by Riley Bauling
Daily Lobo
Ritchie McKay wasn't sure why the UNM men's basketball team shot a season-high field-goal percentage in the Lobos' 83-75 win over Colorado State on Saturday night.
It could have been that the Lobos wanted to put on a show for the 16,201 in attendance - the most this season at The Pit - or maybe it was the return of Joel Box - who quit on Dec. 27 and then rejoined the team on Thursday - that gave UNM a little extra something.
And maybe there just isn't an explanation for it.
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"I wish I knew the answer," McKay said, a smile forming on his lips. "The vitamins. We took some vitamins before the game that really helped."
All jokes aside, the Lobos shot 56 percent from the field despite only going 4-for-16 from the three-point line. The lofty percentage was a far cry from UNM's last outing.
Against Utah in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, the Lobos shot a frigid 33 percent in a 64-49 loss to the Utes.
"In the first half (against Utah) we were down four, but we felt like we could dominate Utah," UNM senior post David Chiotti said. "They had more energy than us and executed better than us. But definitely when it came down to this game, we knew we were just going to execute and play with more energy, and I think our team did that."
The added energy against the Rams gave the Lobos their 19th win in a row at The Pit - a streak that is the fifth longest in the country and the fourth longest in school history.
The loss dropped Colorado State to 11-4 overall and 0-2 in the Mountain West Conference. UNM improved to 10-5 and 1-1.
The Lobos got points from 10 players, including eight from Box after the junior college transfer missed the past three games and six from freshman Daniel Faris for the first points of his Lobo career.
UNM threatened to blow out the Rams in the first half, taking a 44-31 lead into the locker room thanks to 12 points from Chiotti.
Colorado State chiseled away at the Lobos the entire second half, with sophomore post Jason Smith leading the charge.
With a 74-66 UNM lead and 3:38 left in the game, the seven-foot Smith hit four straight free throws followed by a Cory Lewis free throw to cut the lead to three.
After UNM's Kris Collins made a layup, Smith took the ball on the baseline, shimmied around his defender, and ended the play with an emphatic dunk to keep the Rams within three with two minutes left.
The Lobos clamped down on Smith and the rest of the Rams during the final minutes, holding them scoreless while making seven of their final 11 free throws to ice the game.
Senior Mark Walters scored 16 points despite fouling out with 2:24 left in the game.
Even without its leading scorer and only a five-point lead in the waning minutes, UNM was far from folding its cards.
"That's a good experience for our guys," McKay said about Walters cozying up on the bench during crunch time. "If it happens again, or he gets injured, hopefully someone will be able to step in and fill that role."
Collins came off the bench to fill Walters' role in this game ending with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting.
A starter for the first nine games of the season, Collins isn't complaining about having to wait his turn to get in the game, especially if the outcome is what the Lobos want - a win.
"As long as we win, then everything is fun," he said.
