The men’s basketball team needed only to play defense in the second half to win its season opener comfortably.
UNM left the Pit as clear victors, with a 92-40 win Friday night over the University of New Orleans in front of 14,011 fans. The team put up 52 points in the first half.
The Lobos started the game on a 26-5 run as they swarmed the Privateers defensively and shot the lights out on offense.
Six Lobos finished in double figures, and the team finished with 58.9 percent shooting.
“We’ve got good balance; we’ve got good depth,” head coach Steve Alford said.
Sophomore guard Kendall Williams zipped by defenders throughout the game, easily accessing the basket.
The Lobos outscored the Privateers 16-0 in fast break points. Senior guard Phillip McDonald added fuel to the fire, hitting all four of his 3-point field goals.
Senior forwards A.J. Hardeman and Drew Gordon, and sophomore forward Cameron Bairstow dominated the inside. All three finished in double digits and controlled the points in the paint 42-12. The big three out-rebounded the entire New Orleans team, 28-25.
“Our three bigs performed well,” Alford said. “I thought (they) took on a team that was much smaller than us and they made them pay for it.”
The rest of the Lobos accounted for 12 rebounds.
New Orleans didn’t reach double digit points until there was only 3:34 left in the first half. The Lobos took a 52-15 lead into halftime.
Hardeman said dominating the Privateers wasn’t as easy as it may have looked.
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“It wasn’t easy,” he said. “We went at it. We followed the rules we had to follow and just played hard and kept the composure, and we got up by a lot.”
The game evened out more in the second half, but the Lobos’ victory was never in doubt.
“Openers are very interesting,” Alford said. “I’m very, very pleased with how our guys performed. They did a lot of good things.”
Gordon finished the game with his usual double-double, leading the team with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Hardeman and Bairstow each added 13 points of their own. Williams, McDonald and sophomore guard Demetrius Walker followed with 12 points each.
The Lobo defense held the Privateers to 14-of-55 shooting and only had five assists, compared to 26 assists from the Lobos.
The talk quickly changed to New Mexico State, who the Lobos play Wednesday night at the Pit.
“We know this wasn’t nearly as tough of a caliber of a team that we’ll be playing on Wednesday night,” Bairstow said. “I think we’ll be able to stay level-headed.”
New Mexico State is also 1-0 this season, after beating Northern Colorado on Saturday.
Hardeman said he’s excited for the Rio Grande Rivalry.
“I can’t wait,” Hardeman said. “It’s going to be a good game.”
