LAS CRUCES, N.M. — What the UNM men’s basketball team learned Tuesday at the Pan American Center: The Aggies aren’t hemophiliacs.
Yes, NMSU bled — for that matter poured in the first 20 minutes of Tuesday’s contest, down 16 at intermission — but eventually the blood coagulated, and the Aggies’ apparent mortal wound didn’t turn out to be as deadly as first thought.
When all was said and done, the Lobos eked out a 97-87 victory over their inner-state rivals, marking the Lobos’ fourth consecutive win over NMSU, two of those wins coming in Las Cruces.
Nonetheless, the Lobos were on the cusp of a colossal collapse, even more so considering UNM had its best first half under head coach Steve Alford offensively: The 52 points the Lobos scored were the most for an Alford- coached team in the first half.
A 3-pointer from the Aggies’ Jonathan Gibson, who ended with 17 points, pulled NMSU within two, 59- 57, with 15:15 to go in the game. The Lobos responded with back-to-back 3-pointers, compliments of Phillip McDonald and Roman Martinez, which padded the Lobos’ cushion to 65-58.
Back came the Aggies, Young again leading the way with a 3-pointer to trim the gap to one, followed by an Aggie free throw and another longranged 3-pointer from Young which gave the Aggies their first lead — 71- 67 — since the 18:53 mark in the first half.
“Forgot about that (run),” said NMSU head coach Marvin Menzies, now in his third year with the Aggies. “We did really fight back there. Seeing the guys respond like that was a silver lining in the equation.”
Jilted and jittery, the Lobos, however, countered — in particular forward Martinez.
Martinez, the Lobos’ lone senior, showed the resolve to guide the youth-riddled Lobos to shore. He finished with 24 points, tying a careerhigh, and keyed a crucial run that helped UNM reclaim the lead. Even so, Alford said he had to pound on his players eardrums during timeouts, because his squad was particularly lackluster defensively, allowing the Aggies to shoot their way back into the game.
“(I) yelled a lot,” he said. “I yelled a lot so the young guys could understand coach yelling when we’re not doing much defensively.” Those porous holes eventually closed.
Getting away from their 6-foot, 11- inch center Hamidu Rahman, the Aggies habitually ignored him when he posted up in the paint. After notching his 12 point — a two-handed dunk, at that — with about five minutes to play in the first half, Rahman was essentially a non-factor, the relegated Mr. Invisible. He scored only two more points in the second half to finish with 14.
Menzies said the speed of the game was the deciding factor in why the Aggies got away from Rahman. “We tried to go inside, but the guards got going a little bit,” he said. “We were punching it inside to him and as a result of our speed game kicking in … Typically he won’t get a lot of looks if we’re (pushing the ball). He was scoring well in the first half. It turned into a track meet and he’s not the most brisk fellow yet.” As the pace quickened, Young slid between gaps in the Lobos’ defense. When the holes weren’t open in the paint, Young dialed in from long distance, finishing with a teamhigh 26 points, five rebounds and four assists. “He was the firecracker that got our offense started,” Menzies said.But in the end, the Lobos brought the real explosive power. McDonald finished with a game and career-high 27 points, including 5-of-11 from 3-point land. Two other Lobos besides Martinez — Darington Hobson and Dairese Gary — finished in double figures, Hobson tallying 17 to Gary’s 14.
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“There are a lot of teams that would’ve folded,” Alford said. “You forget about getting up 16-18 points in the first half. You get down four and the game’s over. You see that in sports all the time. You got a lead and then you lose the lead and you never regain the lead again.”
