by Andre van der Merwe
Daily Lobo
On a night when the Lobos struggled to put together any type of offense, their defense bailed them out.
The UNM men's basketball team (17-11, 8-7 MWC) duked it out defensively against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (15-12, 9-6 MWC) Wednesday night at The Pit and came away with the victory, 47-39.
While the Lobos held the Runnin' Rebels to a paltry 24 percent shooting, the Lobos only converted 33 percent of their shots into points. The Lobos have been involved in many low-scoring games this season, but have managed to pull out victories in those same affairs.
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Head coach Ritchie McKay is aware of the team's offensive problems, but says the defense can help pull out wins.
"Considering we're not setting the world on fire offensively," McKay said. "We are grinding things out."
The Lobos' defense had to play tougher than usual, and allowed only three three-pointers out of 17 attempts from UNLV.
McKay explained how his team's defense makes up for its struggling offense.
"We look very inconsistent shooting the ball from the perimeter, the line, all that," McKay said. "As inconsistent as we are on the offensive end, we're as consistent on the defensive end."
Mark Walters, David Chiotti, Jeff Hart and Kris Collins reminded everyone that it was senior night when each one put on a show. Walters led the way with 15 points, shooting 50 percent from the three-point line. Walters was followed by Hart, who had 11 points, nine of which were from behind the arc. Chiotti had nine points, four assists, and two blocks in the game. Collins had four points and three steals for the night, and added in a highlight of an assist to Chiotti with only 11 seconds left that brought the game to a close.
The Lobos had a 12-point lead, their biggest lead of the game, with 15:38 left in the second half. UNM was able to survive being out-rebounded 49 to 36. Still, the Lobos had 22 points in the paint, while UNLV had 18. UNLV also made 12 costly turnovers in the game that the Lobos converted into 12 points. Although UNLV racked up 19 offensive rebounds, the Lobos' defense held the Runnin' Rebels to five points from offensive boards.
Although McKay said he consistently hears about his team's struggling offense, he feels they have accomplished a lot.
"I'm really proud of this team. I don't know if I've had a group that's defended as well as this team has," McKay said.
One of the keys to the Lobos' defensive prowess on Wednesday night was Walters. Walters said their defense is so strong because they play as a unit.
"I think it's just the communication," Walters said. "I think it's important for us to talk, and to be able to get past those little mistakes that we usually make."
