Sports

Sports

Opinion: Losing team, supportive fans

Joe Rull | February 5

Ah, the Pit.  The mile-high home of Lobo basketball since 1966 has a storied history as one of most daunting venues in all of college hoops, and certainly one of its loudest. With stands angling steeply to a playing floor, the Pit gives the fans a legitimate presence in the game.  It’s customary for the thousands of Lobo faithful to stay on their feet from the opening tip until University of New Mexico records its first points of the game. Generally, this comes in the game’s opening sequence to a raucous, Pit-worthy roar.  Cut to last week’s game against still-unbeaten San Diego State. 

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Sports

Sluggish Lobos no match for No. 4 San Diego State

Joe Rull | January 30

It was over before it started. But just to make sure, San Diego State helped themselves to 17 straight points to open Wednesday night’s matchup with the University of New Mexico men’s basketball team at the Pit. On a night when No. 4-ranked SDSU (22-0, 11-0 MW) was firing on all cylinders, UNM (16-7, 5-5 MW) was anything but. “I thought that opening three minutes for San Diego State was the most impressive I’ve ever gone up against (from) another team in my four years as a head coach ... You have to play the perfect game to get this one, and we, unfortunately, were far from it,” UNM head coach Paul Weir said after the loss.

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Sports

Coach Dyche named assistant coach for U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team

Angelina Pompeo | January 30

University of New Mexico Women's Soccer Coach Heather Dyche just crossed another threshold in her climb to national soccer prominence. She has been with the school for the past five years and created many opportunities for her team, going 55-37-10 during her tenure and taking a share of the 2018 regular season conference title.  It’s a lengthy résumé, but many Lobo fans and people in general may not be entirely up to speed on what she does outside of the school.

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Sports

Blackwell leaving UNM football program

Spencer Butler | January 29

On Saturday, Jan. 17, redshirt senior and defensive tackle Aaron Blackwell announced on Twitter that he will be leaving the University of New Mexico football program by entering the NCAA transfer portal. “I have ultimately decided after much praying and contemplation that it is best I leave University of New Mexico for my last season,” Blackwell said in the post. “I truly believe Coach Gonzales and his staff are the best for the job and wish them and University the best of luck moving forward.”

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Sports

OPINION: UNM's off to its best start in years, and we still can't tell if they're actually good

January 24

ALBUQUERQUE — After trouncing San José State earlier this week, UNM's sitting pretty at 16-5 well past the midway point of the season. That's their best start in years. But here's the thing — I've been covering the Lobos all year, and I still can't tell if they're actually good. They might have one of the best records in the country right now, but the modern age of analytics has given us countless ways to measure more precisely why teams perform in the ways that they do.  What I mean to say here is that, despite the great record, despite the high-scoring offense, despite not having lost at the Pit since last February — despite it all, UNM just isn't as good as they are lucky.

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Sports

Lobos drop two straight, continue inconsistent play

Andrew Gunn and Angelina Pompeo | January 22

In what is becoming a dispiritingly familiar narrative to the University of New Mexico women’s basketball faithful, head coach Mike Bradbury’s 2019-20 team dropped two straight games after a pair of rather convincing victories the week prior. Consistency, it seems, is an increasingly difficult quality to come by for Bradbury and company. In one of the lowest-scoring UNM women’s basketball games of the season, UNM (11-10, 2-6 MW) lost to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (9-9) at Dreamstyle Arena on Saturday, Jan. 18 in front of an announced crowd of over 5,000. The game ended in a score of 68-51.

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Sports

Lobos bounce back, remain undefeated at home

Joe Rull | January 22

If ever the Lobos men’s basketball team needed a morale-boosting win, Tuesday night’s home tilt against San José State was it. With the 86-59 victory, UNM improved to 16-5 on the season. Despite the recent uncertainty clouding the program, the Lobos are still clinging to a 13-0 record at home, its best start during the Mountain West era.

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Sports

Lady Lobos secure 73-62 win over Colorado State

January 21

The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team (11-8, 2-4 MW) hosted the Colorado State Rams (8-9, 2-4 MW) at home on Jan. 15 in a-must win game for each team. The game was driven by a burst of third quarter offense from UNM and a lights-out performance from redshirt senior guard Aisia Robertson.

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Sports

US soccer star Hope Solo coming to UNM

Andrew Gunn | January 20

A key figurehead in the United States women’s soccer team’s fight for equal pay is coming to the University of New Mexico. Hope Solo, whose 16-year goalkeeping career with the USWNT included a World Cup trophy and two Olympic gold medals, will lead a Q&A session at SUB Ballrooms A&B on Monday, Jan. 27 at 6:30 p.m. Her talk centers around one question: "Are sports serving American girls and women well?"

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Sports

Lobos humbled in blowout loss to Colorado State

Joe Rull | January 19

Maybe the first half of the Lobos' 2019 season was just a flash in the pan. Maybe the University of New Mexico's sagging defensive philosophy just isn't suited for the modern game. Or maybe it was both, as the Lobos (15-4, 4-2 MW) could only watch as Colorado State (12-7, 3-3 MW) caught fire from beyond the arc, hitting 19 of 28 attempts (67.9%) before the final buzzer, handing UNM a 105-72 loss on Jan. 15 at Moby Arena.

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Sports

Two men's basketball players suspended

Andrew Gunn | January 12

Everything was going right for the University of New Mexico men's basketball team — until it wasn't. Unfortunately for head coach Paul Weir and the UNM Athletics Department, one of the best seasons in recent memory has been largely overshadowed by a litany of recent criminal investigations. The team’s sterling 6-1 record since Dec. 14 and overall 15-3 season has been starkly juxtaposed against a backdrop of criminal sexual penetration and battery allegations, a DWI arrest and a lawsuit filed by a player against the school.

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Sports

Jackson, Lyle run the show as UNM harness Fresno State 78-64

Joe Rull | January 1

Notwithstanding the closer-than-desirable nature of many of UNM's games thus far, the Lobos have run up a perfect 11-0 home start to their 2019-2020 season, good enough for the best such record at the Pit since near the end of the Ritchie McKay era in 2005-2006 (a 12-0 home streak put to rest by BYU on Feb. 1, 2006).

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Sports

Aztecs crush Central Michigan for New Mexico Bowl title

Spencer Butler | December 31

The 14th edition of the New Mexico Bowl was like most football games at Dreamstyle Stadium in 2019: a blowout. However, instead of a University of New Mexico meltdown, the thrashing came via a Central Michigan Chippewas collapse as the San Diego State Aztecs claimed a 48-11 victory on Dec. 21 in front of a modest announced crowd of 18,823.

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Sports

Lobos best UC-Davis: Undefeated at the Pit

Joe Rull | December 29

Fresh off a week-long break, the University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (13-2, 2-0 MW) took on the University of California-Davis (5-10, 0-0 Big West) on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 29, coming away with a 74-69 victory. With the win, UNM improved to 10-0 at home, maintaining the lofty reputation of Dreamstyle Arena, better known as the Pit.

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Sports

Davie's buyout nears $1 million

Andrew Gunn | December 10

After an eight-year tenure as the head coach of the University of New Mexico football team, Bob Davie and Athletics Director Eddie Nuñez "mutually agreed to part ways" on Nov. 25. Davie will leave more than fresh memories of a woeful 2-10 season behind — he’ll also head out the door with a $825,000 severance check. The Board of Regents approved a contract buyout on Tuesday, Dec. 10 that will burn a nearly million dollar-sized hole in the University’s pocket over the course of 30 months. Nuñez confirmed the buyout to reporters following a closed-door session with the Regents

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Sports

Lobo basketball wrangles up Wyoming, leads Mountain West

Joe Rull | December 10

The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (9-2, 2-0 MWC) traveled to Laramie on Saturday afternoon to face the University of Wyoming (3-7, 0-2 MWC), recording a 79-65 victory and preserving their undefeated record in conference play.  The Lobos dominated around the rim Saturday, outscoring Wyoming 44-24 in the paint and out-rebounding the Cowboys 47-29. Thanks in part to senior forward Carlton Bragg’s early foul trouble, Corey Manigault recorded nine first-half points to go with four rebounds.

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Sports

Women's basketball loses in overtime at Boise State

Angelina Pompeo | December 5

The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team (6-2) met their match in a tight game against Boise State (5-4) last night, losing 82-83 in overtime.  During Thanksgiving weekend, the Lobos played in a small tournament in Cancun, Mexico. UNM beat Missouri 71-68 but ended up losing to #23 West Virginia 60-73. Coming out of that loss, the New Mexico women traveled to Idaho to play the mountain west opponents. 

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Sports

Lyle catches fire as Lobos escape in conference opener

Joe Rull | December 5

The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (8-2, 1-0 MWC) triumphed 80-78 Wednesday night against Boise State (4-3, 0-1 MWC), now having recorded a victory in their conference opener for the ninth consecutive season. Boise State got off to a hot start from the field, shooting 9-for-11 in the game’s opening minutes, including an opening 8-0 run. For much of the first half, UNM played catch-up, managing just 24 seconds with the lead in the first half.

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Sports

Holm hosts IncredAble workout

Amanda Britt | December 1

Local celebrity and UFC fighter Holly Holm hosted a workout training for her Albuquerque community on Nov. 23, benefiting IncredAble Adaptive MMA at the Jackson Wink MMA Academy. According to IncredAble’s website, their mission is to "empower and provide youth and teens, who experience a variety of environmental, physical and cognitive challenges with the skills and benefits of Mixed Martial Arts." The class cost $40 to attend, and all of the proceeds went toward funding the program.

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Sports

Davie's last game delivers ninth consecutive loss for Lobos

Spencer Butler | December 1

The University of New Mexico’s football team lost it's final game of the Bob Davie era, falling to Utah State, 38-25. The loss extended the Lobo losing streak to nine consecutive games, finishing off their 2019 season. Before the game began, the 21 seniors leaving the program were honored with a ceremony. This included a brief moment of silence in memory of Nahje Flowers, the Lobo defenseman who took his own life in November.