Sophomore slump not in key player's vocabulary

After talk of a shooting slump over the last few weeks, the Lobos shot 47.1 percent from the field, and an even better 48.1 from behind the arc, hitting 13-of-27.
The UNM men’s basketball team returns home after a convincing 73-50 win over Air Force.

“We are obviously much better, like most teams in the country, when you get transition points,” said head coach Steve Alford. “That helps in everything else. I though we did really good in the second half with our half-court offense. We took good shots. Your offense always looks a little bit better when you’re making shots. It’s been a long time since we made 13 3s.”

Though the win was expected for the Lobos, the conductor of the offense was surprising. Two of UNM’s leading scorers, Roman Martinez and Darington Hobson, contributed only seven points on 3-of-9 from the field. That left Phillip McDonald, who averages 11.1 points per game, to put up 25 points, hitting 7-of-10 behind the arc. Dairese Gary added 10 points.

“It has been a long time since Phillip McDonald has gotten 25 points,” Alford said. “He hasn’t had a game like that since New Mexico State.”

Heading deeper into conference play, where the scouting improves and the defense thickens, Alford said it was encouraging to win in a different way.

“It was not one of Ro’s better games,” Alford said. “He would be the first to tell you that. Hopefully Ro and Darington can see that we won by 23 on the road and our two top scorers (didn’t) play very well. That part is not discouraging at all. Learning to win in other ways is what this team has done all year long.”
The Lobos face a slightly better opponent Saturday.

Colorado State (11-7 overall, 2-2 MWC) sits in a three-way tie for fifth in the conference. The Rams are coming off a two-game losing streak to No. 13 BYU and UNLV. They absorbed a 91-47 beating on the road to BYU on Jan. 16 and lost by eight to UNLV on Wednesday.

They are led by freshman guard Dorian Green, who averages 13.5 points per game. They also have three starters who average in the double digits. But the majority of the Rams’ wins have come at home. They travel to The Pit on Saturday with a 1-6 road record.

*Men’s basketball vs. Colorado State
1:30 p.m.
Saturday
The Pit*