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Almost immediately following posting a double-double against Cincinnati on Saturday, Cameron Bairstow went into the weight room at the Rudy Davalos Basketball Center to lift weights.
He still had enough energy to lift weights even after playing a game-high 37 minutes in the Lobos’ 63-54 victory, where he registered 24 points and 13 rebounds against the Bearcats. He had seen that much playing time in a single game only one other time: last year’s Mountain West Basketball Tournament game against Wyoming.
“You’re still pretty amped up from adrenaline,” he said about the postgame workout session. “You might as well take advantage of it.”
Against Cincinnati (7-1), Bairstow drained seven of his 14 attempts from the floor and connected on 10 of 11 free throws after making his first nine straight. He finished the game as the team’s leading scorer for the fourth time and had his best rebounding performance.
Bairstow has improved his scoring output considerably from last year. Through the first eight games this season, he’s increased his scoring average by more than 10 points from 9.7 to 19.8. His rebounds per game have also risen from 5.9 to 7.1.
Head coach Craig Neal said he used to tease Bairstow when he was a “scrawny” 6-foot-9 freshman but praised his work effort to become the player he is today.
“If I told him to go get better by eating dog food, he would eat dog food,” he said. “He’s going to do whatever it is to get better.”
Bairstow’s family made the trip from Australia to Albuquerque and got to watch him play an NCAA Division I basketball game for the first time. He said they were in awe of the sellout crowd at The Pit.
“Back home there’s nothing like this, so that aspect really blew them away. It was a good opportunity for them to see me live,” he said. “They’ve seen games online, but to be in the atmosphere was great especially in a big game like this.”
The Lobos (7-1) flashed a strong defensive performance against Cincinnati and its top scorer Sean Kilpatrick. UNM kept Kilpatrick to only one first-half field goal though he came on stronger in the latter 20 minutes and netted another 17. He was also instrumental in a comeback attempt, primarily early in the second half.
UNM held a 27-15 lead late in the first half before its shooting dried up in the final three minutes, and Cincinnati trailed 27-20 at the break. The Bearcats continued to chip away at the Lobos and cut the margin to 35-33 over five minutes, benefitting from eight Kilpatrick points.
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The Lobos responded with a 12-5 scoring run that pushed the score back to 47-38, and the team maintained a five-point edge or larger for the remainder.
From the field, UNM kept Cincinnati to a 29.5 percent shooting percentage (18 of 61).The 54 points Cincinnati scored was the second-lowest total UNM has given up this season. Only Alabama A&M scored fewer with 52. Lobos kept Davidson under 60 points as well.
Kilpatrick’s 19 points led Cincinnati’s scorers, while guard Troy Caupain scored 11 points and forward Justin Jackson had 10.
The Lobos finished with an even 50 percent shooting mark, hitting 22 of 44 shots. Center Alex Kirk nailed seven field goals in a 15-point effort, while guard Kendall Williams added 10 points.
