Feb. 11, 2012
Recap |
Final Stats |
Notes |
Photo Gallery 
On playing in The Pit
“I’ve said it hundred times. They told me all about it. You can’t really understand it, unless you have actually played here. That is one of my favorite things about being here in New Mexico is the fans and certainly playing in The Pit. It gets loud and it gets us pumped up. It is a lot of fun and I was not ready for it until I got here. I’m happy I’m here.”
On Francisco Cruz and Luke Martinez
“We knew they were going to play a lot of minutes. They would eventually wear down. Kendall Williams, Tony Snell, Phillip McDonald, and Demetrius Walker did a really good job. We tired them out and that is the thing that gets us over the line is our depth. I think we outscored their bench four to nothing in a low-scoring game. We came off the bench and played really well. We played really good defense and we know that our bench is probably the most important thing going forward to future games.”
On playing in the game
“I played more aggressive. Drew Gordon went into foul trouble. I went in, and everybody had to step up and play harder. We came out in the second half with a sense of urgency. The first half we didn’t have that sense of urgency. We came out in the second half playing harder and tougher.”
On Leonard Washington and Adam Waddell
“They are both good. I wouldn’t say we shut them down. We just played with urgency and played tough. Those two needed to score in order for their team to win. We did our best to stop them.”
UNM vs. Wyoming
Head Coach Steve Alford
Opening Statement …
“Besides putting offense basketball back a couple decades, it was an old school Saturday and maybe we went back to the 40’s when it came to offense. I really thought it was two teams battling like crazy. I think you saw what happens when you have a week off. Both teams had a week off and we were a little stagnant offensively, but both teams really made it hard on one another to get good looks. I couldn’t be more proud of our team. We knew that we had been getting better defensively. In Division I basketball if you hold someone to 38 points, 15 in a half, hold them to 25 percent shooting and beat them on the glass I thought that showed that our defense was spectacular. I thought AJ (Hardeman) was our MVP tonight. I thought he was terrific start to finish. He made a lot of big plays for us, blocked shots, changed shots and rebounded. He did some good things. I thought Kendall (Williams) had a really solid game for us, especially defensively. Hugh (Greenwood) stepped up in the last four minutes and made winning plays. He made a time out on the floor, made free throws, made rebounds and those are things that you’ve got to be able to do. We needed to get this one and the guys knew that. I’m very pleased to get past the first week in February and have 20 wins under your belt.”
On the style of Wyoming …
“It’s a different style and obviously this style is reducing possessions. They do a very good job of playing their style and wanting to reduce possessions and I thought that they got us into their tempo. We tried to do a lot of different things and they went as far as not putting anyone on the line at free throws. They did a lot of good things to take away our transition game, but to be able to have a night where we shoot 39 percent and only score 48 points and win by 10 speaks volumes of the effort and how hard the guys are working. I told the guys in the locker room that we have grown. We had a really bad second half against San Diego State, we didn’t shoot the ball well, we didn’t take care of the ball and we were stagnant offensively and then we shut it down and didn’t guard. Then tonight, we couldn’t get in the flow at all for 40 minutes offensively, and yet we found a way to win and that’s growth and I hold the team that. Our bench didn’t have the number that they have been having but we still outscored their bench 14-0. I can’t help but think our depth in our bench eventually wore them down. We were able to play 10 guys and they really only play about six guys. I think our depth in the last 10 minutes really took its toll.”
On control inside the paint …
“Drew (Gordon) got in foul trouble the first half and that threw us out of rhythm a little bit with his two fouls. The second half Drew was really good and Cam (Cameron Bairstow) was really good. I thought our bodies that we threw at them made their baskets difficult for them. We didn’t want to give them angles. We gave them a couple of angles in game one. We wanted them to score over the top of us. I’m very pleased with our interior defense.”
On AJ Hardeman …
“I thought this was his best game of the year. He has been practicing really well and he sees the finish line. Sometimes when you see the finish line you go the other way because it’s hard and emotional and you don’t want it to end. I think he sees the finish line and he has been a great teammate for all four years. Now, him and Phillip, I told them after the game that they’re four away from that cat right over there and that was Dairese Gary, in the locker room. Those are two guys that have done a lot throughout the years for our program. I thought tonight was definitely his best game.”
On Hugh Greenwood …
“I think every player that played on both teams had a rough first half and if you are speaking offensively it was a rough game for everyone. I thought Hugh did the things he needed to do in the second half to get his team going. It was a game when he didn’t have an assist and neither team shot the ball. I thought he defended well, helped and in the last four minutes he made a lot of winning plays.”