by Dorian McKenzie
Daily Lobo
2007 is off to a rough start for the UNM men's basketball team.
The Lobos started the season 9-3 and were undefeated at the Pit. But so far in 2007, they're winless.
On Saturday, UNM fell to Colorado State University 88-79 at home.
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The loss moves the Lobos to 11-6 on the season, while the Rams are 13-3.
UNM came into the game with a two-game losing streak and without leading scorer J.R. Giddens, who missed the game due to an ankle injury.
Lobo head coach Ritchie McKay said that although Giddens is a key player in his lineup, putting him in the game was not worth the risk.
"I'm interested in winning games, but not at the expense of a young man's health and future," he said. "Hopefully, he will heal quickly."
Sophomore Ryan Kersten said that without Giddens, the Lobos were at a disadvantage.
"We were hoping he was going to play, but he didn't, so we just had to go out there," he said. "It would have helped to have him down helping out with (Daniel) Faris and A.J. (Aaron Johnson) rebounding, because he's good for eight to 10 rebounds a game."
Although Giddens' absence was noticeable, the Lobos managed to score a good number of points. It was the defense that couldn't slow down CSU.
UNM was led by junior guard and forward Tony Danridge, who had 17 points and three rebounds. Forward Kellen Walter chipped in 13 points, followed by guard Jamaal Smith, who scored 12 and was 5-for-5 from the
free-throw line.
Kersten also had double figures and finished with 10 points. Guard Chad Toppert had a team-high five rebounds.
The Lobos started off the game with a jumper by Danridge, but after three minutes, the Rams took the lead and never
looked back.
At halftime, the Lobos were down by 16 points and allowed the Rams to have a 73 percent shooting average, while UNM only knocked down 12 of its 28 shots from the field.
The Lobos came into the second half battling back. They started off strong with a
7-0 run.
However, the run was cut short by the Rams, who continued to outshoot UNM. With 2:08 left in the game, CSU took a game-high lead of 21 points.
UNM struggled to comeback in the final minute of regulation, bringing the game within seven points with 42 seconds left.
The Rams not only outscored the Lobos, but also outrebounded them 35-21.
Kersten said the game was not about personal agendas, but rather about team play.
"The second half was something that we haven't played all season," Kersten said. "We didn't care who was shooting the ball. We didn't care about anything but working together."
CSU was led by the 7-footer Smith, who had a double-double with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Smith scored his 1,000th career point against UNM in the game. The Rams have three
7-foot players on their team, two of them being starters.
McKay was pleased with the way his team worked in the second half, but he gave credit to the Rams' strong play.
"Colorado State is a good team," he said. "I was very proud of our guys' effort, especially in the second half."
McKay said his team needs to work on its consistency and execution.
Danridge said UNM played well, but he agrees it should be more consistent.
"We played hard," he said. "We have to put it together for 40 minutes. We just did it in spurts. We should have done it the whole game."
