMING FEB. 3 IN ALBUQUERQUE – Chad Toppert equaled his season high for three-pointers with five and scored 17 points to lead New Mexico to an 86-57 victory. UNM held the Cowboys to a season-low point total, with Sean Ogirri leading them with 16 points. Toppert, however, had plenty of help, with Roman Martinez scoring 15 and Tony Danridge and Daniel Faris each contributing 11. New Mexico never trailed and got off to an 11-3 lead. Although Wyoming cut it to 11-10 on a three-pointer from Brandon Ewing at the 11:10 mark, UNM outscored the Cowboys 30-10 the rest of the way before half time.
The backbone of the stretch was the long-distance shooting from Toppert. Only a flying slam dunk from Danridge interrupted Toppert’s string of four three-pointers over a four-minute period in a 14-2 surge that extended the Lobos’ lead to 29-14. New Mexico finished off the half with three-pointers from Martinez, Toppert and Jonathan Wills en route to a 41-20 advantage at the break. The Lobos had a strong shooting night, hitting 30-of-58 from the field while limiting Wyoming to 17-for-48. UNM went 11-for-22 from behind the three-point arc and converted 15-of-17 from the foul line.
UNM-WYOMING LAST YEAR IN LARAMIE – Jamaal Smith scored 27 points, including 11 in overtime, to lead New Mexico over Wyoming 99-92 in double overtime. Smith hit three 3-pointers in the second half to help the Lobos overcome a 16-point halftime deficit (48-32). J.R. Giddens scored five straight points to put New Mexico ahead 73-71 with 22 seconds remaining in regulation, but Wyoming’s Joseph Taylor banked in a turnaround jumper on the ensuing possession to send the game into overtime.
Giddens scored four more points in the first overtime to give the Lobos an 82-81 lead with 22.2 seconds left, but a Taylor free throw with 17.9 seconds left tied the score at 82, forcing a second overtime. Giddens finished with 16 points, and Darren Prentice added 12 points. Ryan Dermody led Wyoming with 24 points. Taylor finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Brad Jones and Brandon Ewing each scored 15 for the Cowboys. Dermody hit three 3-pointers during a 19-4 run that gave Wyoming a 26-15 lead with 11:25 remaining in the first half. New Mexico pulled within 39-32 10 minutes later, but Wyoming scored the final nine points of the period to take a 48-32 lead into halftime. The Lobos got back into the game with a 16-2 run to open the second half.
POSTGAME NOTES FROM TUESDAY’S WIN AGAINST UTAH
A sellout crowd of 18,018 was on hand to see the last regular-season men’s game in The Pit before renovations begin in April…average attendance for the 2008-09 season is 14,348, tops in the Mountain West Conference
UNM has won 7 straight over Utah in The Pit and 9 of the last 15 overall in the series…New Mexico has a 33-12 edge in The Pit
The 6-point decision was the largest regulation game margin of victory by either team in the series since a 64-53 New Mexico win in The Pit in 2006…the previous 6 games had been decided by a total of 20 points, with 4 requiring overtime…it’s the most points the Lobos have scored against the Utes in regulation since 1998 – a 77-74 win in Albuquerque
New Mexico’s 3 seniors – Tony Danridge, Daniel Faris, and Chad Toppert – combined for 57 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists with just 3 turnovers in their final home game
New Mexico held a 32-25 rebounding advantage, including a 13-1 lead on the offensive end, resulting in a 16-0 advantage in 2nd chance points…it’s just the 2nd time in the last 17 games Utah has been outrebounded…only nationally-ranked Oklahoma has held a bigger advantage on the glass against Utah this year (37-29)…UNM is 14-3 when outrebounding its opponent this year
UNM had 2 turnovers in the first 4 minutes, but just 5 over the final 36 minutes…the Lobos are 9-0 this season, including 7-0 in MWC games, when committing 10 turnovers or less…New Mexico forced 18 Utah turnovers, including 12 in the 2nd half
Utah had 10 FGs and 12 turnovers in the 2nd half
Utah C Luke Nevill in 2 games vs. New Mexico this year: 27 points (8-16 FGs), 11 rebounds, 9 fouls…he fouled out for the first time tonight
New Mexico F/C Daniel Faris in 2 games vs. Utah this year: 34 points (16-28 FGs), 18 rebounds, 6 fouls
Utah shot 56.4% (22-39) from the floor – the best against a Steve Alford-coached New Mexico team and the highest since Colorado State converted 63% (31-49) in The Pit on Jan. 6, 2007…the Utes are only the 3rd team in the past 35 games to make 50% of its FG tries against the Lobos…San Diego State hit 50% (23-46) on Jan. 21 and Air Force converted 52% (22-42) on Feb. 11
Senior Tony Danridge
game and career-high 29 points, including 18 in the 2nd half…career-highs of 13-16 from the FT line
over 20 points in 6 games this season…3rd time in last 7 games with 20+ points…averaging 20.3 ppg in that span
has scored in double figures in 26 of his 30 games, including 8 straight…under 10 points just once in his last 23 games (at Utah)
also had a team-high 5 assists…it’s the 3rd game of his career – all this season – with 5+ assists
Senior Daniel Faris
Third career double-double – all this season – with 16 points and 10 rebounds
Previous two came on the road at New Mexico State (17 pts., 11 rebs.) and BYU (16 pts., 10 rebs.)
averaging 8.4 rebounds in his last 5 games…had 7 boards in the first half
Junior Roman Martinez
13 points and 7 rebounds in 34 minutes
18th game in double figures this year and 3rd in his last 4 games…averaging 13.0 ppg in his last 4 games
Lobos are 15-1 when he plays more than 30 minutes this season
Senior Chad Toppert
12 points (2-5 3FGs), 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 0 turnovers
261 career 3s; he is 4 from passing Ruben Douglas for 2nd place at UNM
UNM is 9-0 in MWC games when he scores in double figures
Freshman Nate Garth
3 assists, giving him 101 this year…6th Lobo freshman with 100+ assists in a season
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 351-202 (64%) career record in his 18th season as a head coach, 43-19 at New Mexico. His teams have qualified for postseason play 12 times, produced 14 winning seasons and reached 21 wins on nine occasions.