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The UNM men’s basketball team has one more opportunity to shake off any rust in preparation for the upcoming season.
The Lobos will host their second of two preseason exhibition games tonight, taking on New Mexico Highlands at The Pit. Tip-off is 7 p.m. The regular season begins Nov. 12 at home against Davidson.
UNM won its first exhibition contest in a dominating fashion.
Forward Cameron Bairstow and guard Demetrius Walker, both juniors, each scored 22 points in a 105-64 win over Victory University on Wednesday.
In all, 10 Lobos scored. Junior guard Kendall Williams added 17 points, while junior guard Tony Snell chipped in 15 points.
Sophomore point guard Hugh Greenwood did not score any points but instead pulled down a team-leading 12 rebounds.
“Of course, ultimately, we wanted to win, and that’s what we did,” Walker said. “So we can’t do much except be happy with this and move forward.”
Preseasons have been good for the Lobos. UNM is 64-6 in exhibition games and 56-5 in home exhibitions. The team won its last 17 home exhibition games dating back to 2001.
While these games won’t count toward UNM’s season record, exhibitions give the freshmen a chance to experience The Pit’s atmosphere against a real opponent, something that can’t be simulated during practice or intrasquad scrimmages.
Freshmen Cleveland Thomas and Nick Banyard played quality minutes against Victory, playing 19 minutes and 17 minutes, respectively. Thomas hit 2 of 4 shots from the field, and Banyard had a 3-pointer.
UNM’s other incoming freshman, Devon Williams, did not play in the exhibition. UNM head coach Steve Alford said he will likely decide to redshirt Devon Williams this season to work on his development.
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“They’re learning,” Alford said. “They’ve never had media timeouts. They’ve never played in front of crowds like this … It’s different for those guys, and I think they’ll make some good adjustments.”
Sophomore center Alex Kirk is expected to play in tonight’s exhibition. He left an Oct. 27 intrasquad scrimmage with a minor ankle sprain. As a precaution, he did not play against Victory.
Bairstow commanded the post in Wednesday’s exhibition, but Kirk will add a key force in UNM’s guard-oriented lineup.
“Rotations are messed up with him (Kirk) being out,” Bairstow said. “With him being such a big body and presence, it’s going to be huge for us to have him.”
