The UNM men's basketball team's game against Northern Arizona University Saturday was supposed to be a tune-up for Monday night's matchup against nationally-ranked Gonzaga University.
Instead, the Lumberjacks gave the team a full workout, with the Lobos needing a game closing 13-4 run to hold off NAU 70-57 in The Pit.
The Lobos matched the Lumberjacks scrappiness with 18 offensive rebounds, holding NAU to 41 percent shooting and getting 16 points from freshman forward Jamaal Williams. Despite those efforts, the Lobos could not turn away the Lumberjacks until the final three minutes of the game.
It seemed that lethargy would have an impact on the game because of the 2 p.m. game time and the relatively inactive Pit crowd. Coupled with the anticipation for Monday's game against the 22nd-ranked Bulldogs, the game could have been a major stumbling block, but Fraschilla would have none of that.
"If you're a competitor, you don't care if you're playing Northern Arizona, Gonzaga or Stanford," he said. "You shouldn't, anyway."
Defensively, the Lobos looked to be in top form. They forced NAU to shoot well below its 46.9 percent shooting average. The Lumberjacks managed to connect on only nine-of-24 shots in the second half, while the Lobos connected on 48 percent of their shots.
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Still, after building second-half leads of 46-35 and 55-45, the Lobos saw Northern Arizona come up with timely baskets to stay within shouting distance. A 3-pointer by senior guard Adam Lopez cut the Lobo lead to 49-43 with 8:56 left in the game.
The Lumberjacks pulled to within 57-53 with 4:09 left when senior guard Matthew Gebhardt scored on a fast break layup after forward Kodiak Yazzie stole the ball from guard Ruben Douglas.
But when the Lobos needed help, their talented backcourt stepped up.
The trio of Douglas, Marlon Parmer and Eric Chatfield scored the team's last 13 points, including seven from Douglas. They took control of the game by charging into the paint and scoring off free throws or layups. With the score 63-55, Douglas dealt the crippling blow when he worked his way inside, scored on a spinning layup and was fouled. His free throw increased the Lobos' lead to 11.
Douglas was able to overcome a one-for-six shooting performance in the first half and finished six-for-16 shooting overall.
"I just try to stay focused," Douglas said. "If I let it carry over to my next shot or my next game, it's kind of like a snowball - it gets bigger and bigger."
Williams made his presence felt early on, especially on the offensive boards. His first two baskets were on putbacks, including one off his own miss. He then scored five points during a 12-0 run that turned a 24-21 deficit into a 33-24 lead. In the second half, he carried the load by scoring seven of UNM's nine points during a seven-minute period.
"I just came in and did what I had to do," Williams said. "I came in, got a couple of rebounds, scored a couple baskets, got fouled. (I) caught the action going into the game, tried to picked it up."
Now the focus will be on the Zags, a Sweet Sixteen team each of the last three seasons that comes in with a 12-2 record. Led by the inside-outside combination of forward Zach Gourde (13.9 points, 7.3 rebounds per game) and guard Dan Dickau (18.5 points per game), Gonzaga provides UNM's last chance to knock off a top-tier team. The Lobos lost to 12th-ranked Stanford in the season opener 81-66 on Nov. 17.
The game against Gonzaga is at 10 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.
