Sports

Men's basketball: Team stays positive despite losing streak

The losses keep piling up for the New Mexico men’s basketball team, and head coach Craig Neal continues to point to the team’s youth as the cause. Neal said that he is trying to stay as positive as he can with his young and inexperienced team, using the losses as motivation to get better. “I’ve been sending the message out to the guys to be real positive,” Neal said. “We need to get back to doing the little things, trying to stay within the culture that we’ve built. I know we’ve been struggling and just trying to do the little things to get back on the winning way.”

Women's basketball: UNM hoping for 9th straight victory

New Mexico will gear up for a showdown as the team heads into Las Vegas to take on the UNLV Rebels Saturday. The last time the two squads faced off, the Lobos squeaked by the Rebels 63-60. That game, on Jan. 21, UNM forced the win with its deep bench as three starters and a key bench player had early exits. The game required junior forward Alexa Chavez and junior guard Bryce Owens to be assisted off the court with injuries. Owens would later return in the contest to accumulate the team-high 15 points, but Chavez’s late injury sidelined her for the rest of the game.

Women's basketball: Lobos continue winning streak at SDSU

A second half surge against San Diego State preserved New Mexico’s eight-game winning streak during Wednesday night’s 63-47 victory. UNM came out sluggish offensively against the Aztecs, shooting just 9-27 from the field at the Viejas Arena. However, head coach Yvonne Sanchez’s second half adjustments sparked rhythm on the offensive side of the ball. Senior guard Antiesha Brown proved to be a big part of the Lobos’ first half problems. UNM’s leading scorer was unable to put anything together, going 0-2 from the field in the first 20 minutes of play.

Lobos offense sputters versus SDSU

A stagnant offense is not the best way to defeat the third best defense in the country. Running into the streaking first place San Diego State University Aztecs wasn’t necessarily the best situation for New Mexico, either. UNM suffered its fifth straight loss after a 63-46 thrashing by SDSU. The Lobos have now dropped six of their last eight games of the season. It’s the first time since 2007 that the Lobos have lost five consecutive games.

Road stretch this week for Lobo women

In the final stretch of the season, New Mexico will face a demanding road test against teams trying to knock the Lobos down from the number one spot in the Mountain West. UNM will face off against the San Diego State Aztecs and will immediately forge ahead to UNLV (10-13, 7-5 Mountain West) on Saturday without coming back to Albuquerque in between.

UNM football team brings low ticket revenue

For the past few years, the New Mexico football program has not been a main attraction for New Mexico Athletics. In fact, the 2014 season generated the second-lowest ticket revenue in seven years. The lowest ticket revenue was the 2011 season in which head coach Mike Locksley was fired from the University following his troublesome tenure with UNM.

Men's basketball: Lobos to face tough Aztecs sans Goodman

Today the New Mexico men’s basketball team will have to overcome something that its seen a lot of this season: adversity. The Lobos are coming off of a tough four-game losing streak to Mountain West Conference foes and the road doesn’t get any easier when they host first-place San Diego State at WisePies Arena. “Usually we are competing with them for championships but maybe we can play spoiler a little bit on the run to the championship,” head coach Craig Neal said. “It’s going to be a big game. They’re very talented. Coach (Steve) Fisher has done a great job, he’s had a great run this year.”

Sports briefs for Feb. 16, 2014

UNM rallied back from a 2-0 deficit against Oregon State for a 7-4 victory in the Surprise Tournament on Sunday. The Lobos (2-1) scored their seven runs across the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Freshman Carl Stajduhar hit a two-run home run in the sixth to gain a 3-2 lead. Stajduhar went 2-5 on the night. Freshman pitcher Luis Gonzalez tossed 4.1 innings of no-hit relief for the win. Junior starter Drew Bridges threw just three innings and allowed two runs.

Track and field: Lobos make strong showing ahead of MW

The New Mexico men’s and women’s track and field teams combined to break or tie six school records this weekend at the Don Kirby Invitational. Junior sprinter Ridge Jones broke the school records in both the 60- and 200-meter sprints. He clocked in at an altitude-adjusted 21.43 in the 200, breaking Larry Davis’ 14-year-old record of 21.44, to take seventh in the field. Jones also created a new 60-meter record with a time of 6.65, which earned him second place in the race. The junior had tied former Lobo and current USC Trojan Beejay Lee earlier this year with a time of 6.69.

Women's basketball: Pink Pack game ends in solid Lobo victory

New Mexico stood tall against Nevada’s six-foot–eight center to claim a 63-45 victory over the Wolf Pack on Saturday at WisePies Arena. The Lobos needed all the defensive help they could get against Mimi Mungedi, the Wolf Pack’s dominant center. Going into the contest, head coach Yvonne Sanchez said the team would need to play collectively in order to contain the towering player from Libreville, Gabon. “Man, that kid is tough,” Sanchez said. “Our kids worked like heck just to get her out of there, which limited their scoring — but they did a nice job.”

Men's basketball: UNM's early lead fizzles after half-time

As the conference tournament approaches, New Mexico has picked an unfortunate time to hit a brick wall. The Lobos are now fumbling over a four-game losing streak and have dropped five of their last six games. UNM certainly had the stage set to end the skid, but the Wolf Pack overcame a 15-point second-half deficit to take a 66-63 overtime victory at the Lawlor Events center. “The kids are working hard. We just have to figure out how to get over the hump,” head coach Craig Neal said in a release. “We played really well for a while, but we couldn’t finish the game. It’s one of those things that is upsetting.”

Volleyball team adds sand to prove its grit

New Mexico’s newest sport makes for an enticing lure for potential recruits to UNM’s volleyball program. Head coach Jeff Nelson and assistant head coach Lisa Beauchene are heading the sand volleyball program, which Nelson has taken on in addition to his duties indoors. Beauchene said the sand play appeals to a broader range of potential players. “It’s a way for us to get an edge on some of the teams that are very good programs,” Beauchene said. “It really complements our weather here, and brings some interest from the northern states and the east where maybe they don’t have that opportunity.”

Baseball: Lobos gear up for four-game weekend

Ray Birmingham isn’t afraid of constructing difficult schedules. In fact, the head coach of New Mexico’s baseball team often boasts about how difficult a slate the Lobos play. Another tough schedule is on tap for UNM this season, beginning with the Surprise Tournament in Surprise, Arizona this weekend. The Lobos will face Michigan State today, Northwestern on Saturday and Oregon State on Sunday and Monday. “Oregon State is the premier program in the country; they were number one in the country all year long last year,” Birmingham said. “That’s who we seek to play. We don’t have any protectionist scheduling here.”

Men's basketball: Greenwood, Delaney light up in lackluster season

Some of New Mexico’s losses this year have looked downright ugly. There is one bright spot for UNM, however, and it starts with the team’s two seniors. Guards Hugh Greenwood and Deshawn Delaney are leading the team in scoring this season with 11.5 points and 12.7 points per game, respectively. Interestingly, both Greenwood and Delaney averaged more points per game through the team’s 10 losses this season than the 14 wins. Greenwood is averaging just 10.7 points per game in UNM’s wins this season, due in part to him sharing the ball a little bit more. He is averaging 3.5 assists per winning game, while only 3.2 in losses this year.

Women's basketball: Height isn't everything

New Mexico has a tall obstacle to overcome in order to maintain the team’s winning ways. Nevada’s Mimi Mungedi, listed at 6’8”, is among the biggest players in the conference, and will look for success against UNM’s interior defense as the Lobos play host to the Wolf Pack. UNM is the hottest team in the Mountain West of late, riding a six-game winning streak and having won its past nine home games, while Nevada is coming off its first win in nine games. Head coach Yvonne Sanchez said the Lobos will need to keep Mungedi in check in order to come out on top in Saturday’s game.

Turnovers hurt UNM against CSU

The New Mexico Lobos dug themselves in too deep a hole on Tuesday night against a stingy Colorado State team. The Lobos dropped their third straight game of the season to the 70-59 at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Women's basketball: Lobos dominate Colorado State Rams in MW

New Mexico earned a share of second place in the Mountain West with a 67-40 blowout over Colorado State on Wednesday night. The Lobos dominated in nearly every aspect of the contest to snap a three-game losing streak against the Rams. UNM is riding a nine game home win-streak and have won six straight overall. Senior guard Antiesha Brown said the team was confident in beating CSU, but said she had no clue the Lobos were going to trample the Rams by that much.

UNM men look to bounce back at Colorado State tonight

The last time the New Mexico and Colorado State met, the Rams were ranked and had an unblemished record.

Women's basketball: Lobos maintain winning streak on the road

New Mexico continued its red hot play on Saturday, defeating Utah State 56-51. Head coach Yvonne Sanchez said beforehand that the Lobos needed to slow down Utah State’s freshman point guard Funda Nakkasoglu, and the team did just that. Nakkasoglu scored only 12 points and committed five turnovers at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, in Logan, Utah. The guard/forward is averaging 15.6 points per contest, according to the Mountain West.

With six seniors and one junior gone, the UNM men’s soccer staff needed to find new talent — and it looks like they’ve found it. Last week the UNM men’s soccer program announced six members of the 2015 recruiting class, a group that has big shoes to fill, as four former Lobos are currently in preseason with MLS clubs and a fifth is on trial with the USL LA Galaxy II. Two or three additional players are expected to sign in the upcoming months.