Dec. 8, 2012
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(18 AP/20 Coaches) UNM vs. Valparaiso
Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012 *** The Pit/Bob King Court *** Albuquerque, N.M.
New Mexico improves to 10-0 on the season with a 65-52 triumph over Valparaiso (6-3)
Attendance was a season-high 15,244
UNM scored a season-low 65 points, but allowed a season-low 52
The Lobos have won 34 consecutive home games in the month of December…the last loss was Dec. 22, 2004, to 5th-ranked Wake Forest, 81-64
UNM won its 1,400th game in program history…the Lobos are 1,400-1,043 in their 110th season of hoops
The Lobos are 10-0 for the 2nd time in 6 seasons under head coach Steve Alford and the first time since 12-0 in 2009-10
UNM is 10-0 for the 6th time in school history…UNM’s best start is 17-0 in 1967-68…the best starts and team accomplishments:
17-0 1967-68 WAC champs, NCAA Tournament (0-2) 23-5 final record
12-0 2009-10 MWC champs, NCAA Tournament (1-1) 30-5 final record
12-0 1973-74 WAC champs, NCAA Tournament (2-1) 22-7 final record
10-0 1995-96 WAC Tournament champs, NCAA Tournament (1-1) 28-5 final record
10-0 1924-25 12-1 final record
10-0 2012-13 ???
The 10-game winning streak is the 4th-longest under Steve Alford…the best is 15 in a row in 2009-10, followed by 13 straight in 2011-12 and 12 consecutive in 2009-10
UNM led only 29-25 at halftime when it shot 32% (8-25) from the floor…the Lobos hit 5 of their first 6 FGs to start the 2nd half for a 41-30 lead…Kendall Williams had 4 assists on UNM’s first 5 baskets of the 2nd half…the Lobos were 12-22 from the floor in the 2nd half
The Lobos committed a season-low 10 turnovers while forcing a season-high 23…UNM had a 22-3 scoring advantage in points off turnovers
Because of the 23 turnovers by Valparaiso, the Crusaders only had 37 FG attempts, which is 14 less than any other UNM opponent this season (USC 51 on Wednesday) and 20 fewer than the opponent average of 57 through the first 9 games
Valparaiso had just 1 offensive rebound, tying for the fewest by an opponent under Steve Alford…Utah had 1 on March 3, 2009
Under Steve Alford, UNM is 62-1 when allowing less than 60 points, the only loss 59-56 to Louisville in the 2012 NCAA Tournament
UNM was led in scoring by Chad Adams, Alex Kirk and Demetrius Walker with 12 points apiece…it’s the fewest points for a leading scorer since Kendall Williams had 10 in last year’s 48-38 win over Wyoming in The Pit
UNM has won 12 straight games – and is 34-2 in its last 36 games since 2010-11 – when shooting 40% or better from the field…the most recent loss was last year at TCU when it shot 41.8%, but fell 83-64…the Lobos shot 42.6% (20-47) tonight
UNM is 162-67 all-time when nationally ranked, 112-7 in The Pit, 35-37 on the road and 15-13 on neutral courts
UNM is 665-150 in its 47th season in The Pit, 395-68 in non-conference games
UNM has made a 3-point FG in 703 straight games…the last game without a 3 was Jan. 3, 1991 at Colorado State (0-for-8)
New Mexico has a 90-25 record since the start of the 2009-10 season, a winning percentage of 78.3%
Head coach Steve Alford
444-229 in his 22nd season as a head coach
136-46 in his 6th year at New Mexico
3-0 in his career against Valparaiso
21-8 with nationally ranked UNM teams, 12-1 in The Pit, 6-4 on the road and 3-3 on neutral floors
83-10 in The Pit overall, 51-3 against non-conference opponents
35-5 in December games at UNM, 22-0 in The Pit, 10-4 on the road and 3-1 at neutral sites
won 26 straight December home games going back to the 2006-07 season when he was at Iowa
39-26 on the road overall, 15-10 in non-conference road games
Sophomore C Alex Kirk
scored 10 of his team-high-tying 12 points in the 2nd half
2 points on 0-2 FGs and 2-4 FTs in 10 minutes in the 1st half
Senior F Chad Adams
12 points to lead UNM in scoring for the 1st time in his 103-game career
averaging 8.7 points in 6 games as a starter
32 points the past 3 games
Junior G Kendall Williams
all 5 points (5-5 FTs), 5 of his team-high 6 assists and all 3 steals came in the 2nd half when he played all 20 minutes
had an assist on 4 of the Lobos’ first 5 FGs of the 2nd half
scoreless on 0-4 FGs and 1 assist in 16 minutes in the 1st half
15 assists the past 2 gasmes
Junior G Demetrius Walker
tied for team-high scoring honors with 12 points (4-8 FGs, 2-3 3s) in 21 minutes
scored 8 of the Lobos’ final 9 points on 2 3s and a FG
had scored just 16 points the previous 4 games on 6-22 FGs and 2-12 from 3-point