Defense has been a key part of New Mexico’s success early this season and Saturday’s game against the University of Louisiana-Monroe was no different.
The Lobos (6-3) defeated the Warhawks (4-4) by a score of 54-46 at WisePies Arena aka The Pit. This was the Lobos third straight game of holding an opponent to under 50 points.
“A win is a win,” head coach Craig Neal said after a spotty offensive performance that was saved by a dominating defensive performance.
The Lobos shot 33.9 percent (21-62 FG) from the floor, 20 percent (4-20 3FG) from three-point range and 57.1 percent (8-14 FT) from the foul line in Saturday’s win.
This was the third time this season that the Lobos have been held to shooting under 35 percent from the floor.
UNM held UL-Monroe to 29.1 percent (16-55 FG) shooting from the floor and allowed three, 3-pointers on 19 attempts (15.8 percent).
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Neal said eventually teams would figure out the Lobos weakness this year -- shooting the ball. They struggled against a zone defense, which is most effectively broken when a team can shoot the ball.
“I knew our Achilles’ heel was somebody went zone against us,” Neal said. “We haven’t shot the ball very well; we haven’t played very well offensively when that happens.”
The Lobos did see a veteran soar yet again for an offensively struggling team. Senior guard Deshawn Delaney scored a game-high 15 points on 6-15 shooting. He was the only double-digit scorer for either team in Saturday’s contest.
Fellow senior guard Hugh Greenwood chipped in six points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal. He said even though the offense is struggling right now, defensive is what is keeping this team afloat.
“That’s what we’ve got to hang out hat on,” he said. “We’ll eventually make shots but it’s going to start at the defensive end.”
Rebounds are easy to come by for a team when they shoot less than 35 percent. The Lobos did take advantage of their poor shooting and tallied 45 rebounds, 20 of which were on the offensive end.
Freshman guard Sam Logwood saw early minutes and produced for the team as he scored five points in the first half. He saw his game end a bit earlier than everyone else’s as he appeared to have injured his left shoulder going for a loose ball.
“(Sam) just has a sprained shoulder, it didn’t pop out,” Neal said. “It’s just one of those things that hopefully he will be back and we just have to watch it.”
Logwood is yet another Lobo to be added to the injury list. Cullen Neal, foot, Arthur Edwards, finger, and Jordan Goodman, concussion, all missed Saturday’s game. Goodman is the only one who will dress out for the Lobos next game.
The Lobos will host Central Arkansas on Dec. 17 at WisePies Arena. This will be their last home game before going on a two game road trip to New Mexico State University and Grand Canyon University.
Kyle Tomasi is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @KyTo22.
