by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
In a game that was dominated by the big men, it was the UNM basketball team's guards who performed well down the stretch in a 76-72 win over the University of Texas-El Paso.
While post players David Chiotti and Tony Danridge combined for 30 of UNM's 76 points, Mark Walters and Kris Collins took over late.
Walters finished the game with 16 points, scoring nine in the second half. Collins added 12 and the duo grabbed five rebounds each. While both players finished in double-figures scoring, it was their defense and clutch free-throw shooting that helped secure the victory.
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The UTEP starting guards were held to a combined five points on 2-of-17 shooting from the field. Walters finished 11-of-11 from the stripe, including a pair with 32 seconds remaining to put UNM up 75-72.
Walters also spent time guarding forward Jason Williams who entered the game averaging 21 points. He finished against UNM with eight points.
Collins was excited with the victory and is confident he and Walters can play against any guards in the country.
"I think that me and Mark are probably the two strongest guards in the nation," Collins said. "The rest of our guards did a good job too."
With the Miners starting backcourt shut down, UTEP was forced to score in the post and from bench players. They did that well, but it was not enough to overcome the Lobos.
Forward John Tofi and reserve guard Miguel Ayala provided most of the offense for UTEP as each scored 19 points in the contest.
"Somebody is always going to be the leading scorer on the court," Collins said. "We just try not to let it be the main scorers on their team. Mark's an excellent defender. I think I'm a good defender, and as a team, I think we defend real good."
Though Collins said he was proud of the way the defense played, he also acknowledged the importance of the scoring in the post.
Chiotti led the team with 16 points and eight rebounds and Dandridge had a career-high 14 points.
"Tony's been playing great lately," Collins said. "I just remind him to keep being aggressive, because when Tony's aggressive, I feel like he's an NBA player. David's a great player. Not too many post players can match up with his athleticism."
Collins said a key to UNM pulling out the close win was the leadership on the court. In what was a tense last few minutes, he said some teams would have self-destructed.
"It was real good because some teams fall apart and start to argue with each other. We try not to do that. Having four seniors out there helps us out a lot," he said.
