Nov. 25, 2011
New Mexico Game Notes for Boston College 
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New Mexico Lobos Men’s Basketball – 76 Classic – Anaheim, Calif.
Friday: Lobos 72, Washington State 62
Sunday: 2 p.m. (MT) Lobos vs. Boston College
On The Air: ESPN-U; 770-AM KKOB – Lobo Radio Network
GoLobos.com: Game Recap, Stats, Live Stats
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
In the consolation bracket of the 76 Classic, Lobo coach Steve Alford still sees some big strides ahead of his Lobos. His Lobos made one stride Friday night with a convincing 72-62 knockdown of Washington State of the Pac-12.
On Sunday, Alford’s Lobos will try to take a bite out of some ACC competition when his Lobos battle Boston College for fifth place in the 76 Classic being held in the Anaheim Convention Center.
“We’re upset that we’re not going through the championship bracket,” said Alford. “But if we can get out of here with two wins, one over a Pac-12 team and one over an ACC team, it’s not all lost.”
The Lobos were knocked into the consolation bracket on Thursday via a 79-76 overtime loss to Santa Clara. It was a game in which the Lobos only led one time in regulation play. UNM found a better and safer way to victory Friday against Washington State.
The Lobos never trailed.
UNM roared to a 17-point, first-half lead and held back a Faisal Aden-fueled run by the Cougars. Aden led all scorers with 25 points; nine points from 3-point range. The Lobos countered with 21 points from Tony Snell, 17 points from Kendall Williams, and 11 points off the bench from Chad Adams.
“I thought a big key was Chad Adams. He gave us a big boost off the bench,” said Alford.
The bench was key for UNM vs. Washington State as Phillip McDonald sat on the bench ill and 6-9 Cameron Bairstow never left his hotel room.
Another key was Williams. “The difference in our losses vs. our wins is Kendall Williams,” said Alford. “Kendall has to score for us, but we also need consistency from him. He had energy and focus tonight.
“Focus is a key for the whole team. We bring energy, but we haven’t consistently brought focus.”
Alford said minor injuries, illness and foul trouble have influenced the rhythm of his Lobos at both ends of the court.
“We have no rhythm, if that makes sense,” said Alford. “We have no rhythm as far as who is playing, minutes played, what their role is. It changes every game because of something. That’s not an excuse, but it’s been hard for the guys to come out and find any rhythm.”
The rhythm against Washington State was just fine, especially early when UNM ran to its 17-point lead. UNM’s defense was tough enough early to get the Cougars out of rhythm. Washington State played better in the second half on offense, but could never string together enough defensive stops to close in on the Lobos.
UNM shot 43.6 percent from the field with 33 rebounds. The Cougars shot 56.5 percent in the second half, but ended the game at 44 percent thanks to shooting 33.3 percent in the first half. The Cougars hung with UNM on the boards (33), but had 18 turnovers.
Williams led UNM in rebounds with seven. Drew Gordon and A.J. Hardeman had only four boards each. Hugh Greenwood had five assists and no turnovers.
Second Half:
The Lobos began the half up by nine and Snell hit a baseline trey to push UNM up 39-27. WS cut that to 41-31 before Chad Adams knocked down a baseline trey to make it 44-31. Cougar Aden made it 44-34 and Adams scored underneath for UNM to make it 46-34.
A 12-foot jumper by Adams made it 50-46 and Washington State called a timeout. The Cougars had put more rhythm into their offense in the second half, but the Cougars’ comeback needed a few defensive stops, too.
At the 12:04 media break, Washington State had sliced UNM’s lead to 50-40. At the 9:50 mark, the Cougars were down 54-47 and Alford called his team in for a huddle. Snell hit a trey to extend the Lobos into a 57-47 lead. At the 7:09 media break, an Aden layup made the score 57-49.
The Cougars still needed to do more on the defensive end against the Lobo offense. With five minutes to play, UNM was up 61-51. WS cut it to 61-53 and UNM called time with 4:13 to play and up by eight points. Adams scored underneath and UNM was up by ten again: 63-53. The Cougars were running out of time.
The Cougars cut their hole to 64-57 with 2:06 to go, but Williams hit both sides of a one-and-one to make it 66-57. The Lobos cruised in for the 72-62 final.
First Half: Lobos 36, Washington State 27
Unlike their game against Santa Clara, the Lobos controlled the scoreboard early, running out to a 13-2 lead. A Snell trey made it 16-6 and a Gordon follow pushed UNM’s lead to 18-6.
When Williams banged in a trey off a Greenwood steal, the count went to 21-6 and Washington State called a timeout with 13:11 to play. Washington State, in a 15-point hole, was still looking for its first field goal of the contest.
That problem ended at the 12:07 mark with a WS layup. UNM carried a 21-9 lead into the 11:35 media break. Gordon went to the bench at 9:26 with his second foul; not a good thing with Cameron Bairstow out ill. Dunning came off the bench, scored on a drive and completed a 3-point play at the line to push UNM up 26-9. The Cougars were 2-of-10 from the floor.
The Cougars hit their third field goal to pull to 26-11. At the 5:04 mark it was 28-15 and at 4:01, a Cougar trey pulled UNM’s 17-point lead down to 28-18 and Alford burned a timeout.
Williams hit a trey to push UNM up 33-20, but Washington State cut into that gap to form a 36-27 halftime count. The Cougars probably weren’t happy with their overall play in the first half, but did well to cut UNM’s 17-point lead to nine at the half.
Williams paced UNM in the half with 11 points followed by Snell’s eight points. UNM started off hot and ended shooting 39.4 percent in the half. UNM shot 6-of-12 from behind the line. Washington State shot 33 percent in the first 20 minutes and had 13 turnovers. Faisal Aden paced the Cougars with 10 points.