by Adrian Doerfler
Daily Lobo
After losing back-to-back road games, the Lobos bounced back against San Diego on Saturday at The Pit.
Darren Prentice shot 7-of-9 from the field and 2-of-3 behind the arc for a team-high 19 points in the 57-47 win.
UNM head coach Steve Alford said he was pleased with his team's response to the losses at Mississippi and New Mexico State.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"I told my staff this is one of those games that we really have to be ready for because of the two losses in a row," Alford said. "I thought the team just really competed. It was a game we pretty much led start to finish, and that's hard to do at this level against anybody."
The game got off to a slow start for both teams. No one scored until junior post Daniel Faris hit a jumper almost four minutes into the game.
The Lobos then jumped out to an 11-2 lead and never looked back. The closest San Diego got to the Lobos in the second half was 51-42 with less than four minutes remaining.
UNM played great defense, collecting seven charges and holding San Diego to 32 percent shooting from the field.
The Toreros did not score until almost six minutes into the game.
The Lobos bounced back from poor defensive play the last two games and picked up their intensity, sophomore forward Roman Martinez said.
"Coach Alford told us we were bullied the last two games, so we wanted to make sure we protected the paint and try to work as hard as we can on the
defensive end," he said.
Rob Jones led San Diego with 12 points and seven rebounds. Brandon Johnson added 10 points and three rebounds.
Prentice was the only Lobo to score in double-digits, but UNM got strong play across the board.
J.R. Giddens had eight points and added eight rebounds and three assists.
Up next, the Lobos play Alford's former coach Bobby Knight and Texas Tech on Saturday at
The Pit.
Prentice said it was key for UNM to get a win before taking on the Red Raiders.
"It was very important to get this win to build our confidence up a little bit," he said. "Now we have a week off to prepare for a good Texas Tech team, but it was great to get this win, because San Diego is a great team, too."
Meanwhile, Alford said he knows there is a lot of anticipation for the Texas Tech game.
He said he expects a big home crowd, especially with Knight - the NCAA all-time winningest men's coach - in town.
"My challenge is that we fill this place," he said. "You don't know how many times (Knight is) going to get back into The Pit."
Men's basketball vs. Texas Tech
Saturday, 2 p.m.
The Pit
