New Mexico (19-4, 5-2 MWC)
shot 24-of-54 (44.4%) percent from the field for the game and held
Boise State
to 6-of-28 (21.4%) from long range and 31.1% (19-of-61) from the
floor overall
to secure the road win.
“It was another
good
performance and another good road win," said head coach Steve Alford.
"Our guys are doing some really good things. This was a tough,
difficult
stretch. We're in a very good league and we were able to beat
some very good
teams and beat them soundly.”
“This is as
proud of a team
as I've been in my five years (at UNM),” said Alford. “I've been
as hard on
them the past 13 days as I've been on any team I've coached."
The Broncos
(10-12, 0-7)
were coming off of two close losses to Mountain West Conference
leaders UNLV
(who they pushed to overtime a39-27t home) and San Diego State
(where they lead
before missing a trey for the win at the buzzer).
But a stellar
defensive
effort by the Lobos Saturday kept Boise State from ever mounting
a threat.
Though UNM committed more turnovers than the Broncs (16 for the
Lobos to BSU’s
13), New Mexico turned the turnovers into more points outscoring
Boise 17-12 in
that critical stat.
Sophomores were
the story
Saturday as Kendall Williams shot 7-of-8 from the field to pace
UNM with 18
points and Tony Snell added 13 points. Freshman point guard Hugh Greenwood
posted his first career double-double as a Lobo, posting 10
points and 10
rebounds.
Kenny Buckner
paced Boise
St. with 11 points for Boise State.
UNM lead early
but the
Broncos battled back to take a 12-10 lead at the 12:19 mark of
the first half.
But UNM’s responded with a 11-2 run fueled by a pair of Phillip McDonald
three-pointers and punctuated by a Snell dunk to five UNM 23-12
lead with 7:41
left in the half. BSU managed another run but the Lobos answered
and would take
a 32-25 lead into halftime.
The second half
started
sloppily for both teams but UNM eventually settled down and
cranked out a 13-5
run to push the lead to 45-30 with 14:41 left in the game. The
Lobos absorbed
one more run by the Broncos and would lead by as much as 21
points before
closing the game out.
"We're
excited,"
said Alford. "We're 5-2 at the midpoint and we are no more than
one game
out of first place. What a great team to watch and follow this
year."
Alford
emphasized how much
New Mexico had improved after early conference losses to UNLV
and SDSU.
"We have
improved in
the toughness area," said Alford. "We have a high ceiling and we
can
get better and we're going to get better. We have a lot of
weapons, in our
starters and off the bench."
With it’s “13
Days of Hell”
now complete, UNM will now look forward to hosting Wyoming at
The Pit next
Saturday. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. in The Pit. The Cowboys
defeated 13th-ranked
UNLV 68-66 in Laramie this afternoon.
"We know how
good
Wyoming is," said Alford. "They just beat UNLV (in Laramie) and
they'll have a lot of confidence. That game Saturday in The Pit
will be a
war."