Senior Drew Gordon scored the final two of his team-high 18 points on a pair
of free throws
with one second left in regulation as New Mexico (12-2) won its
tenth game in a
row over the much touted Billikens’ in a close, tense game that
saw nine lead
changes and 8 ties.
“I thought
this was a really hard fought college basketball game between
two really solid
teams,” said head coach Steve Alford. “I think they're terrific.
They make you
work, they don't beat themselves and they are really good
defensively. That's
why I'm really proud of our guys. They shot nearly 50% from the
field and I
don't think that anyone has gotten to the line this year at the
level that we
have.”
UNM trailed
by as much as seven points in the first half and lost a two
point halftime advantage
to trail 45-42 midway through the second half before going on a
6-0 run capped
by a Phillip McDonald trey with 7:10 left in the game to give
UNM a 48-45 lead.
The Lobos
would never trail again, but had to work to keep the lead as St.
Louis answered
every crucial shot made by UNM with clutch shots of their own.
The turning
point came with 1:36 left in the game. Following an A.J.
Hardeman jumper that
gave UNM a 58-55 lead with 2:06,
Kendall Williams made a steal and drove in for a thunderous dunk
to give UNM a
60-55 lead with 1:34 left.
The
Billikens would cut the lead to 62-60 with seven seconds but
Cody Ellis missed
the third of three free throws and after a miss by SLU’s Jordair Jett, Gordon
would haul in his final rebound and be sent to the line where he
would sea the
game for UNM.
“It was a
fun end of the game,” said Gordon. “We messed up a little bit,
and I fouled a
three-point shooter, which was not smart. But for the most part,
everybody did
exactly what they were told and listened to coach well and kept
their focus and
that helped us out at the end."
Gordon just
missed a double-double pulling in nine rebounds and scoring 18.
Jamal Fenton
came off the bench to add 10 points and two of New Mexico’s
seven assists.
Kendall Williams added nine points and Tony Snell added eight
points. St. Louis
was paced by forward Brian Conklin, who scored a game-high 20
points and nine
rebounds. Guard Kwamain Mitchell added 13
The Lobos
were taken out of their three-point shooting game by SLU’s tough
defending on the
perimeter and eventually turned to driving the paint to get
their points.
Tied with
UNM 7-7 early on, the Billikens outscored UNM 14-7 to take a 21-14
lead with 7:27
left in the first half. It was at that point that the Lobos
began driving the
lane, drawing fouls and eventually earning the double bonus and retaking the lead
largely by
shooting free throws. UNM would finish the game making 24-of-35
free throws
compared to SLU’s 11-of-16. The Lobos also only shot seven
three-pointers for
the entire game, hitting two. St. Louis (12-2) didn’t do much
better, going
3-of-18 from behind the three-point line.
“Usually
we're a good three-point team,” said Fenton. “I'm pretty sure we
only shot
eight threes a game. Usually we shoot 18. They took away the
three pointer, so
coach said we have to drive them to death."
Alford said
the Lobos knew what to expect from SLU.
"We
knew they were very good defensively and we didn't want to take
bad shots and
for the most part we didn't take bad shots,” said Alford. “They
did a really
god job of taking out three game away but in taking that away I
was very
pleased with our guys and that they didn't allow them to take
away other
things. I thought we went down the side well and that we drove
the ball well.”
“Anytime that you can outscore your opponent by 13 at the line
in a tight game
where both teams are very similar that could be the different,”
said Alford. “I
thought that was the difference tonight."
Gordon said
he thinks this Lobo team has become very good over the last five
weeks and has
“the potential to be great.”
“It's
something that we're striving for,” Gordon said. “Saint Louis
was an amazing
team to play and it was a tough week for us on our schedule and
to come out
with two is huge. We're still growing up in how we're playing
and our execution.
By the time we peak I think we'll be a great team."
New Mexico
plays two more non-conference games before beginning Mountain
West Conference
play at Wyoming on Saturday, Jan. 14.
UNM plays
two more non-conference games before then – Tuesday against
Houston Baptist
(5-8). The Huskies lost to Duquesne Saturday night 118-72 and
Saturday, Jan. 7
against North Dakota (5-8). The Fighting Sioux lost 84-58 to
17-ranked Kansas
Saturday night. Both teams are part of the Great West
Conference, which does
not get an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Because of
this, most media
outlets list the teams as independents in basketball.
Both games
will be televised live on My50-TV in Albuquerque with 7 p.m. tip
offs.