New Mexico has higher aspirations after earning its first bowl berth in nearly a decade. The Lobos next goal is a simple one: reach the Mountain West Championship game. That goal is well within reach for UNM after upsetting Utah State and Boise State in back-to-back weeks. UNM needs just two more home wins in order to earn a spot in the conference title match.
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.”
New Mexico has its sights on its first national cross country title. The NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships are just days away. On Saturday, the top-ranked women’s cross country team will be one of 31 schools competing for a national championship in Louisville, Kentucky.
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.”
It’s no secret that attendance at New Mexico football games has been lackluster. In recent memory, the Lobos haven’t given fans much reason to show up to University Stadium. Not until this season, at least. With the Lobos two wins away from earning a spot in the Mountain West Championship game, UNM Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs wrote an open letter to fans imploring them to attend the final two home games of the season.
Wednesday night couldn’t have ended more fittingly as UNM fans bid farewell to the three volleyball seniors in a 3-0 sweep over Utah State. Facing match point, senior setter Hannah Johnson lofted up a ball to fellow senior middle blocker Skye Gullatt who dropped the ball on the hardwood for the final action of the 2015 season in Johnson Center. While the Lobos have two remaining games on their schedule, UNM’s home court will be absent from action until next fall.
A fairy tale ending carrying UNM’s three seniors into the NCAA tournament to bid farewell to their collegiate careers is out of question. However, individual milestones prove there is still a lot to play for down their final stretch on the hardwood. Wednesday night will be the last night senior setter Hannah Johnson steps onto the court in Johnson Center. She currently resides in second place in program history on the all-time assists list. The senior currently has 4,046, just 128 behind Jade Anderson. The setter is also within striking distance of another UNM milestone as she is just 31 digs away from claiming 1,000 digs.
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.
UNM cross country Head Coach Joe Franklin was named NCAA Division I Mountain Region Women’s Coach of the Year on Tuesday. He has been at the helm of the program for nine years, enjoying much success along the way. The leader of the pack said he often cites the motto “just have fun”. Maybe now he can take his own advice and enjoy the fruits of his hard work.
The New Mexico doubles team of Bart Van Leijsen and Hayden Sabatka fell in a tightly contested semifinal match at the 2015 USTA/ITA Indoor Tennis Championships in Flushing Meadows, New York on Saturday. Van Leijsen and Sabatka entered as the 29th ranked doubles team in the nation. They had a chance to qualify for the tournament a few weeks ago, but suffered a heartbreaking loss, losing two tiebreakers in the finals of the Regional Championships in Albuquerque on October, 25.
New Mexico linebacker Ryan Langford and punter Zack Rogers were named Mountain West Defensive and Special Teams Player of the Week by the conference on Monday.
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.
It’s not often that teams take group pictures after a win. However, New Mexico hasn’t had many victories like the one Saturday night in Boise, Idaho. UNM pulled one of the biggest upsets in program history by defeating heavily favored Boise State 31-24. The victory means the Lobos are bowl-eligible for the first time since 2007.
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.
The Lobos have been searching for a go-to player all season. Outside hitter Cassie House is beginning to emerge as that player as the season comes to a close. New Mexico (15-13, 8-7 MW) was staring a four-game losing streak in the face. The squad asked House for some guidance, and the tall Rio Rancho native answered with her first career double-double of 10 kills and a career-high 11 digs. Behind the hard-hitting outside, UNM conquered Fresno State (14-15, 6-9 MW) with a 3-0 sweep on Saturday afternoon.
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.
It takes more than one big win to change a team’s perception. Even after a big upset of Utah State last weekend, New Mexico is still considered a heavy underdog at Boise State on Saturday. The Broncos are a 30-point favorites over the Lobos in Boise, Idaho.
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.
The men’s season will likely come to a close. The New Mexico men’s cross country team's performance during Friday’s Mountain Regional Championship forced the team to fill the spectator role. The women’s team, however, is headed to Kentucky for the Division I Cross Country Championships.
Solutions by The State News
