Postgame Notes - New Mexico vs. Texas Tech (Dec. 29, 2010)
Dec. 29, 2010
New Mexico at Texas Tech – Postgame Notes
Wednesday, December 29, 2010 – Lubbock, Texas
- New Mexico escapes with a 61-60 victory at Texas Tech, improving to 11-2 overall and 3-1 on the road…the Lobos are 41-7 overall since the start of the 2009-10 season
- UNM’s rally from 15 points down (25-10) ties for the 7th-largest comeback in school history
- The Lobos trailed 25-10 at the 9:45 mark of the first half, then went on a 16-2 run to trim the deficit to 27-26 following a 3-pointer by Dairese Gary with 1:35 left before halftime
- UNM started the game missing 13 of its first 16 shots and 17 of its first 22…Texas Tech made 11 of its first 15 FGs to take that 25-10 lead
- The Lobos shot 28% (7-25) in the 1st half, but 60% (12-20) in the 2nd
- Faced with its largest halftime deficit of the season at 33-27, New Mexico started the 2nd half on a 13-2 run to grab a 40-35 advantage…UNM’s first lead of the night came at 36-35
- UNM’s lead eventually grew to 55-47 with 6:18 left, but Tech answered with a 10-2 burst to tie it at 57-all with 1:58 remaining
- The Lobos outrebounded Texas Tech 32-22, meaning UNM is 35-3 in its last 38 games when outrebounding its opponent
Head coach Steve Alford
- Coached his 606th career game
- 395-211 in his 20-year coaching career
- 87-28 in his fourth season at New Mexico
- 27-16 in road games while at New Mexico
- 50-17 against non-conference opponents while at New Mexico
Senior G Dairese Gary
- Tied Johnny Brown (1985-86) for 21st place all-time at UNM with 1,157 career points
- Needs 3 points to pass Charlie Thomas (1988-89) and former teammate Roman Martinez (2007-10) for 19th
- 439 career FTs made, 5th all-time at UNM; needs 3 to pass Kelvin Scarborough for 4th place
- Made his 110th consecutive start tonight, which is the longest current streak in the nation
Freshman C Alex Kirk
- Tied a career-high with 10 points, 8 coming in the 2nd half
Junior F Drew Gordon
- Only 5 points, but he tied a career-high with 11 rebounds; also had 11 against Wyoming his freshman season at UCLA
- 11 boards are the most by a Lobo this season
Junior G Phillip McDonald
- A team-high 12 points, 10 of those coming in the 2nd half
- Hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the 2nd half, giving UNM a 52-45 lead
Freshman G Kendall Williams
- 8 points, 3 assists and no turnovers in 29 minutes
- Did not start for the first time this season; entered the game at the 10:31 mark of the 1st half and played 29 of the final 31 minutes
- 31 assists and 7 turnovers the past 5 games, 60 assists and 25 turnovers for the season
Freshman G Tony Snell
- Made his first career start and tied a career best with 7 points in a career-high 20 minutes