For a half New Mexico resolved its recent shooting difficulties, but second-half struggles against the press caused some at WisePies Arena to hold their breath. The Lobos completed nearly 60 percent through the first 20 minutes in a 91-75 victory over Oral Roberts Tuesday night, bolstered with successful 3-pointers in transition.
After looking at the game tape, New Mexico head coach Craig Neal pulled back a bit on his statements following last Wednesday’s win over Nicholls State. After the Lobos won 75-63 – a game much closer than many thought it should have been – Neal said that his team lacked energy and that many guys haven’t really bought into the expectations he sets for the program. On Tuesday, Neal said the game tape showed the team didn’t play that poorly. Part of what got Neal so upset that night stems from the high expectations he has for his players, he said.
Emotions ran high for New Mexico in a physical 78-69 loss to Duquesne in the UNM Thanksgiving Tournament final Saturday night. The blistering fans roared “high school refs” on numerous occasions throughout the championship contest.
On nights where New Mexico’s offense needs a spark, UNM turns to its defense to get the job done. The Lobos started off slow in the 70-48 win over Southern Utah on Friday night, but as head coach Yvonne Sanchez switched to a pressure style of defense, the Lobos picked things up.
Whatever lulls in energy New Mexico had last Saturday against USC continued into Wednesday night at WisePies Arena.
New Mexico flexed its muscles from the bench on the way to an 83-43 rout over visiting Nicholls State on Tuesday night. Two minutes into the first quarter, head coach Yvonne Sanchez had to resort to the backups after senior Khadijah Shumpert headed to the bench with two fouls. The head coach didn’t need to call on her dominant force down low for the remainder of the first half.
Starters Tim Williams, Cullen Neal, Obij Aget and Elijah have established themselves through four games as regular contributors
Despite two double-doubles from forward Tim Williams and center Obij Aget, New Mexico could not overcome a 21-point deficit in Saturday’s 90-82 loss at Southern California. Williams led the Lobos (3-1) in scoring for the second straight game, netting 25 points. He also pulled down 15 rebounds, the most since Alex Kirk had 16 in 2013. Aget finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
New Mexico relied on its strengths in the paint in an 84-71 win against the unorthodox playing style of Sacramento State. The Lobos had a lot to prepare for in a short amount of time when taking on the Hornets. Sac State Head coach Bunky Harkleroad runs an offensive scheme that keeps his players on fresh legs at all times. Harkleroad regularly subs five players in at a time, providing consistent relief for his bench and starters.
Strong guard play propelled New Mexico in its first two games. A dominant post presence secured the third. Pick your poison, says New Mexico head coach Craig Neal.
Even with the revelation that he will never play competitive basketball again, Devon Williams kept a smile on his face Thursday afternoon. Williams, a forward on the New Mexico men’s basketball team, addressed the media for the first time Thursday after hearing a recommendation that he stop playing basketball due to congenital spinal stenosis. He remained positive about his situation, repeatedly saying he was blessed throughout the press conference. “I'm feeling better,” Williams said. “I'm starting to heal. It's not really hurting as much as the initial impact. I've been recovering.”
The Lobos won this game for Devon Williams. Following New Mexico’s 75-51 victory over Loyola-Chicago in the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge, head coach Craig Neal said Williams will not play basketball again after it was discovered he has congenital spinal stenosis. “Today was a really hard day,” a choked-up Neal said in his postgame press conference. “Wow. It was probably the hardest day I’ve had in a long time, telling one of your sons or telling one of your kids he can’t play the game they love.”
New Mexico’s trip to New Mexico State for the first meeting between the two squads was a disappointing one as the Lobos fell 78-59 in Las Cruces. UNM couldn’t get anything going during the first appearance in the Rio Grande Rivalry. The team couldn’t garner a lead at any point of the game in front of a petite crowd of 885. The offense only managed 59 points despite shooting the ball a total of 59 times. Cumulatively, UNM shot a measly 39 percent from the field and a horrendous 35.7 percent from the charity stripe.
Elijah Brown made the most of his first games as a Lobo, and the Mountain West took notice. Brown, a guard on the New Mexico men’s basketball team, earned Mountain West player of the week honors after the first weekend of action, the conference announced on Monday.
Guard Elijah Brown scored a career-high 31 points Sunday night in Las Cruces, leading New Mexico to an 83-74 victory over in-state rival New Mexico State. Brown, two days removed from a 16-point effort in the season opener, surpassed his previous best in just the first half. His performance helped the Lobos break 80 points for the second time in two games. UNM captured an 86-57 victory over Texas Southern on Friday.
Leader came forth for the Lobos on Friday night. The preseason’s fog of uncertainty which came with both exhibition games began to fade away Friday night as the UNM men’s basketball team opened their regular season at WisePies arena aka The Pit.
A lot went wrong for New Mexico during the team’s season-opening 65-57 win over Houston Baptist on Friday night. However, a win is a win. Despite being outscored in the second half, UNM managed to cling to a 38-22 first-half lead to begin the season 1-0. The game shouldn’t have been as close as it was, and the Lobos were exposed in a variety of areas throughout Friday night’s contest.
There is no more debate about who will lead the Lobos onto the court for opening night. Head coach Yvonne Sanchez has named her starting five as New Mexico awaits the season tip on Friday at 8 p.m. against Houston Baptist. After an offseason with question marks surrounding the five and three spots, guard Jannan Otto and center Whitney Johnson will join guard Bryce Owens, forward Khadijah Shumpert and guard Cherise Beynon as the first players with playing time in the 2015-2016 campaign, according to Sanchez.
New Mexico opens the regular season with two exhibition games under its belt. Texas Southern doesn’t have any. That makes a scouting report for Friday’s game a little tricky. In his press conference before the 2015-16 season begins for real, Lobo head coach Craig Neal said Texas Southern will be one of the toughest season-openers the team has had. He added that the Tigers feature a number of transfers, which makes it a little difficult to evaluate.
Sitting on the bench last year, Tim Williams became familiar with the atmosphere of WisePies Arena. And now that the exhibition schedule is in the books, he knows what it’s like to play before the Albuquerque crowd. Williams, a junior transfer from Samford University, got his first-game experience as a member of the New Mexico men’s basketball team after sitting out last year. The NCAA's eligibility rules require all transfers to sit out one year before they can play for their new teams.
Solutions by The State News
