It wasn't playing football at Concord High School in Indiana that made Dairese Gary tough on the basketball court - it was in his blood.
"It was my family," Gary said. "My two older brothers and my dad - just going at them every day on the court. They beat me up at home, and I think it was them that gave me my toughness."
Gary, a 6-feet-1-inch, 205-pound point guard, is proving his mettle for the UNM men's basketball team this year. And he's displaying not only physical toughness but mental dexterity as well.
On Saturday at The Pit, with 53 seconds left in the game, UNM was up 58-57 against Southern Mississippi. Gary stepped up to the line and missed two free throws that could have closed out the game.
But Gary didn't let the two misses shake his confidence, even after Southern Mississippi's Jeremy Wise made one of two free throws with nine seconds left to draw the game at 58.
After Wise's point from the line, Gary received the inbound pass, drove the length of the court and drew a foul with 4.7 seconds left.
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Gary redeemed his previous two misses by hitting both pressure-packed free throws to put the Lobos up 60-58.
"I didn't feel the free throws were tough at all," Gary said. "I had missed the first two and was kind of anxious to get back up to the free-throw line, because I know I should have made those first two. I felt when I missed those two shots, I let my team down. I was lucky and got another chance."
Luck hasn't played much of a role in the success Gary has had
during his second season on the UNM men's basketball team.
Gary is averaging eight points and 2.8 rebounds per game and leads the Lobos with 33 assists on the season, and he is leading what has become a one-two-punch tandem with freshman Nate Garth.
Against the Golden Eagles, Gary had 13 points. He finished with three assists, two rebounds, one steal and only two turnovers.
"All week in practice, we talked about toughness and how can we deal with adversity," Gary said. "You can be down, miss free throws, miss shots, (but) can you get stops, be tough and come back and win the game?"
Forward Roman Martinez said Gary's even-handed play was key to the Lobos' success.
"He played awesome tonight," Martinez said. "He is our point guard and our leader. Those two free throws were clutch free throws, and that helps us elevate our play as a team."
