The Lobos might live up to their status as the preseason favorite to win the Mountain West Conference.
The basketball team won its 12th straight game against the University of North Dakota 85-57 at The Pit on Saturday afternoon, in front of 14,094 fans.
The Lobos finished their non-conference schedule with a 14-2 record, the same start UNM had in 2009 when the team finished 30-5.
Sophomore guard Kendall Williams led the Lobos with a career-high of 21 points and added six assists.
“I just wanted to go out there and be aggressive and some shots fell,” Williams said. “It’s a good feeling.”
UNM came out sluggish with the exception of Williams, who made his first three 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the game.
“When you get somebody going like that, he just goes for the rest of the game,” junior guard Jamal Fenton said of Williams’ play. “You just have to keep giving it to him.”
The Fighting Sioux kept it close early in the game, trailing 14-15 with 12 minutes remaining in the first half.
“I don’t think everyone was all-the-way focused for this game,” Fenton said. “But coach yelled at us and we got it together.”
The Lobos went on a 16-4 run that helped them take a 41-31 lead into the half.
UNM pulled away in the second half, outscoring North Dakota 44-26, shooting 52 percent from the field and holding the Fighting Sioux to 32.3 percent shooting, in the half.
“The second half got to them a little bit,” Steve Alford said. “They missed some shots and we took advantage.”
The Lobos’ defense showed up like it has most of the season, forcing the Fighting Sioux into 19 turnovers, including 10 steals and recording 11 blocks.
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Six Lobos shot 50 percent or better from the field, which is something head coach Steve Alford said is important for his players if they want playing time.
“A key to a good offense is taking care of the ball and taking good shots,” Alford said. “And we’ve been doing that.”
Senior forward Drew Gordon recorded his 9th double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. He also had a career-high of five blocks.
Gordon, Williams, Fenton, Phillip McDonald, Demetrius Walker and Tony Snell all finished in double figures.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who really have a lot of confidence right now,” Alford said.
Senior forward A.J. Hardeman was limited due to an illness. Freshman guard Hugh Greenwood did not play because of an ankle injury.
The Lobos open up conference play at Wyoming next Saturday afternoon. Last season, UNM began its conference schedule in Laramie and lost on a Francisco Cruz buzzer-beater, 66-67.
Williams said the loss was a big setback and set the tone for what he called a mediocre 8-8 conference record.
“They’re a lot better team this year,” Williams said. “We need to go out there and prove that we can compete with them, handle their intensity, [show] that we’re deeper and a better team this year and get off to a good conference start.”
