Sleigh bells rang, and more than 17,000 fans at The Pit were listening Tuesday.
Through the lane, Tony Danridge was whistling past NMSU defenders and helping elevate the UNM men's basketball team to a 76-62 win over the Aggies.
Danridge torched the Aggies for 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
"Sixty-two points on the road and not playing well is bad," NMSU's head coach Marvin Menzies said. "But it's not horrible."
In the end, the only thing that was horrible, or at least not good enough to win, was the Aggies' defense on Danridge.
"It's a combination of things," Menzies said. "It's funny when you hear other coaches speak about their woes; it's the same across the universe. We have to rebound better or defend better."
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Maybe just rebound better. The Aggies were dominated 41-25 on the glass. And UNM cashed in on 18 points off 13 Aggie turnovers.
Worse, every time NMSU closed the gap, Danridge padded the Lobos' cushion. On two occasions with UNM up only three points, Danridge powder-kegged NMSU's rally. Up 31-28 in the second half, Danridge took a lob from Dairese Gary and twirled 180 degrees around for a two-handed slam to put the Lobos up 33-28.
With 15:03 left in the second half and the Aggies again down three, Danridge, who isn't known for his 3-point shooting, hit a trey from the corner to give the Lobos a 43-37 advantage.
When it wasn't Danridge, Roman Martinez slashed the Aggies. Martinez, who chipped in 15 points and nine rebounds, buried another Aggie surge with 10:47 to go. After NMSU's Jahmar Young brought the Aggies within three once again, Martinez singed the nylon with a 3-ball.
However, Danridge put the finishing touches on the Aggies. Danridge stepped in front of a NMSU pass and trucked down the court for the throw down to put the Lobos up 70-59 with 2:11 to go in the game.
"I've been going soft to the rim," Danridge said.
But not everyone thought so.
"The last one was a huge knock-away and steal that got that lead up over 10 points," head coach Steve Alford said. "That's what good players do. He was really good tonight."
Martinez said he is sometimes flabbergasted by Danridge's improvisation in the air.
"It's amazing," Martinez said. "I'm telling you. I get caught watching, too."
Danridge said he had added incentive to perform well.
"It's a big rivalry game," he said. "Everybody's fired up. That's why it was a little bit sloppy."
UNM turned over the ball nine times in the first half, but protected the ball in the second half, turning it only twice.
