Dec. 3, 2011
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Notes
New Mexico Lobos Men’s Basketball – In The Pit
Saturday: Lobos 76, Missouri State 60
Up Next: Dec. 10, Lobos at Southern Cal
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
In a way, it was a technical knockout in the first round. The Lobos came out with a barrage of haymakers early – shooting 7-of-9 from long range – to throw Missouri State in a 33-9 hole.
Yeah, the Bears were up against the ropes and reeling from those savage 3-point blows.
Of course, it wasn’t over at that point – too much time left on the clock. But when you fall behind the Lobos by 24 points out of the gate — and in The Pit — that hole is at the base of Mount Everest.
The Bears couldn’t make the climb as New Mexico (6-2) cruised to a 76-60 win that didn’t exactly have Lobo coach Steve Alford beaming at the finish. He liked the win, liked the first half, didn’t always like the defense in the second half.
You can’t blame Alford for wanting a more consistent effort in the second half. His 24-point bulge was cut to 11 points as the Bears came out in the second half with increased energy and tried to make a run.
“I thought we had a little letdown. We got a little complacent,” said Alford. “But we had a little resolve when they made a run. We still have a lot of work to do on our defense. But we played with good energy on defense early and we took them out of the game.”
The Lobos didn’t have any players in double figures in their win over Idaho State, but placed four Lobos in that category Saturday night in The Pit. Kendall Williams led all scorers with 19 points followed by Demetrius Walker with 16, Tony Snell with 12 and Hugh Greenwood with 11 points.
Greenwood didn’t have any turnovers, but had only one assist. Williams went 10-of-12 from the free-throw line where UNM was 24-of-35. The line was huge Saturday as Missouri State shot only five free shots, making three.
“You are going to win a lot of games when you can dominated the free-throw line,” said Alford. “I hope we are growing and I hope we are growing defensively. We are staying out of foul trouble.”
UNM won the board battle 44-34. UNM also had a big edge at the 3-point line where the Lobos went 10-of-22 while the Bears went 5-of-25.
UNM’s scoring came from the edge as inside Drew Gordon, A.J. Hardeman and Cameron Bairstow combined for 13 points. Hardeman topped UNM in rebounding with seven. Williams, Greenwood and Bairstow each had six boards. Walker came off the bench to score his 16 points in 20 minutes. He also had five boards.
“I ripped him really hard yesterday in practice,” said Alford of Walker. “I think there are times when he coasts. He was really good tonight.
“When he plays at a high level of energy and a high level of focus, his minutes and his productivity will go up. When he is in focus, he is really hard to guard.”
The good news for the Lobos in the first half is they played solid on both ends of the court and tossed Missouri State into that 33-9 hole. But could the Lobos expect the Bears to continue their hibernation in the second half?
And would the Lobos match their first-half defensive intensity in the second half while sitting on a fat 16-point lead?
The Bears came out in the second half with increased energy and the first few minutes of the half were moments of frustration for UNM. A big bucket in the second half came shortly before the 15:50 media timeout.
Missouri State had several chances to cut deep into UNM’s lead, but had managed to cut it to 13 points. Hugh Greenwood quieted the Lobos’ frustration with a trey in front of the UNM bench that pushed UNM up 43-27.
“He is going to be really good,” Alford said of his freshman from Australia. “He is doing a good job now that we put him in the starting lineup. We are starting to get better rhythm (on offense).”
The Bears continued to play at a high-energy level which helped them with their scoring. Their shooting could have been better. The Bears cut UNM’s lead to 45-33, before Snell hit a baseline trey to push UNM back up 48-33. UNM had a 54-37 lead with 13 minutes to play.
Jamal Fenton scored on a back cut and UNM was sitting on a 20-point lead at the 9:23 mark – 59-39. Missouri cut its gap to 61-46, and 61-48 with 7:06 to go. Missouri State missed a trey and a chance to cut UNM’s lead to 10 points. UNM’s Hardeman then hit two free throws at 6:20 to push UNM up 63-48.
At the 3:57 break, UNM was up 64-51 and Missouri State was running out of time. UNM had four players in double figures at that mark – Walker, Williams, Greenwood and Snell. At a 3:16 break, a Bear trey had cut UNM’s lead to 67-56.
Walker probably sealed the win for the Lobos with 1:48 to play, scoring on a drive and adding a free throw. That play put UNM up 72-58. Walker’s old-fashioned 3-point play came after Missouri State missed a layup off the break.
UNM cruised to its fourth consecutive win, 76-60. It was UNM’s 999th win as a program.