by Tony Niklinski
Daily Lobo
The UNM men's basketball team put on a clinic Friday night against the visiting Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne University Mastadons at The Pit.
The Lobos came out with a 91-66 blowout victory.
With the win, UNM moves over the .500 mark for the season with three wins and two losses.
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Despite losing the tip-off, UNM still managed to score first thanks to sophomore forward Jamaal Williams' aggressive baseline lay-up. Williams finished the night with 11 points on five-of-seven shooting and one-of-three from the charity stripe. He also had six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
After that basket, the Lobos would hold the lead for the rest of the game.
During the first half the Lobos were 14-of-30 from the field, including seven-of-13 from downtown. As a team, UNM had nine assists and only three turnovers in the half.
Playing most impressively was guard Mark Walters. Walters showed that he has the ability to knock down the open outside shots and take his guy inside off his quick first step. Walters scored 12 of his 19 points during the first half.
The redshirt freshman was six-of-12 from the field and two-of-four from long distance. Walters also pulled down five rebounds to go with three assists and one steal.
"Little by little it's coming to me now," Walters said. "I feel more confident out there on the offensive end and the defensive end."
IPFW struggled throughout the entire first half. They did not contest UNM's shots and the Mastadons often found themselves taking ill-advised shots because the Lobos played great pressure defense during the first half.
IPFW was eight-of-31 from the field during the first half, shooting a miserable 26 percent.
The Lobos started forward David Chiotti for the first time and he played big. Chiotti created a presence down low for the Lobos on defense.
The 6-foot-9-inch freshman pulled down nine boards and had one block. Chiotti gave the Lobos the kind of big man that they have been in search of.
"Chiotti played great," Head coach Ritchie McKay said.
UNM raised the performance bar in the second half.
It picked up right where it left off offensively. As a team the Lobos were 18-for-29 from the field, including three-of-six from beyond the 3-point line during the second half.
Senior guard Ruben Douglas had a huge second half scoring 18 of his game-high 23 points in the second half.
Douglas was seven-for-15 from the floor, including three-of-six from 3-point land. He also went to the charity stripe for six points on seven attempts.
Freshman Jeff Hart did an excellent job of stepping up in place of injured guard Senque Carey. Hart, a 6-foot-1-inch guard out of Sandia High School, started for his second straight game. Hart had his coming out party Friday night as he scored a career-high 15 points on four-of-six shooting, including three-of-five from beyond the 3-point line.
The freshman was also a perfect four-for-four from the free throw line and still managed to grab two rebounds and dish out five assists.
"The first game I was incredibly nervous," Hart said. "Every game it gets more comfortable and right now I think I'm as comfortable as I can be."
UNM's next game is against in-state rival New Mexico State University. The Aggies escaped with a one-point 59-58 victory on Nov. 30. UNM looks to avenge its loss on Dec. 15 in The Pit. Game time is 7:35 pm. The game will be telecast on KRQE, Ch. 13 and broadcast on KKOB, 770-AM.
