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High hopes for freshman

Ryan Tomari | March 11

LAS VEGAS — Sure it was hyperbole when guard Kendall Williams said he couldn’t understate the importance of Thursday’s first-round tournament game against fourth-seeded Colorado State. A bit of an overstatement, the freshman guard compared the Mountain West Conference tournament game to “war.” What couldn’t be embellished, though, was his importance to the UNM men’s basketball team in its 67-61 win over the Rams at the Thomas & Mack Center on Thursday.

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CSU sent packing in down-to-the-wire victory

Shaun Griswold | March 11

LAS VEGAS — Once again, the UNM men’s basketball team will knock on BYU’s door. The fifth-seeded Lobos, behind forward Drew Gordon’s 13th double-double, knocked fourth-seeded Colorado State Rams out of the Mountain West Conference tournament 67-61 in a seesaw affair at the Thomas & Mack Center that saw five second-half ties and lead changes.

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Hoping for an extended Vegas tourney stay

Shaun Griswold | March 10

LAS VEGAS — Wyoming, pack the bags and go home; TCU, stay another day. The ninth-seeded Horned Frogs defeated eighth-seeded Wyoming 70-61 Tuesday to advance to face top-seeded BYU in the Mountain West Conference tournament quarterfinals.

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Hoping for an extended Vegas tourney stay

Ryan Tomari | March 10

LAS VEGAS — War is how the UNM men’s basketball team is describing it, but for those tired of the oft-used comparison, it’s more appropriately a game of Risk. On the line: an appearance in the Mountain West Conference tournament quarterfinals, and a likely date with No.

Sports

Marching on

Ryan Tomari | March 10

LAS VEGAS — Call them the flavor of the month. Forward Porche Torrance had two key blocks on Wyoming’s Aubrey Vandiver in the final 1:59, and the seventh-seeded Lobo women’s basketball team leaned on stingy, physical defense to shut down third-seeded Wyoming 67-61 Wednesday, setting up an improbable semifinals matchup against second-seeded TCU.

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UNLV suffers loss at home

Ryan Tomari | March 9

LAS VEGAS — The Thomas & Mack Center crowd couldn’t help the home team Tuesday. Fifth-seeded Utah took out the eighth-seeded UNLV women’s basketball team 55-44 in the first round of the Mountain West Conference tournament. First-year head coach Anthony Levrets earned his first MWC tournament victory, after replacing former head coach Elaine Elliott who took a leave of absence before the season started.

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‘Third time’s the charm’ for Air Force

Ryan Tomari | March 9

LAS VEGAS — Of all things, it was a 1981 hit song that inspired the Air Force women’s team to earn its second-ever Mountain West Conference tournament win. Shaking up the bracket, the ninth-seeded Falcons defeated fourth-seeded Colorado State 66-63 in the first game of the women’s MWC tournament on Tuesday.

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Key players find MWC energy

Ryan Tomari | March 9

LAS VEGAS — Might it be madness that UNM women’s basketball team’s head coach Don Flanagan loves the month of March? Maybe, but in getting past sixth-seeded San Diego State 65-57 in the first round of the Mountain West Conference tournament, the Lobos found new life Tuesday — but they might have expended too much energy to secure that second chance. To pull off the victory, Flanagan said he didn’t want key players to log a lot of minutes.

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March madness adds spring to Lobos’ step

Shaun Griswold | March 9

LAS VEGAS — The Lobos’ seed was unfamiliar, but the outcome was familiar. The seventh-seeded UNM women’s basketball — unfazed by its lowest seed since the Mountain West Conference’s inception — took its first step toward winning a sixth tournament championship with a 65-57 win over sixth-seeded San Diego State on Tuesday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

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Last chance in Las Vegas

Ryan Tomari | March 7

This late-season feel, to be sure, is foreign to the UNM women’s basketball team.

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Trio gets awards galore

Ryan Tomari | March 7

Ever since head coach Steve Alford took over the UNM men’s basketball team, the Lobos have made winning league awards seem like a given. On the backs of reliable point guard Dairese Gary, double-double machine Drew Gordon and lanky guard Kendall Williams, the Lobos notched their fourth straight 20-win season under Alford.

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Losing streak struck out

Levi Lewis | March 7

It didn’t take until the 11th hour for the UNM baseball team to get its first win of the season. The Lobos, finding momentum after an eight-game losing streak, took three games from the University of Texas-San Antonio in a four-game series over the weekend at Isotopes Park. Pitcher Bobby Mares threw seven scoreless innings to help the Lobos defeat the Roadrunners 8-3 Sunday. Head coach Ray Birmingham said he has been impressed with the way Mares performed in three season starts.

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Swept, but not left in the dust

Brandon Call | March 7

The Washington softball team showed exactly why it’s a national powerhouse. The undefeated, fifth-ranked Huskies swept the UNM softball team in a three-game series over the weekend at Lobo Field.

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Gary’s Work Cut Out

Ryan Tomari | March 7

It was pretty much like any other game played at The Pit in the last four years. Like so many times before, it was point guard Dairese Gary’s pass-first mentality that led to the Lobos’ first points — this time in the UNM men’s basketball team’s 66-61 victory over Air Force.

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Gary’s Work Cut Out

Shaun Griswold | March 7

It was a milestone and a memory-maker all wrapped up in one. The previously slumping UNM men’s basketball team gave its coach and senior leader a reason to celebrate after dispatching Air Force 66-61 Saturday at The Pit.

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Knicks’ redemption at hand

Isaac Avilucea | March 4

Long ago, the New York Knicks were an esteemed franchise. They hadn’t won an NBA title since 1973, but the Knicks nevertheless went to two championships during the 1990s.

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BYU win brings back bubble talk

Ryan Tomari | March 4

How big was the UNM men’s basketball team’s win against No. 3 BYU? Try gigantic. UNM’s 82-64 victory Wednesday in Provo, Utah, dampened the Cougars’ now-slim chances for a No.

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Different arena, but same results

Shaun Griswold | March 3

Just when you think the UNM men’s basketball team is left for the dead, it comes howling back. UNM shocked the basketball nation Wednesday with a 82-64 upset over No.

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In hopes of upset, redemption and a shot at NCAA

Shaun Griswold | March 2

The UNM men’s basketball team is no longer desperate for a win, but it is dreaming for an upset victory at No.

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BYU shoots to kill in last game at The Pit

Brandon Call | March 2

The UNM women’s basketball team said goodbye to its two seniors — Amanda Best and Jessica Kielpinski — who played in their final home game Tuesday. Best scored 10 points and Kielpinski chipped in seven, but it wasn’t enough to beat league-leading Brigham Young.