The UNM men's basketball team passed its last test of the semester, earning a hard fought 87-80 win against Tennessee Tech University Saturday night in The Pit.
The Lobos used a 21-8 second half run and some timely defense down the stretch to survive and improve their record to 5-3. With eight days before their next game, the Lobos cleared their final hurdle heading into finals week.
"It's a great way to end the first part of the year before we go into exams," head coach Fran Fraschilla said.
Tennessee Tech, the preseason pick to win the Ohio Valley Conference, used a variety of defenses to try to stop the Lobos, but UNM countered with good ball movement and a height advantage inside to shoot 52 percent for the game.
"This team threw the kitchen sink at us like we knew they would," Fraschilla said. "It's like playing North Carolina, except in Tennessee Tech uniforms. I thought our guys handled their composure pretty well. We needed a game to grind out."
UNM trailed 43-39 at halftime but turned up the defensive pressure in the second half to pull out the win. The Lobos stymied the Golden Eagles (5-2) into shooting 42 percent after halftime.
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The Lobos trailed by four points at halftime and found themselves trailing by six just seconds into the second half after a basket by Tech's Damien Kinloch. The Lobos would recover, rattling off the next eight points, while holding the Golden Eagles without a bucket for three minutes to take a 47-45 lead.
"I thought our defense toughened up," Fraschilla said. "We were more team oriented in terms of helping each other. They got less open looks in the second half than they did in the first half."
The Lobos also showed improvement on the offensive end, attacking the basket more aggressively and going inside. The assertiveness paid off as they made frequent trips to the free throw line.
UNM went on another spurt minutes later to take command of the game. With the scored tied at 50, the Lobos scored nine of the next 11 points, seven of which came at the charity stripe.
The Lobos built a double digit lead for the first time after they burst out on an 8-0 run to build an 11 point lead with just over eight minutes left in the game.
The run started with a lay-up off an offensive rebound by freshman forward Jamaal Williams.
Senior guard Tim Lightfoot continued the offensive spurt with a 3-pointer and junior guard Senque Carey followed his example by hitting a three of his own. Sophomore forward Patrick Dennehy ended the run with a turnaround jumper on the baseline.
The Lobos went to the free-throw line 26 times in the second frame, making 19, compared to three-of-four in the first half.
"We knew we had a height advantage in the game," Dennehy said. "They were going to be a smaller team and quicker and play on the perimeter and we were going to have to guard that. That was their advantage. Our advantage was our height and we used our advantage well."
The pesky Golden Eagles, however, would not go away quietly, clawing within five points at 78-73 with 2:20 thanks to a 9-1 run. Tech had numerous chances to cut further into the lead, but missed several shots down the stretch and junior guard Ruben Douglas sealed the win by making six straight free throws.
UNM had a balanced attack, with four players in double figures led by the frontcourt. Dennehy scored a career-high 16 points on six-of-eight shooting from the field.
Freshman forward Chad Bell chipped in with a career-high 10 points.
Douglas and junior guard Marlon Parmer led the scoring from the perimeter, contributing 12 and 15 points, respectively.
"We made some great plays offensively throughout the night," Fraschilla said. "And Pat and Chad were very good inside, I thought, particularly in the second half."
Neither team had trouble scoring in the first half, with both teams shooting better than 50 percent from the field.
The Lobos jumped out to an early 6-1 lead and led nearly the entire first half, but only by a few points.
UNM's biggest lead was by six points as the Golden Eagles stayed in striking distance by making 13-of-15 free throws and six-of-11 3-pointers.
Tech was finally able to overtake the Lobos, going on a 12-2 run late in the first half to take a four-point lead into halftime.
Tech had four players in double figures, led by guard Brent Jolly's 20 points, including three-of-five 3-pointers.
The Lobos next game is Sunday against intrastate rival New Mexico State University at 3 p.m. in The Pit.
