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.
While facing a 2-0 deficit in Las Vegas, the Lobos comeback pursuit fell short on Thursday night. New Mexico has had problems all season long in the fifth set and Thursday night’s showing against the Rebels was no different. UNM (14-13, 7-7 MW) have gone 1-6 in matches extending to five games.
There aren’t usually many people swinging broad swords or spears on the floor of Johnson Gym. No, it wasn’t a reenactment of any sort but a demonstration of several fighting styles at the 4th Annual Martial Arts Expo at UNM. Several martial arts were on display including: karate, Japanese jujutsu, mixed martial arts, judo, fencing and Shoa-Lin Kung Fu.
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.
However unlikely it seemed at the beginning of the season, New Mexico is just three wins away from earning a spot in the Mountain West Championship game. All UNM has to do is win its remaining three games of the season against Boise State, Colorado State and Air Force – the latter two are at home – to secure a spot. The Broncos are 30-point favorites over the Lobos when the teams match up this Saturday in Boise, Idaho.
The Lobos will finally get the opportunity to run in front of their home crowd as they compete at the NCAA Mountain Regional Cross Country Championships on Friday. At the beginning of the season coach Joe Franklin outlined two main goals: win the Mountain West Conference Championships, and earn a spot to compete in nationals. The women completed the former on Oct. 30 in Reno, Nevada, and now both teams have a chance to participate in nationals.
Just last week the Lobos were in position to make a run at the No. 2 spot in the conference. This week New Mexico is fighting to stay above .500. At the tail end of UNM’s four-game home stand, the Lobos couldn’t put together a win when they really needed one. Barring a major meltdown from one of the three teams ahead of UNM in the standings, New Mexico will look to maintain a fourth-place spot in the conference.
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.
The UNM men’s soccer team fell 1-0 to the No. 17 South Carolina Gamecocks during the Conference USA Quarterfinals Wednesday night. Head coach Jeremy Fishbein described the loss as “gut-wrenching.” The Lobos (8-6-4) saw a lot of the ball, outshooting the Gamecocks 12-9, and 5-3 with shots on goal. But their efforts were not enough for a win.
After what could be described as a less-than-ideal regular season, the Lobos sneaked through to clinch a spot in this year’s Conference USA Championship. The Lobos had trouble during the regular season of conference play, only winning two matches. However, they say they are ready to take advantage of the opportunity presented to them.
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.
Sometimes it takes more than skill to garner a victory. New Mexico’s defense kept UNM in Saturday’s game against Utah State, but Head Coach Bob Davie said the Lobos were due for some good fortune during the squad’s 14-13 victory. The game was by no means a fluke, Davie said. But if it weren’t for some favorable bounces, a missed field goal and timely penalties, things could have been different for New Mexico late in the contest.
Solutions by The State News
