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Perhaps Kendall Williams needs to invest in a wristwatch.
Williams, a starting junior guard for the No. 25 New Mexico men’s basketball team, missed the third start of the season Saturday for disciplinary reasons. According to Lobo head coach Steve Alford, Williams was late to a team meeting on Friday. He did not play.
With Williams out, UNM used strong post play and overpowered Fresno State to earn its second Mountain West Conference win of the season. Lobo posts Alex Kirk and Cameron Bairstow combined for 35 points to bully their way past the conference newcomer 72-45 at The Pit.
Prior to Saturday’s game, Williams missed starts Nov. 25 against Portland and Dec. 22 against South Dakota State, both home games. In each instance, Alford said Williams arrived late to team functions, but Williams played in both games. UNM defeated Portland 69-54 but lost to South Dakota State 70-65, UNM’s first loss of the season.
This time, Alford sat Williams out for the entire game.
“I’ve tried a lot of different things and this (one-game suspension) was the next step,” Alford said. “We’ll just continue to figure out in a timely manner that you have to be there. If I say there’s something at 10 o’clock, you have to be there before 10 o’clock. He was not.”
Williams is UNM’s leading scorer with an average of 14.6 points per game. He suited up for the game but did not see any time on the floor.
“It’s definitely a distraction but we as a team have to put that behind us and focus on what we have now,” junior guard Tony Snell said. “We need to tell everyone to step up.”
The Lobos (15-2, 2-0) managed just fine without Williams against Fresno State, who at 0-2 in conference games and 6-9 overall sits at the bottom of the Mountain West standings. UNM’s 27-point edge is the highest winning margin of the season, and the 45 points surrendered is the lowest of the year. The Bulldogs allowed 70 or more points only one time this year, giving up 91 to UCLA.
Fresno State could not keep up with UNM’s pounding effort in the low post. The Lobos scored 42 points in the paint and 23 second-chance points, limiting the Bulldogs to 14 and five, respectively.
In the first half, UNM had a 22-4 points-in-the-paint advantage and 9-0 edge on second-chance points.
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Bairstow, a junior forward, dominated the first 20 minutes. During that span, he made all six field goals and three free throws he attempted, and his 15-point total was one shy of his career best. He tied that mark in the second half with a free throw, but trouble with fouls kept his playing time and production down in the latter stages.
Enter Kirk. The sophomore center, who is emerging as one of the league’s best big men, finished with 19 points, 12 coming in the second half. That performance follows Wednesday’s impressive 23-point effort against UNLV. Kirk completed his fourth double-double of the year with 14 rebounds.
“Alex and I work well together even though we don’t get a lot of practice time,” Bairstow said. “We both look for each other. The high-low has been good for us so far and in terms of rebounding as long as we can get up and down with the quick fours in the league we should be alright.”
On the boards, UNM out-rebounded Fresno State 43-25, another season-best statistic. Senior guard Jamal Fenton pulled down six rebounds, three more than Fresno State’s 7-0 center Robert Upshaw.
Snell stepped up his aggressiveness, scoring 16 points. His total of three blocks is a career best, and he made two on a single Fresno State possession. His stat line included five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Sophomore guard Hugh Greenwood had six assists. He now has 20 assists in the last four games.
For the game, UNM was 29 of 59 from the field, or 49.2 percent. It is the best shooting percentage in the last four games and the third best of the season. The Lobos hit 60.7 percent of their shots in the first half. They were 2 of 12 on 3-point attempts and 12 of 19 from the line.
“It is all concentration. We just have to make sure that we punch first,” Snell said of the improved shooting. “We need to send a message, because they are new to our league, that this isn’t going to be an easy game.”
Fresno State was 16 of 48 on field goals, 5 of 20 from 3-point range and 8 of 15 from the line.
