Sean Phaler, all spiky hair and pointy elbows, put on a show for the fans who stuck around to watch the Lobos mop up in their 93-53 beat-down of Western New Mexico on Friday night.
For the Lobos, it was an easy win leading into their big Monday night matchup at Oregon. For Phaler and the other bench-mob members, it was a chance to get the kind of playing time they might not see when the games get closer.
"I really enjoyed it," Phaler said of his play. "It's good to get more minutes than I normally would, and I just took it and ran and had a lot of fun."
Phaler, who shot every chance he got as the game wound down, finished with a team-high 16 points. He also notched seven rebounds and two blocks in just 16 minutes.
The other bench players got into the act and gave the fans a reason to stick around, but the 6-foot-9-inch forward's garbage-time antics stood out most.
He got going in the second half with a brutal pick on Western's Brendon Malone that left the guard lying on the court in pain.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Energized, he had a thrilling sequence later in the game when he hit a three, ran down the court and picked up a block, and then sprinted back on offense where he head-faked to lose his guy and nail another trey.
He took a charge and crashed the boards, and he stroked down three pointers to the delight of fans, who saved their loudest cheers for his threes, and his Lobo teammates, who were laughing and chest bumping each other as each shot fell.
"None of us really expect that from him," teammate Mark Walters said. "He was setting screens at half court and knocking guys over, getting rebounds and scoring, and getting down and dirty with the other guys off the bench."
Every Lobo but guard Ryan Wall scored in the contest, though even Wall had a highlight-worthy play when he hit freshman Tony Dandridge for a two-handed alley-oop slam dunk.
Now past the twinkie portion of their early schedule, the Lobos will face Oregon with a lot to gain. Head coach Ritchie McKay has yet to win a road game at UNM, and the Lobos' losing streak away from The Pit is now a staggering 26 games.
"All of our focus is on Oregon now," Walters said. "We go and get this one on the road, and it's going to be big for our team and our program."
A Lobo win would actually put two streaks to rest. The Ducks, a PAC-10 team, have not lost a home game to a nonconference opponent in 27 games.
McKay said the team had looked past its matchup with Western somewhat.
"We've been prepping for Oregon," he said after Friday night's game. "But we did a great job of refocusing on (Western). We'll see on Monday if we're ready for another step for our program."
