Nov. 16, 2012
New Mexico Basketball Postgame Notes
Friday, Nov. 16, 2012
UNM vs. Illinois-Chicago *** Paradise Jam *** St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
· New Mexico defeats Illinois-Chicago 66-59 in the 1st round of the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands…the Lobos play George Mason (2-1) in the semifinals Sunday at 4 p.m. MT…George Mason beat Mercer 52-49 earlier today
· UNM led 37-23 at halftime but UIC cut the margin to 58-56 with 34 seconds remaining…the Lobos made 9 of their last 10 FTs over the final 44.7 seconds to seal the win
· In the 2nd half, New Mexico shot just 5 of 18 from the field, 0-4 from 3-point, and was guilty of 11 turnovers
· At the 7:08 mark of the 1st half, UNM led 17-16, was 6 of 20 from the floor and had committed 7 turnovers…the rest of the half, the Lobos outscored UIC 20-7, making 8 of 9 FGs and committing 0 turnovers…Demetrius Walker scored 11 straight points (5-5 FGs) during the decisive run, and 13 of UNM’s final 17 over the last 6:01 of the 1st half
· Under Steve Alford, UNM is 58-1 when holding the opponent under 60 points
· UNM has made a 3-point FG in 695 consecutive games…the last game without a 3 was Jan. 3, 1991 at Colorado State (0-for-8)
Head coach Steve Alford
· 436-229 in his 22nd season as a head coach
· 128-46 in his 6th year at New Mexico
· 58-1 when UNM allows less than 60 points
· 68-23 in non-conference games at UNM, 9-10 at neutral sites
· 40 straight wins and 52-1 overall when UNM scores 80 points or more
· 78-10 in The Pit, 46-3 in The Pit against non-conference opponents
Junior G Kendall Williams
· Career-high 23 points on 5-12 FGs and 12-13 FTs
· Scored 11 of UNM’s final 19 points over the last 8:07
· 25 of 27 FTs the first 2 games
Junior G Demetrius Walker
· 13 points, all in the last 6:01 of the 1st half
· Scored 13 of the UNM’s final 17 points of the 1st half, including 11 straight at one point, making 5-5 FGs
Sophomore C Alex Kirk
· Came off the bench to score 9 points and grab 9 rebounds
· 7 of his 9 points came in the final 2:58 of the game
Sophomore G Hugh Greenwood
· 9 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in a career-high 35 minutes
· Had a career-high-tying 2 blocks
· Fouled out for the first time in his 35-game Lobo career
· 1 point and 1 rebound shy of his 2nd career double-double