Junior forward Roman Martinez hopes to keep a hot hand in Mexico when the Lobos head down south to compete in the Cancun Challenge over Thanksgiving break.
"We are excited," he said. "We are ready to go down and play. It is not going to be easy. (But) it won't be hard to get motivated to play some good ball in Cancun with our coaching staff."
After averaging seven points and 3.9 rebounds in his sophomore season, the All-Academic honoree is burning up early in the 2008-09 season.
In UNM's last home game, Martinez lit up the Cal State Northridge Matadors from downtown, hitting a career-high five 3-pointers.
Late in the game, the Matadors cut a 23-point deficit to 11, but Martinez hit his final 3-pointer to put UNM up 81-67. The trey killed Northridge's momentum, ignited The Pit crowd and stripped the Matadors of all hope for a comeback.
Martinez led all scorers with 20 points.
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But his performance against Cal State is just a fraction of what Martinez has done this season.
He is hitting almost half of his 3-point attempts, shooting 10-for-22 from deep. All around, Martinez has been proficient from the field, going 23-for-43.
Offensively, the Lobos are averaging 85.8 points per game, but Martinez said the Lobos still have work to do.
"We need to work our defense," Martinez said. "It was a big win for us against Northridge. We went down a little bit late, but it is important to take this win and go from here. We fought back."
So far, five games into the season, Martinez is averaging 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
Martinez has also been in a charitable mood. After all, the holiday season is approaching, and Martinez is third on the Lobos in assists with 10.
"I think it all starts on the defensive side," he said. "We just have to persevere through adversity."
Still, unlike other Lobo players, Martinez's trip to Mexico for the Cancun Challenge has sentimental value.
Martinez's grandfather, Francisco Martinez, is a native of Mexico and played basketball at New Mexico State.
At NMSU, Martinez's grandfather was an All-League player. And in 1936, he had the honor of playing on the Mexican national team, where he led his country to the bronze medal that summer in Berlin.
"It is definitely awesome to go on the trip," Martinez said. "My grandfather left a great basketball legacy in Mexico, and it's a privilege to play over in Mexico."
