by Riley Bauling
Daily Lobo
The University of Texas-El Paso Miners and the UNM men's basketball team hadn't seen each other in six years.
Don't think Saturday's 76-72 win for the Lobos was anything short of an intense rivalry game, though.
"I think anytime New Mexico and UTEP play against each other, whether it be basketball, football, mumblety-peg, they're going to compete," said Miners' head coach Doc Sadler.
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UNM and UTEP played every year from 1955 to 1999 and had met each other 136 times dating as far back as 1929.
Lobos' head coach Ritchie McKay was all for renewing the Miners and Lobos' showdown.
First, with 14:28 left in the second half, McKay slammed his fist down on the scorers' table and ripped his jacket off after being called for a technical foul. Following an argument about what McKay said should have been an intentional foul call, he chucked his jacket onto his own bench, nestling a perfect throw right in the face of unsuspecting UNM post David Chiotti.
Then there was the Tony Danridge left-handed dunk that was hit out of the net by UTEP guard Miguel Ayala's fist with 1:37 left in the game that would have put the Lobos up 74-69.
McKay saw - and Ayala later admitted to - the goaltending. The referees let the game continue, and Miner Stefon Jackson came down and scored on a lay-up to cut the lead to 72-69.
McKay dropped to his knees in front of the Lobos' bench and three feet onto the court with his arms outstretched much like Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar saying, "We're not worthy" in front of Alice Cooper in "Wayne's World."
"I just said to Doc, 'Let's heat up the rivalry a little bit,'" McKay said. "And he said, 'Yeah I'd like to do that.'"
UNM senior Kris Collins said McKay's huffing and puffing on the sidelines lit the kindling in the team's belly.
"I think it's motivation because sometimes we get a little lax, and we're a little down with ourselves and each other," Collins said. "When we see coach get into it, that brings more fire to us."
UTEP had its chances to tie the game in the last 1:15, but found nothing but cold iron on three three-pointers.
Ayala, who had been 4-of-4 from three-point land before the last minute and 15 seconds, hoisted two of those threes. The other one came from guard Edgar Moreno, who Sadler said is one of his top slingers from downtown.
"If you would have told me going into the last minute that you're going to have a chance to tie it up, I'd have taken it," Sadler said. "I'd have taken it right then, and I would've taken both Miguel and Edgar shooting the basketball."
Ayala hadn't played in a game this season due to a right knee injury. That didn't matter much, as he hung 19 points on the Lobos in 21 minutes on 5-of-9 shooting to tie teammate John Tofi for a game-high in points.
Fifth-year senior Mark Walters, who finished tied for a team-high 16 points with Chiotti, said the game had all the characteristics a rivalry game needs to spice it up - most important of which was a boisterous crowd of 14,033.
"I can't hear Kris calling out plays," Walters said. "I'm yelling at the top of my lungs trying to call a play. It's just crazy. When we go on those runs, it's an unbelievable atmosphere to play in."
