Senior forward Drew Gordon achieved a feat no Lobo has completed since 1976, in UNM’s win over No. 11 University of Nevada-Las Vegas on Saturday.
Gordon finished with a career-high 27 points and 20 rebounds, and became the first UNM player to go for more than 20 points and 20 rebounds in a single game since Jimmy Allen did it on Dec. 1, 1976.
“That was probably my best game, and things were just falling for me,” he said. “The basketball gods were good to me today.”
Gordon became just the fifth player in the country in the past 10 years to go for more than 20-20 against a top-25 team in a game that finished in regulation.
Gordon said the win was great for the team because of UNM’s earlier defeat to UNLV.
“It was a lot of fun, especially since we lost the first time,” Gordon said.
At halftime Gordon had only nine points, but he came alive in the second half. With 16:20 left in the game and the Lobos with a one-point lead, Gordon scored 10 straight points. In the second half, he went on a seven-shot run.
His 18 points in the second half matched the scoring total of the entire UNLV team for the half.
Gordon struggled earlier in the season with his mid-range jumper, but he said that in the past few weeks his shot has come together.
“It didn’t really show at the beginning of the season and that
blew my confidence level completely,” Gordon said. “I then just got in the gym and practiced jumpers, and that is why they have gotten better.”
On Wednesday against No. 17 San Diego State, Gordon finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds. In his past three games, he has had a combined 50 rebounds.
Head coach Steve Alford said Gordon showed that he is one of the best players in the MWC this season after his performances last week.
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“Drew, is hands, down player of the week in our league this week,” Alford said. “What he did this week, 17-17 at San Diego State, then he comes back and puts on a performance that hasn’t been seen in this place in a long time, if ever.”
Gordon has started 25 of the Lobos’ 26 games this season, and is the leading scorer on the team, averaging a double-double with 12.7 points and 11.1 rebounds a game.
In the first meeting this season, UNLV double-teamed Gordon in the post and held him to just 14 points, but UNLV head coach Dave Rice said there was nothing his team could do to stop Gordon in the second game.
“Drew Gordon proved why he is one of the best guys in the country. He was terrific,” he said. “I think we did a good job at limiting them at the 3-point, but Gordon has 27 and 20. It is hard to win a game on the road that way.”
