Dec. 20, 2011
Lobos vs. Missouri-Kansas City – Game Notes 
New Mexico Lobos Men’s Basketball – In The Pit
Thursday: 7 p.m., Missouri-Kansas City (7-6) at New Mexico Lobos (9-2)
On The Air: 770-AM KKOB/Lobo Radio Network; No TV
GoLobos.com: Game Story, GameTracker, Stats, LoboTV
Tuesday: New Mexico Lobos 91, Montana State 46
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
It might be best if, when studying film on the New Mexico Lobos, that the Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos don’t watch the Lobos’ 91-46 crumbling of Montana State.
If the Roos watch that Tuesday-night slaughter, they might decide not to come to The Pit for their 7 p.m., tip Thursday with the red-hot Lobos, who Tony Snell-shocked the Bobcats by 45 points.
If the Roos watch Snell toss in 3-pointers in that Pit rout (21 first-half points), the Roos might think the Lobos are widening the nets when Snell launches his bombs.
The Lobos were impressive in that win, rolling to a staggering 37-point halftime lead in running to their seventh straight win.
Of course, Lobo coach Steve Alford wants more.
“We are going to need our fans again on Thursday night,” said Alford. “It would be a great Christmas present for everyone if we can finish this off with an eight-game win streak going into the Christmas Holidays.”
Most likely, it will be a merry Christmas for everyone – everyone wearing Lobo red.
The Kangaroos already have been on the receiving end of two major beat downs by top-shelf competition. UMKC lost 77-31 at Wisconsin and lost 89-54 at Michigan State.
The Roos probably know how the Montana State Bobcats felt when they limped out of The Pit. But can they prevent a repeat against the surging Lobos?
It’s difficult to envision the Lobos coming out as hot as they did against Montana State. UNM shot 66 percent in posting their 56-16 halftime bulge. Alford also says the Roos probably won’t be that intimidated by The Pit crowd.
“It’s a veteran team,” said Alford. “UMKC has a lot of guys back and they have played in some really good basketball environments. They have played some really good competition and I don’t see them being intimidated coming in here.”
OK, maybe the Roos won’t be jumpy over The Pit environment. But can they handle the quality and depth of a rapidly-improving Lobo team? That’s the real test when it comes to running with Lobos in their Pit.
The Kangaroos are paced by Reggie Chamberlain with his 17.7 average. He scored two points against the Michigan State defense. He scored a team-high seven points at Wisconsin. Roo Trinity Hall averages 11.7 points and scored 16 vs. Michigan State.
Thursday’s game is the first time the Roos have ever been on a UNM schedule.
TUESDAY – NEW MEXICO LOBOS 91, MONTANA STATE 46
Final Stats |
Quotes |
Notes |
Photo Gallery 
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
It was cold outside with the snowy promise of a White Christmas for Albuquerque, but inside The Pit the Steve Alford Lobos were roasting the nets and roasting the Montana State Bobcats from Bozeman.
Heck, if there had been some chestnuts lying around, the Lobos probably would have started a fire and roasted those, too. Tony Snell, who burned Montana State for 21 first-half points, would have been wearing the chef’s hat.
The Bobcats, who looked frozen on defense early, were toasted 91-46 by the red-hot Lobos. It was pretty to watch – ugly, too. This was a mismatch.
“We’re playing well. I’m really proud of what they’re doing,” said Lobo coach Steve Alford of his Lobos, who produced the program’s 1,000th home win Tuesday night in The Pit. “They get it. They understand it. They know their roles.”
It really wasn’t Kenny Page Night in The Pit on Tuesday. It was Tony Snell night. Thomas, the former UNM great, was introduced early in the first half to a wild whoop of cheers. Snell introduced himself to the Bobcats early, too. The `Cats didn’t cheer.
At the half, it was Snell 21, Bobcats 16. You toss in the rest of the Lobos and UNM was up 53-16.
“It’s just good to punch first,” said UNM’s Jamal Fenton. “Then the crowd gets into it. And then it’s hard to come back in The Pit.”
Really, it was a ridiculous start for the Lobos, who opened the game going seven-of-seven from long range and rolled to leads of 14-4, 22-4, 27-5, 32-8, 48-13 and eventually 53-16 at the half.
Yeah, the Lobos were up 37 points at the break. Yeah, the second 20 minutes were basically a formality to complete a scoreboard and fill out an NCAA stat sheet.
“Tony got us going and it was almost like everyone in the gym thought they could make shots,” said Alford.
The only questions in the second half were would the UNM 3-pointers continue to fall and would the frozen Bobcats warm up? UNM cooled down a bit in the second half outscoring the Bobcats by eight points as Alford went deep and often to his bench.
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CAREER HIGHS |
“We told our guys that there are going to be nights where we make a lot of shots,” said Alford. “This was one of those nights. When we have a night when we make shots like we did tonight, we are really good.
“But we also did a lot of good things on defense and I think that was the thing that most impressed me. I think the guys are learning that if the shots aren’t falling, as long as we are guarding, we can still win games.”
The Lobos were paced in scoring by Snell with his career-high 24 points. “I was just trying to be aggressive, trying to make up for the Oklahoma State game where I didn’t shoot well,” said Snell. “I was in the gym working out, working on getting my shot back and making sure se don’t get a loss in The Pit.”
Snell was joined in double figures by Chad Adams and Jamal Fenton with 11 apiece and Drew Gordon with 10 points and 14 boards.
UNM shot 55.7 percent from the field and 50 percent from long range. The Bobcats shot 30 percent. UNM won the board battle, 39-33 and won the turnover battle 12-to-21. The Lobos had 15 steals.
“I liked our activity on defense,” said Alford. “We had a lot of deflections. I like what we did there.”
The Lobos came out of the locker room up by 37 and quickly extended that gap to 40 on – what else – a 3-point play. This one was the old-fashion type. Kendall Williams drove the baseline, scored, got fouled, and put UNM up 56-16.
Snell got another 3-point play on a smooth drive accented by a behind-the-back dribble that led to a left-handed layup. He scored and was pounded. He made the free throw for his 24th point.
UNM walked — and ran — to the 92-46 final.
The Lobos next play in The Pit Thursday vs. Missouri-Kansas City. This might be a game that gets UNM’s Australian products, Hugh Greenwood and Cameron Bairstow, excited. UMKC’s nickname is Kangaroos. The Roos are coming off an 89-54 loss to Michigan State. The Roos also lost 77-31 at Wisconsin.
First Half: New Mexico Lobos 53, Montana State Bobcats 16
First Half: Tony Snell 21, Montana State Bobcats 16
Chris Perez on a scoring drive |
The Lobos opened the game by going 4-of-4 from 3-point range – the first three from Snell and the fourth from Greenwood. The Lobos added a reverse layup from Gordon and led 14-4 at the 15:23 break.
Snell swished his fourth trey from the baseline off a pass from Fenton and UNM was cruising with a 17-4 lead. Fenton took a charge at the other end and UNM got a jump hook from Gordon to slide into a 19-4 lead. Fenton banged in another trey, open off penetration from Williams, and Montana State called a timeout, down 22-4. UNM was six-of-six from long range.
“That is the way you would like to start every game,” said Alford. “Our guys have been doing some really good things and it is fun to watch.”
It reached the ridiculous level on UNM’s next trip down the floor. Gordon pulled down an athletic rebound on a Bobcat miss and Snell was open on the baseline. He tossed up another long jumper over a leaping Bobcat – swish. Snell was five of five and UNM was seven-for-seven.
Snell and UNM were brought down to earth on their next possession. Snell actually missed a trey. That was good news for Montana State only by a single point. Cameron Bairstow got the rebound and tossed in a left-hand shot under the hoop. UNM was up 27-5.
The 3-ball hid from UNM for only a moment, but Demetrius Walker brought it back with a long jumper: UNM 30-5. The Bobcats finally made a trey to make the score 32-8 at the halfway mark of the first half.
Snell’s next 3-point play was a deviation from his earlier treys. He took a pass from Greenwood, threw down a soft dunk and was fouled on the play. His successful free throw was his 18th point of the half.
Something about that inside trey must not have sat right with Snell. He came down a few moments later and tossed in another bomb from behind the line. The only time Snell hit the rim in the first half was when his wrists touched iron on his dunk.
UNM waltzed into the halftime break up 53-16.