The UNM men’s basketball team is undefeated against the Aggies this season — and not just the Lobos’ interstate rival.
The Lobos beat the NMSU Aggies twice, and on Saturday UNM handed No. 16 Texas A&M their second loss of the season. UNM pulled out a narrow 84-81 win at the Toyota Center in Houston, improving the team to 10-0. And now, top-25 ranking may come a-calling.
“I think we do expect to be in the top 25,” said forward Roman Martinez, who scored 22 points in Saturday’s win. “We are trying to gain that respect level for the Mountain West and for our team. And for us winning 10 straight games, it shows something.”
Saturday’s win was the culmination of a week-long road trip in which the Lobos dismissed San Diego on Wednesday, then caught a plane to Houston to check the Aggies off their list.
The Texas A&M game gave the Lobos their fourth win on the road and their second win against a ranked opponent.
On Dec. 2, they beat Cal, which was ranked 25th in the ESPN/coaches poll at the time. The Cal win gave the Lobos their first taste of national attention.
But that spotlight could have come sooner if the Lobos’ practices were broadcast, forward Darington Hobson said.
“Playing with your guys and going to war with them every day in practice, you know how good they are and what they are capable of doing,” said Hobson, who scored 18 over the Aggies. “We are happy with the success, but we are not surprised.”
Much of that success has come on the shoulders of Martinez, who sank a pair of free throws with nine seconds left in the game, widening the gap to three and securing the victory for UNM.
“Coach drew up a play and got me open, and they fouled me,” Martinez said. “I felt like we needed two free throws to win because the way they were shooting 3s. We didn’t want to give them a chance to win at the end. We wanted to make sure to get that three-point cover.”
The game came down to a pair of free throws after an Aggie run that sliced an 18-point Lobo lead to single digits. A few defensive errors gave the Aggies some easy layups, which contributed to the comeback, Martinez said.
Early in the season, head coach Steve Alford warned that his team needed to learn to finish off games when holding a large lead.
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In last week’s game against NMSU at the Pit, the Lobos saw a 26-point lead die down in the second half. Alford chalked it up to carelessness but emphasized that he would ride his players because of it.
Saturday saw a similar situation — only the Lobos were playing on the road and the opponent was ranked.
Nonetheless, the Lobos found a way to win, which is the most important thing, Martinez said.
“We did what we needed to do on the road,” he said. “Road games are not easy. … We are learning from a win. And that is important to us. Usually in games like this, teams learn from losses, but we are finding a way to win, and I think that is a big plus.”
