March 16, 2013
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New Mexico improves to 29-5 and wins the Mountain West Tournament with a 63-56 victory over UNLV (25-9)
Lobo junior G Tony Snell was named the MVP while junior F Cameron Bairstow was named to the all-tournament team
The Lobos win their 2nd straight MW Tournament title and 3rd overall…UNM beat Utah in 2005 (with Danny Granger) and San Diego State last year
Including the Western Athletic Conference Tournament that started in 1984, UNM has 5 conference tournament championships
Only two teams have won the past four MW Tournament titles, San Diego State in 2010 and 2011 and New Mexico in 2012 and 2013
UNM is just the third No. 1 seed to win the MW tournament, joining UNLV in 2000 and San Diego State in 2006
Next week, UNM will make its 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and 3rd showing in the past 4 years under head coach Steve Alford…the Lobos have an 8-14 record in the Big Dance since their first game in 1968…Alford is making his 7th appearance – with three teams – in the NCAA Div. I Tournament…he is 5-6 overall, 2-2 at UNM
The Lobos led 46-45 midway through the 2nd half…junior G Tony Snell then scored UNM’s next 13 points (3-3s, 2-2s) as the lead grew to 56-47, and then 59-53 with 1:05 remaining
MVP Snell finished with 21 points on 8-11 FGs and 5-7 from 3-point…he tied a UNM record for the 2nd straight game with 5 3s in a conference tournament game…Snell finished the tournament with 53 points (17.7 ppg) on 17-33 FGs and 12-20 (60%) from 3-point
In three MW Tournament games against Wyoming, San Diego State and UNLV, UNM allowed an average of 50.7 ppg, 32.4% (56-173) shooting from the floor and 26.7% (20-75) from 3-point
The Lobos hit 20-47 (42.6%) 3-pointers in the MW Tournament compared to 35% in the regular season…UNM has made 35 of 80 3s the past 4 games, or 43.8%, increasing the season accuracy to 35.4%
29 wins ranks 2nd all-time for UNM…3 of the top-four seasons have been attained in the past 4 years with Steve Alford as the head coach:
– 30-5 2009-10
– 29-5 2012-13
– 28-5 1995-96
– 28-7 2011-12
Since 2010-11, UNM is 45-3 in its last 48 games when shooting 40% or better from the field…the Lobos shot 46% (23-50) tonight
The Lobos are 14-4 away from Albuquerque this season (9-4 road, 5-0 neutral), tying a school record…since the start of the 2011-12 season, New Mexico is 28-9 in its last 37 games away from The Pit, including 18-5 in the past 23 games
UNM committed 7 turnovers, the 7th time in the past 8 games with less than 10…the Lobos have been guilty of just 64 turnovers the past 8 games (8.0 pg) and only 116 the past 13 games (8.9 pg)
Under Steve Alford, UNM is 73-2 when allowing less than 60 points, the only losses 59-56 to Louisville in the 3rd round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament and at San Diego State (55-34) on Jan. 26, 2013
UNM has won 30 straight games when leading at halftime…the last loss was last year to San Diego State in The Pit…UNM led 31-30 before losing 75-70
UNM seniors Chad Adams and Jamal Fenton extended their school record with 109 career wins, an average of 27.3 victories a year…the Lobos are 107-30 in their four seasons with 3 regular-season conference championships and 2 conference tournament titles
The Lobos have won 17 straight games when they wear their silver uniforms
UNM has started 5 underclassmen – 3 juniors and 2 sophomores – the past 14 games and they are 12-2
UNM is 179-72 all-time when nationally ranked, 121-8 in The Pit, 42-51 on the road and 16-13 neutral
UNM has made a 3-point FG in 727 straight games…the last game without a 3 was Jan. 3, 1991 at Colorado State (0-for-8)
New Mexico has a 109-30 record since the start of the 2009-10 season, an average of 27.3 wins a year
Head coach Steve Alford
463-234 in his 22nd season as a head coach
155-51 in his 6th year at New Mexico, 92-11 in The Pit, 47-30 on the road and 16-10 neutral
4 MW regular-season championships (outright or shared) in 2009, ’10, ’12 and `13
2 MW Tournament title (2012 and 2013)
Three-time MW Coach of the Year
8-4 in the Mountain West Tournament
7-7 in his career vs. UNLV, 3-4 in Las Vegas and 2-0 in the MW Tournament
83-25 in non-conference games, 52-4 in The Pit, 18-11 on the road and 13-10 neutral
36-13 when UNM is ranked, 20-2 in The Pit, 11-8 on the road and 5-3 neutral
22-10 in March games at UNM, 8-0 in The Pit, 6-4 on the road and 8-6 neutral
16-7 against ranked opponents while at UNM, 6-2 at home, 7-3 on the road and 3-2 at neutral sites
10-5 in overtime games at UNM, 7-2 in the Mountain West regular season and 7-1 on the road
Junior G Tony Snell
MW Tournament Most Valuable Player after a game-high 21 points on 5-7 3s
finished the tournament with 53 points (17.7 ppg) on 17-33 FGs and 12-20 (60%) from 3-point
tied a UNM record for the 2nd straight game with 5 3s in a conference tournament game
scored 13 straight points – and 13 of the last 17 – for UNM late in the 2nd half
99 points the past 5 games (19.8 ppg) on 32-57 FGs (56%) and 22-39 (56%) from 3-point
10th at UNM with 428 career 3-point attempts
played in 103 career games with 69 consecutive starts, and 76 overall
943 career points
Junior F Cameron Bairstow
MW all-tournament team with 39 points and 26 rebounds in the 3 games…made 15-18 FTs
9 points and a team-high 7 rebounds in 29 minutes today
ended a streak of 6 straight games scoring in double figures
averaging 13.6 points and 8.1 rebounds the past 7 games
averaging 12.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 30.2 minutes as a starter the past 14 games
made his 18th start of the season
played in 99 career games
Junior G Kendall Williams
12 points and 7 assists
17 assists in the MW Tournament and 46 assists the past 7 games (6.6 apg)
71 points in 7 games since scoring 46 at Colorado State on Feb. 23
remains in 7th place all-time at UNM with 449 career assists
passed Tony Danridge for 17th place all-time at UNM with 1,261 career points
UNM is 38-5 in Williams’ career when he has at least 5 assists in a game
played in 102 career games with 97 starts
Sophomore C Alex Kirk
5 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks
62 blocks this season, tying Kenny Thomas for 9th place in a single season at UNM
made 21 of his past 24 FTs
270 rebounds this season, 19th best at UNM
Sophomore PG Hugh Greenwood
9 points – all in the 1st half – on 3-3 accuracy from 3-point…also a team-high 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal
New Mexico is 54-9 in his 63 career starts
Senior F Chad Adams
2 points and 2 rebounds in 17 minutes
22 points the past 5 games after just 12 points the previous 7
Senior G Jamal Fenton
5 points on 2-4 FGs, 1 rebound and 1 steal in 11 minutes
tied with Luc Longley for 6th all-time at UNM with 132 games played