Sports

Sports

Team wins all 3 games in weekend tournament

Mario Trujillo | November 23

It was a weekend of threes for the UNM men’s basketball team. Three games, three wins — over Nicholls State, Louisiana Tech and then Miami of Ohio on Sunday — three players on the All-Tournament team. Throughout the UNM-hosted Travelers Tournament, the Lobos put up three 80-point games, winning by double digits all weekend. In Sunday night’s tournament wrap up, the Lobos blew out Miami of Ohio University 85-60 to finish off a perfect 3-0 weekend.

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Sports

Winning field goal redeems kicker

Mario Trujillo | November 22

Boom. Boom. Boom. Let me hear you say Aho! A name scorned last week is now celebrated. A 27-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the Colorado State game may overshadow any sour memory fans had about kicker James Aho.

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Sports

Tides finally turn after season-long losing streak

Isaac Avilucea | November 22

Curse ye, Colorado State. Curse ye, for ruining the UNM football team’s quest for imperfection. The Rams, entering Saturday’s contest riding a seven-game losing streak — outdone only by the Lobos, who had lost 14 consecutive games dating back to last year — looked like they had swapped uniforms with UNM at University Stadium. (Note to Athletics Director Paul Krebs: This slim 29-27 win for the Lobos doesn’t merit a contract extension for Locksley.

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Sports

Won and ten

Ryan Tomari | November 22

Certain things weren’t meant to be set in stone. For example, an 0-12 season for the UNM football team.

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Sports

Lobos lose momentum in overtime

Nathan Farmer | November 20

The UNM men’s soccer team’s season ended in heartbreak on Thursday. An overtime goal in the 98th minute by Portland midfielder Collen Warner sent the Lobos and an enormous crowd home disappointed, and Portland moved on to the next round 2-1. “This hurts,” said head coach Jeremy Fishbein, whose team finished 12-7-1 overall.

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Sports

Football program urges fans to ‘Think Pink’

Ryan Tomari | November 19

Mike Locksley has battled on the football field for 20-plus years, but nothing could prepare him for the news that his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Locksley’s mother, Venita Locksley, a fighter, survived breast cancer.

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Sports

Locksley still making empty promises

Isaac Avilucea | November 19

Week in, week out, the media continues to put a quarter in that old Locks’ jukebox. And why not, when it plays such lyrical prose, such melodic, sweet-sounding music? If the head coaching gig doesn’t work out, Mike Locksley should consider becoming a motivational speaker. To his credit, if there’s one thing Locksley and his players have learned how to do over the course of this season, it’s to linguistically sweeten the tart. So much so, in fact, that should the Lobos go 0-12, Locksley, please mull over giving the eulogy at UNM’s season-ending memorial service. Figuratively, Locksley was planning on winning a game this year.

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Sports

Team fails to deliver in game's second half

Ryan Tomari | November 18

The UNM women’s basketball team didn’t have enough speed or force to stop Oklahoma State on Wednesday. The Cowgirls tired out the Lobos in the semifinals of the preseason Women’s National Invitational Tournament at The Pit, 70-56, putting the Lobos 2-1 in the season. “We played a good first half, but in the second half we couldn’t shoot,” said head coach Don Flanagan.

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Sports

Team earns NCAA bid, prepare to battle Pilots

Nathan Farmer | November 18

The UNM men’s soccer team’s season was kept alive by the NCAA Selection Committee. The Lobos earned an at-large bid during Monday’s selection show and will play Portland at home on Thursday.

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Sports

Senior shines in rivalry knockout

Ryan Tomari | November 18

LAS CRUCES, N.M.  The solo senior from the Lone Star State shined bright Tuesday at the Pan American Center. Roman Martinez, the only senior on the 2009-10 UNM men’s basketball team, tied his careerhigh with 24 against in-state rival, New Mexico State. Martinez was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine.

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Sports

Players dominate on Aggies' home court

Isaac Avilucea | November 18

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — What the UNM men’s basketball team learned Tuesday at the Pan American Center: The Aggies aren’t hemophiliacs. Yes, NMSU bled — for that matter poured in the first 20 minutes of Tuesday’s contest, down 16 at intermission — but eventually the blood coagulated, and the Aggies’ apparent mortal wound didn’t turn out to be as deadly as first thought. When all was said and done, the Lobos eked out a 97-87 victory over their inner-state rivals, marking the Lobos’ fourth consecutive win over NMSU, two of those wins coming in Las Cruces.

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Sports

Hard-won victory teaches tenacity

Isaac Avilucea | November 16

Now and again, the UNM women’s basketball team will face an oddball squad that gives them problems. That happened on Sunday at The Pit, though the Lobos, thanks to some adept coaching from head coach Don Flanagan, got past Florida Gulf Coast’s lineup traps for an 80-64 victory. The Lobos advance to face Oklahoma State in the semifinals of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament on Wednesday. FGCU was quite the conundrum for the UNM women’s basketball team. What the Eagles lacked in size, they made up for in grit, constantly hounding the Lobos’ post players with busy hands.

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Sports

Highlanders laid low

Mario Trujillo | November 16

UC-Riverside was finished almost before the game began. The game was close — for all of five minutes.

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Sports

Sophomore dream team rules court

Ryan Tomari | November 16

The low post seemed to be a big problem for the UNM men’s basketball team. Hold your horses. Will Brown and A.J.

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Sports

QB: We had plenty of opportunities

Ryan Tomari | November 16

Somehow, some way, the UNM football team finds new ways to beat themselves every week. Even though it seemed the Lobos had a fighting chance, they again shot themselves in the foot, almost literally, in a matchup against BYU at University Stadium on Saturday. The Lobos lost to No.

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Sports

Nationals in sight, a few steps farther

Eddie Zayas | November 15

Two teams, two different futures. The men’s and women’s cross country teams hosted the NCAA Mountain Regional at the UNM Championship Golf Course on Saturday, but the Lobos couldn’t keep up the momentum they built in their previous victories. It was a bitter weekend following both teams’ title sweeps at the Mountain West Conference Championships the week before. The men’s team followed up that performance by finishing third in Saturday’s event and will advance to nationals, pending the mere formality of an at-large bid, which shouldn’t be a problem. The women’s team turned in an uncharacteristic performance, coming in fifth place, after finishing first in the Mountain West Conference Championships. That left them in a tough spot, head coach Joe Franklin said. “Nationals is still possible,” he said.

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Sports

Men's soccer aims high as tournament begins

Nathan Farmer | November 13

The UNM men’s soccer team’s fate hinges on how it does when the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament, which got underway on Thursday in Denver. After finishing second in conference with a 5-2 league record behind undefeated Sacramento State, the conference tournament has become a must-win for the Lobos. After Saturday’s crucial 2-0 win over UNLV, the Lobos were guaranteed the second seed, which assured them a bye game in the first round. “That last win was huge,” said sophomore standout Michael Green.

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Sports

BYU won't hold back for 0-9 team

Isaac Avilucea | November 12

Mike Locksley may just have an undiagnosed case of dissociative amnesia. The same could be said of the UNM football team. Neither Locksley nor defensive end Jaymar Latchison can recall the Lobos’ series record against BYU: 43-14-1. Curiously, Locksley rapidly rattled off a barrage of statistics during Tuesday’s weekly media luncheon. But when it came to the Lobos’ record against ranked BYU squads, Locksley conveniently skipped over it, until a reporter brought it to his attention. “I like to have selective memory when it comes to negative things, for the most part,” he said. He kind of has to, since UNM, when facing the Cougars while ranked, has managed just an anemic 1-15 record.

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Sports

Alford teaches his team humility and synergy

Isaac Avilucea | November 12

And so begins a behind-the-scenes peek into the making of a motion picture starring Darington “Butter” Hobson, the UNM men’s basketball team’s junior college transfer, widely thought to be former Lobo men’s basketball swingman J.R.

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Sports

Sophomore a surprise success

Mario Trujillo | November 12

As a young player, sophomore guard Lauren Taylor wasn’t strong, she wasn’t quick and she didn’t have hops.