by Phil Parker
Daily Lobo
The Lobos returned to playing tough defense Saturday against Utah, proving they can be a force in the Mountain West Conference.
"We got back to defending the way we had before Wyoming," UNM head coach Ritchie McKay said. "We came with a much greater sense of urgency."
That urgency is apparent in the defensive numbers for UNM. The Utes came to The Pit scorching hot, with a nine-game winning streak that has been propelled by strong shooting. Utah was fifth in the nation in 3-point shooting, at 41.7 percent.
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Saturday the team hit just 22.7 percent of its threes.
Compare that with UNM opponents' shooting in their last two conference games, and the improvement is remarkable. Wyoming and Air Force combined to shoot 52 percent in those contests.
When the Lobos were cruising over the last half of December, the key to their success was strong defense.
"In the beginning we were playing such good defense that we might have gotten lackadaisical," forward Danny Granger said. "Then Air Force came out and beat us down. That might have snapped the light back on."
The swarming, hustling coverage Lobo fans saw Saturday can also be attributed to a grueling week of practice leading up to the game.
Forward David Chiotti said practices were long this week.
"We were going through toughness drills where people were getting hurt," he said.
UNM was especially dominant in the first half. While the offense shot well at one end to help build a big lead, the defense clamped down at the other. Wing defenders were closing in on shooters, while Granger and Chiotti held their own against Utah's towering giants, 6-foot-10 Andrew Bogut, 6-foot-9 Tim Frost and 6-foot-11 Chris Jackson.
Though the Utes went on a run in the second when McKay elected to slow down the offense, key defensive plays helped the Lobos maintain the advantage. UNM scored 11 points off turnovers, including two big plays that came within two minutes of each other. Twice in the early second half, UNM made big steals in the backcourt that resulted in fast-break layups by Troy DeVries and Granger.
DeVries was able to lay the bucket in easily after the team got out running. Then Granger couldn't get to an alley-oop thrown his way on the next ensuing break, but managed to put the pass in off the backboard and also get fouled in the process.
Utah coach Rick Majerus was impressed with UNM's defensive play.
"They played really hard," he said. "They played with great tenacity and purpose. We were getting baited into taking tough shots."
