Daniel Faris didn't check into Heartbreak Hotel after the UNM men's basketball team's 72-71 defeat at the hands of UCF on Saturday at The Pit.
But he did consider drowning his sorrows in syrup - at Waffle House.
"I might go," he said. "Or I might just go to sleep."
Faris said some of his teammates seemed demoralized after blowing a nine-point lead with 3:51 left in the game.
"It's a hard loss to take," he said. "Everyone is down, (but) we have a game on Monday."
If the loss wasn't unnerving enough, head coach Steve Alford was tepid about Faris' performance.
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"I thought Daniel was really solid a game ago," he said. "For the first 20 minutes, he was really good. I didn't notice him in the second half."
Faris had 10 points in 13 minutes in the first half but was held scoreless in the second and played only six minutes because of foul trouble.
Still, while Alford might not have noticed Faris' presence on the court, he was an emotional spark plug on the bench and at one point took part of a time-out to rally his teammates.
"You have to be aggressive out on the court," he said. "I'm a little bit more reserved off the court, but on the court, I try to be more vocal."
Faris also snatched four rebounds and swatted a UCF shot that led to a 3-pointer in transition by Dairese Gary.
To his credit, Faris appears to be evolving into a more physical paint player - something more like what people became accustomed to seeing at Eldorado High School, where Faris led the Eagles to a 45-41 win in the 5A State Championship over the Cibola Cougars in 2004.
That season, Faris nearly averaged a double-double with 13.3 points per game and nine rebounds. He was ranked the No. 5 center in the West by ScoutHoops.com and No. 84 in his class by high school basketball guru Bob Gibbons.
However, he didn't see much playing time in his first two years at UNM, scoring only 12 points his freshman year. In his sophomore year, his production picked up a bit, and he averaged a respectable 4.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
His breakout season came as a junior, where he scored in double figures 13 times on his way to receiving an honorable mention All-MWC.
Faris said he might have deserved the criticism he fielded.
"It's probably somewhat right," he said. "I could have been more physical and aggressive at times."
On Saturday, however, Faris wasn't afraid to stick his nose in and get dirty - evidenced by his five fouls.
But for Faris, it's just a matter of harnessing that physicality and grittiness and unleashing it at the proper time. That way, next time he goes to the Waffle House, it won't be after an emotionally draining loss. He already knows what he'll order.
"The All-Star Special with cheese, eggs and grits," he said.
