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Guard Dairese Gary drives past NMSU’s Tyrone Watson on Saturday during the Lobos’ 84-78 overtime victory over NMSU. The two teams will conclude their season series on Saturday at the Pit.

Plowing through opponents

After an exciting — and at times sloppy — overtime win against New Mexico State, the UNM men’s basketball team is back in Albuquerque and looking for its seventh straight victory against its Las Cruces rivals.
Fresh off last week’s matchup, head coach Steve Alford said his team understands NMSU’s tendencies.

“For a young, inexperienced team, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the effort these guys are giving,” he said. “They’re maturing quickly. They have two road wins over two really good teams, especially this team we played.”

NMSU erased a 17-point, first-half deficit to force overtime, only to watch the Lobos regain the lead and eke out an 84-78 victory at the Pan American Center.

This weeklong gap between games is the Lobos’ longest layover they will have this season. And with a week to think about its close loss, NMSU is likely ready for redemption.

One thing is for certain: The Lobos must contain Troy Gillenwater. The junior torched the Lobos for 32 points in the first contest.

“He’s the most talented individual that we have played all year,” Alford said on Saturday after Gillenwater scored a career-high. ”We told our guys that would be the case. It did take him 29 shots to get 32 points.”

Gillenwater was 8-of-29 from the field and 3-of-11 from 3-point range.
He scored 21 in the first half, but was 2-of-17 in the second half.

In the event that Gillenwater struggles, NMSU will have to get contributions from other players. To date, only Hernst Laroche averages double figures. As a team, the Aggies average 40 percent shooting and just 32 percent from 3-point range.

The Lobos are third in the nation in 3-point defense, holding opponents to 27 percent from beyond the arc. NMSU shot 19 percent at home against the Lobos.

NMSU senior Gordo Castillo said the Aggies can’t start slow the second time around.

“I mean, it was just missed reads,” he said after his team lost. “We really just wanted to stop their offense and get them working the clock. When they came down to half court, they had like 20 seconds (on the shot clock).”

In the second half UNM was bombarded by NMSU full-court press, which didn’t pay off for the Aggies in the end.

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Offensively, the Lobos will depend on guards Dairese Gary, Kendall Williams and Phillip McDonald. Especially McDonald, who has become an all-around player after UNM lost Ramon Martinez to graduation. McDonald is tied with Gary as the team’s scoring leader. He had a double-double at NMSU and led the Lobos in overtime with clutch perimeter shooting.

“His presence and having him back in our lineup has been huge,” Alford said.

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