Dec. 27, 2011
New
Mexico vs. NMSU – Game Notes 
New Mexico Lobos Men’s Basketball – at New Mexico State
Wednesday: 7 p.m., New Mexico Lobos (10-2) at NMSU (8-4)
On The Air: AggieVision (TV); 770-AM KKOB/Lobo Radio Network
GoLobos.com: Game Story, LobosTV, Stats
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
In their quest to sweep the UTEP Miners, the New Mexico State Aggies ran into a UTEP team that got better. The sweep turned into a split.
The Aggies face the same scenario Wednesday night when they bring out the brooms for a 7 p.m., tip with the New Mexico Lobos. The Lobos also have gotten better.
But there is one major twist in this scenario for geographical bragging rights. The Aggies went to El Paso looking for the sweep. The Lobos come to the Las Cruces’ Pan American Center looking to avoid one.
“It’s payback time,” said Lobo Jamal Fenton. “We are never supposed to lose at home, especially to New Mexico State. We owe them one. We’re a different team.”
Said Lobo coach Steve Alford: “We’re better than what we were a month ago.”
One thing is certain: the Lobos need to be a better team than the one the Aggies rocked in The Pit, 62-53 on Nov. 16. Tony Snell was awesome that night scoring 18 points, but UNM shot 28 percent as a team with Kendall Williams going 0-of-9, Drew Gordon going 0-of-4 and A.J. Hardeman going 1-of-6.
The physical, in-your-face Aggies intimidated UNM on the edge and in the paint. NMSU forced UNM into 21 turnovers and a number of ill-advised shots that didn’t come out of any offensive sets designed by Alford.
“When you look at size and height and length, they have all those tangibles,” said Alford. “And when they play well, they are really hard to play against. I thought they played really well in our building.”
“We have to match their physicality,” said Lobo point guard Hugh Greenwood. “We struggled (in Game One). We had no movement and couldn’t score. We were trying to force things and there was a lot of one-on-one stuff because we were out of our sets. They took us out of our stuff.”
The Aggies also took Greenwood out of the game – for 31 minutes. The UNM freshman got into foul trouble and played only nine minutes. Since that game, Greenwood has become UNM’s starting point guard.
“We were disrupted by foul trouble in Game One,” said Alford. “It affected us. There were a lot of things we couldn’t do. There were a lot of things we struggled with, trying to figure out what to do because of all the foul trouble we were in. That’s a great tribute to them.
“We have to be able to handle their pressure and get the shots that we want and not the shot they want us to take. Their size and length gives people problems especially inside, finishing at the rim. We have to find other ways to score.”
For sure, the Aggies attack teams on the defensive end. They are quick, long and big. They also attack on the other end, trying to put opposition on the bench nursing fouls while putting Aggies on the line shooting free throws.
The Aggies do a good job getting to the line. Not always so good, in making the free shots. They made 28-of-39 in beating Miners in Cruces. The Aggies went 17-of-32 at the line in losing 73-69 in El Paso.
The Aggies went 21-of-38 from the line in Albuquerque, but made their final five freebies to seal their win. UNM was 18-of-27 at the line. NMSU leads the nation in frees-throw attempted.
“That’s going to be a key,” said Alford, referring to free throws and the fouls that produce them.
The Aggies use a solid 13 players with Wendell McKines the key Aggie to stop with his 17.5 scoring average. McKines led NMSU in The Pit with 14 points and nine boards.
It’s likely the war in Cruces will be physical, with both teams getting a fair number of free throws. Another key for UNM is not allowing the Aggies to bang in many key 3-pointers. Hernst Laroche is a key Aggie to watch on the edge. He shoots 48 percent from behind the line. McKines shoots 43 percent from long range.
It is difficult to imagine another Lobo game where Gordon and Williams don’t score a field goal. Greenwood should be better than nine minutes. The Lobos also are looking at a healthier Phillip McDonald, who shoots 48 percent from the arc.
There are a lot of reasons the Lobos should play better Wednesday in Cruces. The payback factor should rear its head, too.
“We never like losing at home to anybody, so that eats on us, just because we love protecting home,” said Alford.
Said Greenwood: “We feel like we owe them one. It was a rivalry game and to lose at home was a little embarrassing.”
The Aggies also love protecting the Pan American Center. The Aggie student body used to be one of the more creative and fanatical section the Lobos had to face on the road.
The Aggies are on holiday break, so that might be to UNM’s advantage. NMSU had 4,844 for its last home game – but it wasn’t the in-state rivals from up North.
“We are going to use that first game as ammunition for the second game,” said Fenton.
The Aggies’ thoughts are similar to Lobos. They want to protect their home floor. They want to wave some brooms at departing Lobos. It’s going to be a good one!
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NEW MEXICO LOBOS 2011-12 ROSTER/STATS
| Possible Starters | HT | Position | Season Statistics |
21 – Tony Snell 6-7Wing13.3 Pts. – 2.8 Rebs
32 – Drew Gordon 6-9Post11.6 Pts. – 10.5 Rebs.
10 – Kendall Williams 6-3Guard11.1 Pts. – 4.7 Asts..
03 – Hugh Greenwood 6-3Guard6.4 Pts. – 2.9 Asts.
00 – A.J. Hardeman 6-8Forward4.1 Pts. – 4.3 Rebs.
| The NM Bench | HT | Position | Season Statistics |
40 – Demetrius Walker 6-2Guard7.8 Pts. – 2.7 Rebs.
13 – Jamal Fenton 5-9Guard6.6 Pts. – 2.3 Asts.
04 – Chad Adams 6-6Wing3.9 Pts. – 1.6 Rebs.
23 – Phillip McDonald 6-5Guard5.1 Pts. – 1.6 Rebs.
41 – Cameron Bairstow 6-9Post4.5 Pts. – 4.3 Rebs.
05 – Dominique Dunning 6-4Guard1.9 Pts. – 1.0 Rebs.
02 – Chris Perez 6-1Guard0.7 Pts. – 0.0 Rebs.