Dec. 19, 2012
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New Mexico Basketball Postgame Notes
(16 AP/17 Coaches) UNM at New Mexico State
Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012 – Pan American Center – Las Cruces, N.M.
New Mexico improves to 12-0 on the season with a 68-63 victory at New Mexico State (5-6)
8 teams remain undefeated in NCAA Div. I: New Mexico, Arizona, Cincinnati, Duke, Illinois, Michigan, Syracuse and Wyoming
After trailing 25-14 with 8:56 left in the 1st half, UNM outscored NMSU 20-7 to take a 34-32 lead at the break, and it never trailed again…Kendall Williams (13) and Cameron Bairstow (9) scored 22 of the Lobos’ final 26 points in the 1st period
Williams tied a career high with 24 points despite not scoring until the 7:19 mark of the 1st half
UNM was 5-17 from the floor at the 7:51 mark of the 1st half…the Lobos closed the period by making 8 of their last 13 while the Aggies missed 9 of 12 over that span
Since the start of the 2011-12 season, New Mexico is 19-5 in its last 24 games away from Albuquerque, including 9-1 in the past 10 games
UNM has won 5 straight games against New Mexico State in Las Cruces, the longest streak in such games since taking 6 in a row from 1925-31
New Mexico leads the all-time series with New Mexico State, 115-95, and has won 10 of the past 11
By winning 10 of the past 11 games in the series, UNM is enjoying its most successful stretch against New Mexico State since the Lobos won 12 of 13 from 1961-68
The Lobos are 12-0 for the 2nd time in the past four seasons under head coach Steve Alford…the 2009-10 team also started 12-0
UNM is 12-0 for the 4th 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 for Bob King |
| 12-0 | 2009-10 | MWC champs, NCAA Tournament (1-1), 30-5 final record for Steve Alford |
| 12-0 | 1973-74 | WAC champs, NCAA Tournament (2-1), 22-7 final record for Norm Ellenberger |
| 12-0 | 2012-13 | ??? for Steve Alford |
The 12-game winning streak ties for the 3rd-longest under Steve Alford…the longest:
| 15 | Jan. 13 – March 11, 2010 |
| 13 | Nov. 25, 2011 – Jan. 14, 2012 |
| 12 | Nov. 14 – Dec. 19, 2009 |
| 12 | Nov. 12 – Dec. 19, 2012 |
The 12-game winning streak ties for the 5th-longest in school history…Steve Alford-coached Lobo teams have produced 4 of UNM’s top-8 winning streaks
New Mexico picked up 1.5 points today in the Rio Grande Rivalry with New Mexico State…the Lobos have now clinched the 2012-13 competition, 15 to 3…UNM has won all six Rio Grande Rivalry competitions
New Mexico recorded 6 more blocks tonight, giving them 17 in the 2 games against NMSU…the Lobos have 31 rejections in the other 10 games this season
New Mexico State shot 59% (10-17) from 3-point – the highest against UNM this year…however, the Aggies were just 11-38 (29%) from inside the arc
The Lobos committed 9 turnovers, and have been guilty of just 25 the past 3 games
UNM has won 14 straight games – and is 36-2 in its last 38 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 41.1% (23-56) tonight
UNM is 164-67 all-time when nationally ranked, 113-7 in The Pit, 36-37 on the road and 15-13 neutral
UNM has made a 3-point FG in 705 straight games…the last game without a 3 was Jan. 3, 1991 at Colorado State (0-for-8)
New Mexico has a 92-25 record since the start of the 2009-10 season, a winning percentage of 78.6%
Head coach Steve Alford
446-229 in his 22nd season as a head coach
138-46 in his 6th year at New Mexico
10-2 in his career against New Mexico State, 5-1 in Albuquerque and 5-1 in Las Cruces
23-8 with nationally ranked UNM teams, 13-1 in The Pit, 7-4 on the road and 3-3 on neutral floors
40-26 on the road overall, 16-10 in non-conference road games
84-10 in The Pit overall, 52-3 against non-conference opponents
37-5 in December games at UNM, 23-0 in The Pit, 11-4 on the road and 3-1 at neutral sites
won 27 straight December home games going back to the 2006-07 season when he was at Iowa
Junior G Kendall Williams
tied a career high with 24 points (7-12 FGs, 2-5 3s, 8-8 FTs) despite not scoring until there was 7:19 left in the 1st half…he also had 24 in the OT win at Indiana State
14-14 FTs the past 2 games
24 assists vs. 5 turnovers the past 4 games
Junior F Cameron Bairstow
9 points, a team-high 7 rebounds and a career-high-tying 2 steals off the bench
Sophomore G Hugh Greenwood
10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks
2nd on the team with 11 blocks