Nov. 18, 2011
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New Mexico Lobos Men’s Basketball – At Arizona State
Friday: Lobos 76, Arizona State 71
Up Next: Nov. 24, Lobos vs. Santa Clara – 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif.
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
TEMPE, Ariz. — Lobo Kendall Williams didn’t get the start Friday night at Arizona State, but the Lobo sophomore definitely got the finish in New Mexico’s 76-71 win in Tempe’s Wells Fargo Arena.
Williams scored UNM’s last three points at the free-throw line in final 23 seconds and also fed A.J. Hardeman inside for a layup with 1:10 to play that pushed UNM up 73-69. It was a key score for the Lobos as it snapped a six-point ASU run that moved the scoreboard from 71-63 to 71-69.
“This was a huge challenge for our team,” said Lobo coach Steve Alford. “It was an extremely quick turnaround (from NMSU loss) and we were playing a good Pac-12 opponent. Road wins are hard to come by, especially in a BCS gym.”
Williams paced UNM with 16 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Senior Drew Gordon added 13 points and nine boards. Williams and Gordon did not get to start against ASU.
“Being on the bench can be a great motivator,” said Alford. “Losing a game in The Pit … our guys have to learn that’s not acceptable. Messages have to be sent. I thought our guys responded.”
Those two Lobos were joined in double figures by Tony Snell with 12 points and Cameron Bairstow with ten points. Snell also had five assists as did freshman Hugh Greenwood, who also hit two big treys down the stretch for UNM.
Greenwood went 2-of-10 from the field, but had five assists and no turnovers in 28 minutes of play.
“His shooting will come. He’s a very good shooter,” Alford said of Greenwood. “But we have a lot of guys who can score. We couldn’t get an offense going against State. It was important that we ran an offense in this game and Hugh did a good job doing that and playing tough on the defensive end, too.”
The Lobos shot 50 percent for the game and had 20 assists. The win raised UNM’s record to 2-1, heading toward the 76 Classic next week in Anaheim, Calif.
“We’re going to play three games on ESPN and we want to get that national exposure and we want to play well,” said Alford. “This is a way to get our program some national exposure.”
ASU was paced by Carrick Felix with 20 points and seven rebounds. ASU’s Keala King had 13 points and seven boards. ASU fell to 1-2 on the young season.
Second Half: Lobos 35, Arizona State 33
The Sun Devils came out of the break down three and got a fast break layup and a 3-pointer by Trent Lockett to go up 43-41. UNM’s Hardeman hit a jumper to knot the score at 43-all. The teams went back and forth again with the Lobos going up 50-47 on a dunk by Gordon. ASU then threw out a quick 6-0 run to grab a 53-50 lead and coach Alford called a timeout.
Williams scored to make it 53-52. At the 10:52 mark, Fenton made a single free throw to form a 53-all tie. ASU’s King scored inside and was fouled by Gordon. The Sun Devil converted the old-fashioned 3-pointer to go up 56-53. A McDonald layup made it 56-55.
UNM recaptured the lead 58-57 on Hugh Greenwood’s trey. ASU came right back with a trey by Chanse Creekmur: 60-58. Greenwood hit another trey and UNM carried a 61-60 lead into the 6:58 media break.
UNM went up 63-60 on a Gordon layup and 65-61 after two free throws by Bairstow. Lockett scored inside: 65-63 with 5:16 to play. Snell pushed UNM up 68-63 with a baseline trey and that 5-point lead convinced ASU to burn a 30-second timeout. At the 3:57 media stop, UNM was still up 68-63.
Snell burned ASU again from the corner to push UNM up 71-63. That eight-point lead was the largest of the game for UNM, up to that point. ASU scored quickly inside off a Lockett layup to make it 71-65 and ASU again called a 30-second timeout.
UNM’s Greenwood missed badly from long range and ASU scored a layup by Kyle Cain to pull to 71-67. UNM’s eight-point lead had been cut in half and Alford burned a 30-second timeout. UNM lost the ball on a Williams’ charge and ASU scored again: 71-69. Hardeman scored for UNM and Cain scored for ASU to form a 73-71 score.
Williams picked up a loose ball and was fouled with 23 seconds to play. The Lobo sophomore made one and UNM was up 74-71. Lockett missed an open trey for ASU and Gordon got the board.
Williams was fouled with six seconds to play and ASU called a timeout. Williams came out of the UNM huddle to hit the first free throw and UNM was up by four, 75-71. Alford then called for a timeout.
Williams hit his second freebie to form the 76-71 final.
First Half – Lobos 41, Arizona State 38
The difference in the first half came in the final seconds when UNM’s Kendall Williams tossed in a long trey to produce the Lobos’ 3-point lead at the break. ASU shot 47.8 percent from the field in the first half and UNM shot 44.8 percent. Both teams made four 3-pointers. The Lobos won the board battle, 17-15.
Williams paced the Lobos with 12 points and Carrick Felix had 15 points for the Sun Devils. The pace wasn’t exactly slow, but neither team scored a bucket off a fast break. UNM had seven offensive rebounds and had eight second-chance points.
UNM went up 16-11 following a dunk by Gordon and a 3-pointer by Demetrius Walker. ASU captured the lead 26-23 on a trey by Felix. Felix tied the game at 38-all on a 3-pointer before Walker tossed in his bomb with six seconds to play.