by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
The UNM men's basketball team is struggling to find its identity.
With its record slipping close to .500 after losing six of its last seven games, the Lobos look nothing like the team that started the year 5-0.
After losing its second home game of the season, a 70-49 loss to Brigham Young on Wednesday, the team has faced questions about the decline in the second half of the season.
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Since dropping to 12-9 overall and 1-5 in the Mountain West Conference, UNM head coach Ritchie McKay said it's a tough time for the Lobos.
"It's very frustrating," he said. "We got a team that is talented. I'm responsible, so it falls on my shoulders. We're just going to find a way to get it changed."
While the Lobos still boast an 11-2 home mark, they are 1-7 away from The Pit, with the only win coming on a neutral court. They're also in last place in the MWC.
The Lobos have held second-half leads in all three of their conference games on the road this season but failed to escape with a win in any of them.
UNM forward Tony Danridge said the team needs to do a better job of protecting leads on
the road.
"We got to just focus defensively," he said. "That's where we're struggling. We need to get stops, so we got to dig down deep to
stop them."
Despite the struggles, guard Darren Prentice said the team is not quitting on the season.
"We don't feel like it's rock bottom, because we don't feel like this is the end," he said.
One concern for the Lobos has been the health - as well as the play - of leading scorer and high-profile transfer J.R. Giddens.
Giddens did not start Wednesday's game because other players practiced better during the week, McKay said.
Even when Giddens did play against BYU, UNM's leading scorer did not make his presence felt. He finished 0-for-5 from the field and left the game for good in the second half with an ankle injury.
McKay said he doesn't know if Giddens was focused on the game Wednesday.
"I'm not sure," he said. "You'd have to ask him."
McKay said there is no easy solution to all the problems UNM has faced recently.
"A quick fix? Should I call BYU's coach and ask him if he wants to trade? We don't do that in college basketball," he said. "Those are the guys we have, and we're going to keep working hard to get them through this tough time."
If UNM is going to fix things, it's going to have to get it done on the road, as the next contest is Saturday at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
Forward Daniel Faris said that if the Lobos focus on a couple minor things on the road, there should be a better outcome the rest of the season.
"We've been close in almost every game on the road," he said. "If we get a few more stops here and there, then I think we should be able to get a few more road wins."
Men's basketball at UNLV
Saturday, 8 p.m.
Las Vegas
