Las Cruces, NM (Sports Network) - Round two of the home-and-home series
between New Mexico State and the 16th-ranked New Mexico Lobos is on the
schedule for Wednesday night at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces.
Over the weekend, the Lobos entertained NMSU in Albuquerque and instead of
being a generous host, UNM delivered a convincing 73-58 victory over its in-
state rival. The win kept New Mexico's record unblemished after 11 games, one
of only a handful of programs still without a loss on the campaign heading
into this week.
As for the Aggies, the setback was the fourth in five true road games for the
group and dropped them to just 5-5 overall. The lone win for the team away
from the Pan American Center came just over two weeks ago at South Alabama,
58-52.
With the win on Saturday at home, New Mexico now owns a 114-95 advantage in
the all-time series. Last season, the teams split their two encounters, with
each winning on the road.
Against the Aggies just days ago, New Mexico fell behind for just a brief
moment in the first half, but then took control by holding the visitors to
32.8 percent shooting from the floor and 4-of-16 beyond the arc. Offensively,
the Lobos had four starters score in double figures, beginning with Alex Kirk
and Kendall Williams with 15 points apiece, the latter adding eight rebounds
and seven assists to his line. Chad Adams registered a double-double with 13
points and 10 rebounds, while Tony Snell checked in with 10 points and four
dishes for the hosts as they outscored NMSU at the free-throw line, 26-16, and
knocked down 7-of-13 beyond the arc. Free-throw shooting has been a huge
factor in the Lobos staying undefeated as they've outscored the competition by
123 at the charity stripe over 11 games. Of the teams that entered this week
undefeated, UNM is the only one that has allowed more field goals (245) than
it has made (242) and that's all because the team has feasted at the line.
Williams (13.4 ppg) is a perfect example of that with his 57-of-69 shooting at
the stripe.
New Mexico State's defense just wasn't up to the task of taking on the Lobos
on the road this past weekend, allowing UNM to pick and choose how it would
dismiss the Aggies. The offense for NMSU wasn't anything to write home about
either as the group converted just 4-of-16 shots from 3-point range and had
just a single player in double figures as Daniel Mullings tallied 14 points on
5-of-10 shooting from the floor. Unfortunately, the other four starters for
the program combined to shoot only 8-of-33 from the field. Tyrone Watson came
up with a game-high 11 rebounds, but at the same time he missed all five of
his field goal chances which meant he was a liability at the offensive end of
the floor. Mullings remains the top scorer for the program with 13.9 ppg,
shooting an impressive 53.3 percent from the floor, while Watson accounts for
10.7 ppg even after his disappointing showing on Saturday. Between the pair
they are bringing down more than 11 rpg and that has helped give the squad a
rebounding edge of 8.2 per game over the competition.
The Sports Network