Feb. 11, 2012
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New Mexico Lobo Men’s Basketball — In The Pit
Saturday: New Mexico Lobos 48, Wyoming Cowboys 38
Up Next: Lobos at San Diego State, Wednesday
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
The Mountain starts anew.
The New Mexico Lobos overcame Wyoming Coach Larry Shyatt’s “Snail” offense and blew the Cowboys out of The Pit 48-38 Saturday to join San Diego State and UNLV atop the Mountain West standings. UNLV held off the Aztecs 65-63 to help form the three-way (6-2) logjam.
At the walk-it-down pace the Cowboys established and maintained in The Pit, this was a rout. UNM almost doubled Wyoming’s points in the second half, 29-15.
“We only score 48 points, but we win by ten,” said Lobo Coach Steve Alford, who added the game’s pace “put offensive basketball back a couple of decades.”
If you like chess, this was an intriguing game. If you like run-and-gun basketball, it was akin to watching grass grow on the plains of Wyoming. Fortunately, like some chess matches, there was a timer between shots/moves.
There really was air in the basketball Saturday in The Pit. Wyoming’s strategy was good, but fragile. The `Pokes needed to shoot well to take advantage of their limited opportunities and they couldn’t do it. Wyoming shot 25.9 percent for the game and 22.2 percent in scoring 15 points in the second 20 minutes.
“I thought our defense was spectacular,” said Alford.
Said senior A.J. Hardeman, who had nine points, eight boards and two blocks: “Defense wins games.”
The Lobos definitely needed that aspect of their game, especially after struggling into a 23-19 deficit at the half.
“That was one of the worst halves we’ve ever played,” said UNM’s freshman point guard, Hugh Greenwood.” “It was tough but we knew we couldn’t play any worse.”
Said Hardeman: “We came out in the second half with more urgency.”
The Lobos shot 34.8 percent in the first half and warmed to 44.4 percent in the second half. Meanwhile, UNM was putting the clamps on Wyoming’s inside game of Leonard Washington and Adam Waddell, who combined to got 7-of-27 from the floor.
“Those two had to score in order for them to win,” said Hardeman.
Said Alford: “I thought we did a good job of making their baskets difficult (inside). We wanted them to score over the top of us.”
Wyoming got no points from its bench and UNM found 14 points off its bench. Wyoming’s strategy was not pleasing to The Pit crowd of 15,140, but is made sense for a Wyoming team not as quick, as deep or as athletic as UNM.
The Cowboys usually walked the ball down the court and often backed out of transition opportunities in order to run their patient half-court offense. UNM shot 8-of-23 from the field in the first half.
“Both teams made it hard on one another to get good looks,” said Alford. “I thought A.J. was our MVP tonight. He was terrific from start to finish.”
Hardeman and Cameron Bairstow were both pressured to contribute early and frequently as Gordon drew two quick fouls and played only eight minutes in the first half. Gordon ended with 27 minutes, scoring seven points and bringing down 13 rebounds.
Kendall Williams was UNM’s top scorer with 10 points. Wyoming also had one player in double digits, Francisco Cruz with 14 points – 11 in the first half. UNM won the board battle, 43-31. The Lobos lost some points at the free-throw line where they shot 13-of-23.
“Wyoming reduces possessions,” said Alford. “They did a lot of good things to take away our transition game.” The game stats listed UNM with four fast-break points and gave Wyoming five off the run.
“We couldn’t get it the flow (offensively) at all for 40 minutes, yet we found a way to win,” said Alford.
The Lobos have a chance to take control of their own destiny – and the Mountain West lead – next week with games against San Diego State and UNLV. Those are the two teams that placed the stains on UNM’s conference record.
The Lobos travel to San Diego for a Wednesday tip and play host to UNLV Saturday in The Pit. The Rebs get a favorable nudge from the schedule as they play Tuesday at TCU while UNM looks at a bruising war on Wednesday with SDSU. However, the Rebs come to The Pit.
“We can’t wait,” Hardeman said of the next two games on the UNM horizon.
Second Half: New Mexico 29, Wyoming 15
Tempo. Tempo. Tempo. Shyatt’s “Snail” offense was working. The pace was a huge key in the first half as Wyoming walked down the court and walked into their locker room with a 23-19 lead. The Lobos needed to try and change the pace or simply shoot better at Wyoming’s pace.
At the 15:08 media break, the Lobos had used two buckets inside by Hardeman and a drive by Walker to form a 25-all tie. At the 11:19 break, the Lobos had cracked into Shyatt’s Snail to form a 29-25 UNM lead. The big bucket was a step-back trey from McDonald.
The Lobos had another run – maybe a huge one for this game’s pace. Williams threw up a pump fake and drove to the glass for an easy layup: 31-27. Fenton then forced a turnover on UNM’s defensive side and came down to bang in a long trey. UNM was up 34-27 and Wyoming burned a timeout with 9:30 to play.
The `Pokes were down by seven, but stayed true to their tempo. At the 7:51 media break, a Wyoming trey had cut UNM’s lead to 34-30. The Cowboys cut it to 34-32 on two free throws by Martinez. UNM’s Walker countered with a 15-foot jumper, but Wyoming scored inside to bring the gap back to two: 36-34.
UNM had a 38-34 lead at a 3:29 break; Wyoming had possession. UNM was shooting 46.7 percent in the half at that point and Wyoming was shooting 22.2 percent on 4-of-18 shooting. Wyoming had one 3-pointer in the half at that break.
Both teams missed some opportunities before Gordon followed a Hardeman miss which came off a Gordon miss. The inside hustle pushed UNM up 40-34. Wyoming failed to score and with 1:14 to play, UNM had the ball and that six-point lead.
Wyoming came out of that 1:14 break and pressed, fouling Greenwood. The freshman made both free shots and UNM was up 42-34. That pretty much sealed the deal. Wyoming misses, fouled Greenwood again with 54.0 to play and he vaulted UNM to a 44-34 lead. It was too late for Wyoming to run.
First Half: Wyoming 23, Lobos 19
Both teams scored eight field goals, but Wyoming hit four treys to one by the Lobos. The Lobos shot 34.8 percent to 29.6 percent for Wyoming. The `Pokes had an edge on the boards, 19-17. Another key early was Gordon picking up two quick fouls and playing only eight minutes in the half.
The Lobos had three players with four points while Wyoming got 11 points from Francisco Cruz off his three 3-pointers.
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is a former Sports Columnist and Associate Sports Editor at The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net.