Stevens: Neal's Lobos Rock No. 24 CSU Rams 66-53
New Mexico Lobos Basketball – In WisePies Arena/The Pit
New Mexico 66, Colorado State 53
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
With all due respect to WisePies Arena, this was a “Pit” game.
It was a game in which the 15,225 got nasty for their Lobos and it was a game in which the Lobos rallied behind the pride and tradition of their sunken gym.
And an old, time-tested theme once again raised its head: You simply do not discount New Mexico Lobos in The Pit.
“I think the urgency and the way we played were brought on by the crowd,” said Coach Craig Neal.
Said Devon Williams, who scored 13 for UNM: “This is probably the loudest I’ve ever heard it.”
Yeah, the crowd and the noise are parts of a Pit game, pieces of the culture and tradition that pushes Lobos to the high reaches of their potential.
The No. 24 ranked Colorado State discovered this Saturday night in WisePies Arena. The Rams fell behind by 20 points at the 5:23 mark of the second half and were pushed back to Colorado with a decisive 66-53 Mountain West loss.
It was a statement win for a lot of reasons. To repeat: the Rams carried a Top 25 ranking into The Pit. The Rams lost by 13 points, but the Lobos went into cruise control late in the game and the Rams played with last-breath desperation.
But consider this, too: Hugh Greenwood went 1-of-10 from the floor and Deshawn Delaney scored two points. These are the Lobo stars. You throw out those numbers without mentioning anything else and you would think it was Rams celebrating the 66-53 win.
How does a young team like this win with Greenwood and Delaney combining to go 2-of-12 from the field and combining for seven points?
“Our other guys will pick up the slack,” said Neal. “When you can play 11 guys, you can do a lot of things. You beat a ranked team with Hugh Greenwood and Deshawn Delaney not doing much and that says a lot about your younger guys.”
The Lobos didn’t hammer the Rams in a lot of statistical columns, but they did bring down the wood in the two basics of the game: offense and defense. UNM shot 51 percent (57.1 percent in the second half) from the floor. They held the hot-shooting Rams to 32.7 percent.
The Lobos didn’t get the usual from Greenwood and Delaney, but eight Lobos, including Delaney (1-of-2) shot 50 percent or better. Williams went 5-of-9 and Sam Logwood was 5-of-5 with 15 points. Tim Jacobs had nine points, five rebounds and three assists. Greenwood’s shot was off, but he dished out six assists and had eight boards.
“My game is basically run the floor,” said Williams. “If I can do that, I can get some easy scores. I am more effective when I rip and go, one move and go (to the rim). I’ve always been a driver. “We played very well. This shows how good we can be.”
Said Logwood: “My hard work is paying off. Things just came together tonight. I was attacking and things went well. Driving to the rim has always been my game. This game I really looked to attack.”
You could tell the atmosphere in The Pit was special on Saturday. You have to thank the Rams a bit for that by bringing in a 14-0 record along with a national ranking. The Pit was poised. Coach Neal was decked out in his cherry red blazer.
“Anytime you have a ranked team that’s undefeated, you have to bring out the cherry blazer,” said Neal. “I guess it was no secret that I would probably wear it.
“They (Rams) are a veteran group and they are tough and they are hard to beat.”
The Lobos, fueled by The Pit crowd, gained control of the game late in the first half on Saturday night. UNM went up 35-26 at the half and pulled into their 62-42 lead with 5:23 to play and coasted in. The win gives UNM a 2-0 Mountain West slate and the Lobos are 10-4 on the season.
“We are seeing things come together,” said Logwood. “We are going to work as hard as we can to become a team.”
For sure, the Lobos worked hard on defense vs. the Rams. The CSU starting five went 10-of-37 from the field. J.J. Avila went 3-of-10 and Daniel Bejarano went 4-of-13.
“I like to play defense,” said Logwood. “I don’t care about points. If things come my way, they come my way. We are long and athletic on defense. We pride ourselves on defense. We give our all on the defensive end.”
The Lobos were beat on the boards 34-30, but gave up 11 turnovers to 13 for CSU. UNM was 4-of-14 from 3-point range and CSU was 6-of-25 for 24 percent. The Lobos dominated the inside outscoring CSU 42-to-16 in the paint. UNM had 17 fast-break points to four for CSU.
“I’m proud of my guys because they are really improving,” said Neal. “Our guys played well. It was an emotional night; an energy-packed night, but I wouldn’t expect anything else.”