The game started sloppy, but it was an easy win in the end.
The UNM basketball team had two turnovers in its first two possessions. Fortunately, it was playing Davenport University, and the Lobos beat the Panthers 92-54 in front of 12,978 fans — the third-highest attendance for a Lobo exhibition game since 2002.
Davenport head coach Burt Paddock said he was impressed.a
“The last time that I played a Division I exhibition game, that team made it to the Final Four — Michigan State,” Paddock said.
“We actually beat that team. And I’ll tell you what, this team is extremely good. This team (Lobos) might be more talented than that team (Spartans).
The Lobos muscled Davenport inside the paint, out-rebounding the Panthers 50-28, something Lobo head coach Steve Alford said he hadn’t seen much of in practice.
“We have not been the rebounding team I thought we could be, and tonight we were really active on both ends,” he said.
Forward Drew Gordon led the Lobos with 10 rebounds, recording a double-double and adding 12 points.
“It wasn’t too bad for the first game,” Gordon said. “There are some things that I need to improve on.”
The Panthers gave the ball up the first three times they had it, and two of these times led to fast-break dunks by guard Tony Snell.
Early in the first half, guard Kendall Williams backed into Gordon’s knee and hyperextended it. Gordon left the court for a few minutes but returned later on.
Later in the half, Williams and Gordon went diving for a loose ball out of bounds, prompting the fans to give them both a standing ovation.
Alford said he hadn’t seen that from his players during drills.
“That’s two things I haven’t seen in practice,” Alford said. “It’s been baffling to me. I wanted to clap, too.”
The second half started much like the first. Snell made the Lobos’ first two field goals, this time three-pointers. UNM started both halves on 11-4 runs.
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Williams and Snell led the Lobos in scoring with 16 points each, and the team had three other players scoring in double figures.
Cameron Bairstow was another bright spot in the game.
In the offseason, the 6-foot-9-inch forward hit the gym and gained more than 20 pounds of muscle.
Bairstow finished the night with nine points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
“He’s a problem for anybody who guards him,” Gordon said. “He’s strong. He knows his position and his footwork, so it’s going to be huge for us.”
Freshmen Hugh Greenwood, Dominique Dunning, Kory Alford and sophomore Demetrius Walker all played their first game as Lobos.
Walker had the best night of the four, with 12 points off 5-of-7 shooting and adding five rebounds.
The Lobos closed out the game on a 13-4 run with the three freshmen and two sophomores.
UNM shot 47.5 percent from the field, including 44.4 percent from three-point range. The Lobos got to the line often, going 28-for-35.
Davenport was held to just 34.5 percent shooting.
The Lobos will play their final exhibition game Saturday night at home against Western New Mexico.
