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LAS VEGAS, Nev. — New Mexico has seen a little bit of everything this season.
From Wyoming’s grind-it-out style to the UNLV’s up-tempo pace, the No. 15 Lobos have beaten them all at least once, both in the regular season and now at the Mountain West basketball championships.
Behind another strong effort from junior guard Tony Snell, No. 15 New Mexico cut down the nets at the Thomas & Mack Center as Mountain West champions after disposing of UNLV 63-56 on Saturday.
The win gives UNM (29-5) an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament, which begins next week. It was announced on Sunday the Lobos are the No. 3 seed in the West and will play Harvard in Salt Lake City on Thursday. With the national bid already locked up, UNM head coach Steve Alford said his team is ready for anything.
“We played a lot of styles, but there are matchups that are better than others,” said Alford, whose team also won the league’s regular-season title. “This league has prepared us for that. We’ve seen everything out of this league.”
Snell, known as UNM’s “silent assassin,” earned MWC tournament MVP honors after scoring 21 points, including five 3-pointers, against UNLV. He went off on a personal 10-2 run over four-and-a-half minutes, breaking a close 46-45 edge to a 56-47 lead.
He finished the tournament having scored 53 points overall.
“We knew we’ve always been the underdog,” Snell said. “That’s what I love about this team: We’re underdogs, but we still like to go out and prove people wrong, that we’re good enough to win championships.”
Aside from an early offensive outburst, UNM kept UNLV’s top player Anthony Bennett in check. The freshman forward scored 13 of the Runnin’ Rebels’ first 15 points over the game’s initial 7:20, but scored only two points for the rest of the game. His last field goal after that run did not come until the 12:14 mark of the second half.
Bennett also had a double-double, pulling down 11 rebounds with 10 on the defensive end.
Alford said he did not make any adjustments that limited Bennett’s production. He credited starting junior forward Cameron Bairstow and reserve senior forward Chad Adams with maintaining pressure on the UNLV star.
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Recording nine points and seven rebounds in the finale, Bairstow joined Snell as MWC all-tournament team member. In three games at the Thomas & Mack, Bairstow scored 39 points and pulled down 26 rebounds. He made 15 of his 18 attempts from the foul line.
Alford joked in his postgame press conference opening statement he had to explain “to my Aussie what all-tournament means,” throwing his arm around Bairstow.
“As coach already said to us, the first three seasons have already been successful,” Bairstow said, referring to the nonconference schedule, league play and MWC tournament. “So it’s just up to us to continue it into season four (the NCAA tournament).”
UNLV (25-9) dominated the glass, pulling down 41 rebounds to UNM’s 29. Even with 14 offensive rebounds, the Runnin’ Rebels mustered just five second-chance points. UNM won the post battle, outscoring UNLV 24-16 in points in the paint.
Bennett’s early production helped UNLV gain early 15-13 as both teams exchanged leads in the early going. UNM then rattled off a 10-2 run to build a 23-17 advantage.
The Lobos led 31-27 before a 6-3 run capped by guard Katin Reinhardt’s buzzer-beating triple cut the deficit to 34-32 at halftime.
UNM brought the lead back to 44-39 before a four-minute Lobo scoring drought allowed UNLV to tie the game at 44. Lobo junior guard ended the slump with a field goal, then Snell had his big run that included back-to-back 3-pointers.
“Bottom line is that New Mexico’s very good offensively: They have very, very good players, they’re well coached,” said UNLV coach Dave Rice. “But the other side of the coin is that we made way too many defensive mistakes.”
The Runnin’ Rebels came back to within three points, 56-53, but got no closer when Snell hit his fifth triple with 65 seconds left. After Williams hit two foul shots, he stole the ball from Reinhardt and executed a 360 dunk with 12 seconds left, for good measure.
Williams had 12 points, passing Tony Danridge for 17th on UNM’s all-time scoring list. Since scoring 46 against Colorado State on Feb. 23, Williams has 71 points in seven games. Also, UNM is 38-5 when Williams has at least five assists.
Sophomore point guard Hugh Greenwood had nine points, hitting all three 3-point attempts, and his seven rebounds tied Bairstow’s team-high.
UNM drained 23 of 50 shots from the field (46 percent) and 9 of 19 from the 3-point line (47.4 percent).
UNLV guard Bryce Dejean-Jones led the Rebels in the scoring column with 19 points. Bennett’s 15 was UNLV’s second-best total, while Reinhardt added 11. The Runnin’ Rebels were 20 of 59 from the field (33.9 percent) and 9 of 31 from the arc (33.9 percent).
Top-seeded UNM reached the MWC title game with wins over Wyoming on Wednesday and San Diego State on Friday. UNLV had wins over Air Force and Colorado State in the tournament’s earlier rounds.
“This has been a long week of travel. It’s never easy being somewhere for six days,” said Alford, wearing the freshly cut net around his neck. “But when you win a championship, it makes it all worth it. I think we’ll have enough time to get ready for the NCAA tournament.”
