Stevens: Lobos Hold Off Fullerton Titans 67-59
New Mexico Lobos Men’s Basketball – In The Pit
Sunday: New Mexico Lobos 67; Cal State Fullerton 59
New Mexico Lobos at Puerto Rico Tip Off
Thursday’s Schedule: Game 1- Texas A&M vs. Dayton. Game 2- Charleston vs. UConn. Game 3- New Mexico vs. Boston College, 3 p.m. (MT), ESPN2; Game 4- George Mason vs. West Virginia.
Friday’s Schedule: Game 1 winner/loser vs. Game 2 winner/loser; Game 3 winner/loser vs. Game 4 winner/loser.
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
You could tell The Pit came to help the Lobos Sunday night vs. the Cal State Fullerton Titans, who once destroyed a lot of Pit dreams by rocking New Mexico out of the 1978 NCAA Tournament.
When the Titans got close – 54-52 – The Pit got nasty and that energy seem to flow into the Lobos to help produce the 67-59 win.
“When the crowd gets into it, it’s always helpful,” said Cullen Neal, who led all scorers with 23 points. “It’s hard for the other team to get into their offense.”
Next, the Lobos head off to the Puerto Rico Tip-Off for a Thursday run with Boston College. Lobo Coach Craig Neal isn’t too worried about his young Lobos’ frame of mind for the first game away from The Pit. He thinks maybe things will get easier – between the ears.
“I think they’ll be a little bit more relaxed,” said Neal of his Lobos. “It’s not easy going down that ramp even when you are the home team. The tradition of The Pit is legendary. There is pressure walking down the ramp. As good as it is, it’s overwhelming sometimes for these young guys.”
The Lobos were up 31-23 at the half. UNM jumped to an early 11-3 lead, but could not extend that gap. “I was into halftime,” said Coach Neal.
Cullen Neal had two points in the first half going 1-of-7 from the field. He scored 21 in the second half using the free-throw line – 8-of-10 — to pad that number.
“Maybe I was forcing a little bit in the first half,” said Cullen Neal.
With 3:54 to play, Fullerton was down 54-49 with possession coming out of the break. The Titans hit a trey and the score got interesting: 54-52. Neal went to the line at 3:23 and raised UNM to a 56-52. The Pit had reason to stand and yell again as UNM fell back on defense. The Lobos got the stop and a timeout at 3:05.
At 2:16, Deshawn Delaney got a running dunk off a nice dish from Neal. UNM was up 58-52. The Titans came down and lost the ball on a traveling call. Neal scored on a drive and a soft touch off the backboard: 60-52 and that pretty much sealed the Lobos’ win.
Greenwood agreed with his coach that a road trip might take some of the stress off the Lobos, who work hard to please their Pit fans.
“There is so much pressure when you play in The Pit,” said Greenwood. “The new guys feel that pressure, too. We love playing in The Pit, don’t get me wrong, but there is a lot of pressure playing in The Pit.”
The Lobos got the 23 points from Neal while Greenwood added 11 points and six rebounds. Obij Aget contributed seven points and six boards. Delaney had five assists and Neal had four assists. UNM won the glass battle 35-to-23.
UNM shot a sizzling 48.7 percent from the floor and Fullerton wasn’t bad at 43.6 percent. The Titans outscored UNM from the field 24 field goals to 19, but the Lobos went 24-of-36 from the line while the Titans went 2-of-7.
“I told them we had to get to the line,” said Neal. “They (Titans) are aggressive. They guard you. Our guys did a nice job of not fouling and getting them into the bonus.
“I’m proud of the way our guys hung in there and won the game. We just couldn’t get a flow going. They (Titans) have some guys who can really play. We did an alright job and we won the game. We battled through.
“We’ll look forward to going to Puerto Rico and getting better.”
Coach Neal said he wants his two seniors – Greenwood and Delaney – to be more aggressive on the court.
“They keep thinking that Cam (Bairstow) and Kendall (Williams) and Alex (Kirk) are going to check into the game,” said Neal. “D.D. (Delaney) has to be more aggressive and it’s not the coach making him more aggressive. He has to do it. He has to be more assertive.
“Hugh is so selfless that it’s not a big thing for him if he doesn’t take a shot.”
The Lobos went 5-of-9 from 3-point range with Neal and Greenwood taking, and making, all the treys.
“That’s not by design,” said Coach Neal, but he did say that Lobos who can’t shoot outside are supposed to attack the basket. “You can stay on the floor a lot longer if you play to your strengths.”
The Lobos open the Puerto Rico Tip-Off with Boston College. Coach Neal said he will break down some film on Boston College Sunday night as well as go over UNM’s win over Fullerton.
“It’s an ACC team,” Neal said of Boston College. “Tough game. They’ll be tough-minded and they’ll guard you. They have two really, really good guards.”
The Lobos will leave Albuquerque on Tuesday for San Juan and will practice there on Wednesday.
First Half: New Mexico 31, Cal State Fullerton 23
The Lobos went up eight early, 11-3, and held on to that eight-point lead at the half. The Lobos got 11 points from Hugh Greenwood and six points from Devon Williams. Greenwood went 2-of-3 from behind the line and added four rebounds. J.J. N’Ganga had four points and four boards. Delaney had three assists. Cal State got 10 points from Moses Morgan.
UNM ruled the glass 21-10, but had eight first-half turnovers.
The Lobos went up 11-3 before the Titans cut into that gap at 11-7. UNM carried a 16-7 lead into the 10:42 media break following a Greenwood trey from the top of the key. The Lobo senior banked it in off the glass which brought a smile to the senior’s lips. UNM was shooting 71.4 percent (5-7) from the floor at that mark and Cal State Fullerton was at 27.3 percent (3-11).
At the 7:52 break, UNM was up 18-12. UNM had cooled to 50 percent shooting. UNM ended the half shooting 45 percent to form the eight-point lead.
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is a former award-winning Sports Columnist and Associate Sports Editor at The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net.