by Tony Niklinski
Daily Lobo
The UNM men's basketball team came up empty-handed Friday night at The Pit, as the Lobos were defeated by the University of California 76-68.
The California Bears are a solid Pac-10 team, year in and year out. During last year's NCAA Tournament, the Bears went as far the second round before being eliminated by the University of Pittsburgh.
Throughout most of the game, the Lobos were ahead. At one point during the first half, UNM had a 13-point lead and were winning 30-17.
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Head coach Ritchie Mckay's offense once again proved that every player has an opportunity to knock down open shots.
The Lobos were in a groove during the first half. As a team the Lobos shot 40 percent from the field, including six-of-15 from beyond the 3-point line.
Senior guard Ruben Douglas scored the first two points of the Lobos' 100th season as a collegiate basketball program. Douglas finished with a game-high 26 points on nine-of- 23 shooting (three-of-10 from downtown). He was a perfect five-for-five from the charity stripe and he pulled down seven boards with one assist.
"I'm proud of my teammates," Douglas said. "They're young and I see promise."
The Lobos were undersized but they still managed to out-rebound their opponents 44 to 41.
Sophomore forward Jamaal Williams is 6 feet 6 inches tall and freshman guard Mark Walters is listed as 6 feet 2 inches. Both of them might seem small when compared to Cal's tall line-up but they held their own down low. Both Williams and Walters played like they were four or five inches taller Friday night. Williams and Walters combined for 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting, including three-of-nine from long-range. The duo also pulled down 14 rebounds, six were on the offensive end.
The Lobos started the second half the same way they started the first -- in the driver seat and in control of their destiny.
With 14:34 left in the game, the Lobos once again led by 13 points. On the verge of a blowout, the Bears called a time-out in order to stop the bleeding.
"We eased up a little once we had that lead," Douglas said.
Little by little, piece by piece, the Bears slowly chipped away at the Lobos lead in front of 16, 697 fans. The Bears trailed the Lobos since UNM took an early 5-2 lead with 18:04 left in the first half. They finally dug their way out of their manhole with 9:45 left in the second half. Brian Wethers, a 6-foot-5-inch guard, nailed a base-line jumper that gave them their first lead.
The senior finished the night with 17 points on eight-of-17 from the floor, including one-of-three from downtown. He also grabbed seven boards and dished out four assists.
UNM looked determined for victory and regained the lead with 8:10 left in the second half. It all went down when Walters nailed a 3-pointer off of one of Senque Carey's six assists. After the three went through the net, the scoreboard read 57-56, Lobos.
With 4:32 left in the ball game, Cal took the lead away from the Lobos when Amit Tamir knocked down a three ball off of teammate A.J. Diggs' pass. That trey gave the Bears a lead that would secure the win.
In the end, the Lobos lost by the score of 76-68. The Lobos were a perfect four-for-four from the free throw-line during the first half. However, in the second half they shot 47 percent from the charity stripe (seven-for-15).
UNM looks to take out its frustrations when it plays host to Northwestern State University tonight, in The Pit. Game time is 7:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast on KKOB, 770-AM.
