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Kendall Williams’ stat line from Saturday night reads like this: 46 points, five rebounds and four assists.
New Mexico hasn’t seen a performance like that since the late 1970s.
Williams, a junior guard who already leads the No. 16 Lobos in scoring this season, was nearly unbeatable from the 3-point line. His 10 of 13 attempted triples propelled New Mexico to a 91-82 victory over No. 22 Colorado State, snapping the Rams’ 27-game home winning streak.
The Lobos left Fort Collins, Colo., with sole possession of first place in the Mountain West Conference and four games remaining in the regular season. They are 10-2 in conference play and 23-4 overall this season.
“It’s just one of those nights,” said Williams, who set new school and conference records for 3-pointers made in a single game. “It was a big-time game, being up here three years in a row, haven’t won and they had a 27-game win streak. Luckily some shots went and the confidence was there.”
Hitting 12 of 16 from the field and 12 of 17 from the foul line, Williams became the fourth Lobo to score at least 46 points in a single contest. He is tied for third place in UNM history.
The school’s top two single-game scoring marks occurred in the late 1970s. Marvin Johnson set the school’s record when he scored 50 points against Colorado State in 1978. Kenny Page is second on the all-time list with 47 points scored against Illinois Tech in 1979.
Williams has 1,190 points for his career, moving him to 20th on the UNM all-time scoring list. He was 25th before Saturday. His 46-point total is the third-best shooting performance in NCAA Division I this season, behind South Dakota State’s Nate Wolters (53) and Oakland’s Travis Bader (47).
Williams also moved to eighth place on UNM’s all-time career assist list with 403. He is the fifth Lobo player to reach 1,000 points, 400 assists and 100 steals.
“He’s a very special player, and he got on a roll (Saturday),” UNM head coach Steve Alford said. “It was a 40-minute roll. He never stopped. He really got in rhythm and took good shots.”
The game was one of the best offensive outputs for both teams this season. UNM fired 52.9 percent from the field (27 of 51) and 52.2 percent from the 3-point line. The Lobos made 12 of their 23 attempted 3-pointers and were 75.8 percent from the foul line (25 of 33).
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Sophomore center Alex Kirk put up big numbers as well, posting his sixth double-double of the year with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He made 8 of 12 field goal shots and added three blocks. During the last five games, Kirk averaged 13.2 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
UNM junior guard Tony Snell added 10 points and five assists.
Colorado State (21-6, 8-4 MWC), meanwhile, had three players score at least 20 points apiece. Center Colton Iverson had 26 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, while guard Wes Eikmeier scored 22 and guard Dorian Green netted 20.
The Rams finished 41.4 percent from the field (29 of 70), 38.1 percent from the 3-point line (8 of 21) and 69.6 percent from the free-throw line (16 of 23). CSU made seven of eight 3-pointers in the first half, but then missed 11 of 15 3-point shots in the second half.
The teams battled tight throughout with 12 lead changes and 10 ties. UNM’s final nine-point margin was the largest lead either team had in the game. With 6:40 left in the game, the Lobos were down by six points, 70-64.
Once again, UNM proved it has strong ability to close out games, outscoring CSU 27-12 down the stretch. Williams scored 18 points during the rally.
“We do what we need to do to get a victory — play hard defense and play together — and come out with big ones like this,” Williams said.
Lobo seniors Chad Adams and Jamal Fenton earned their 103rd career win at UNM, surpassing the former school record of 102 set by A.J. Hardeman and Phillip McDonald.
