assistantsports@dailylobo.com
@JROppenheim
With their Wednesday night home victory over Air Force, the No. 15 New Mexico men became the seventh team in the nation this season to reach the 20-win mark. They join a list that includes Michigan, Gonzaga, Indiana, Arizona, Creighton and Middle Tennessee.
Head coach Steve Alford has guided the program to 20 wins in each of his six seasons at the helm, and he’s now reached that feat for the 14th time in his career. The program hit the mark for the 26th time in school history.
More importantly, the Lobos proved they are the team to beat during the second half of the Mountain West Conference schedule.
First-place UNM (20-3, 7-1 MWC) appears to have turned a corner since its abysmal 25-percent shooting performance at San Diego State. Since that Jan. 26 loss, the Lobos’ field goal percentage has doubled to 50.6 percent.
They are 43.1 percent from the 3-point line over the last three games. That is another significant improvement from the 33.7 percent they shot in their first 20 games.
UNM captured wins over Wyoming, Nevada and Air Force as a result. For a team that established itself as a strong defensive unit early in the year, UNM has shown that its offense has come around.
Have the Lobos turned the corner?
“I don’t know about that, but I’ve said it all along that when we start making shots, our game will go to another level,” Alford said. “What I’m confident about in games where we’re not making shots is that our guys are tough enough to stay in games and give it a shot.”
Having reached the midway point of the MWC slate, UNM has eight games remaining before the conference tournament begins March 13 in Las Vegas, Nev. The Lobos begin the conference’s second half Saturday at UNLV.
UNM defeated UNLV 65-60 in the Jan. 9 conference opener and the Runnin’ Rebels are 4-4 in conference play with a 17-6 overall record. They dropped their fourth league game Wednesday night, a 64-55 decision at last-place Fresno State.
While UNLV hasn’t performed like the team many had predicted to finish second in the MWC, Lobo junior guard Kendall Williams said it’s a team that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Like San Diego State when it hosted UNM, UNLV enters the game after a tough loss and should be hungry for redemption.
“We need to go in there and learn from our first experience with San Diego State,” he said. “Both teams have a very high and intense tempt on their home court. We need to be the road team that we are capable of being. We need to go in there and get a big win.”
Jamal Fenton and Chad Adams are making history of their own. The seniors won their 100th game as Lobos on Wednesday and are two games away from topping the school record set by A.J. Hardeman and Phillip McDonald from 2009-2012. That record could be broken as soon as Feb. 16, a home date with Boise State.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Women drop Air Force, host UNLV Saturday
Antiesha Brown had a field day Wednesday night against Air Force. Her 26 points propelled the UNM women to a 72-67 victory at the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colo.
The Lobos improved their overall record to 12-9, and their conference record now stands at 4-4.
Brown, a sophomore guard, made 10 of her 15 field goal attempts, including five 3-pointers. That effort helped the Lobos to a shooting percentage of 48.1 percent. Junior guard Sara Halasz added 11 points, while senior guard Caroline Durbin added 10.
UNM held a 36-32 halftime lead.
Guard Alicia Leipprandt scored 19 points to lead Air Force (2-19, 1-7 MWC), followed by guard Cherae Medina with 15 and forward Dymond James with 13.
The Lobos return to the court on Saturday afternoon with a home game against UNLV. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. The Rebels (8-14, 4-4) come to The Pit after a 72-66 loss to Fresno State on Wednesday.
