Sophomore forward David Chiotti had his first career double-double and senior point guard Javin Tindall tied his Division I scoring best in the Lobos' 86-59 defeat of the New Mexico Highlands University Cowboys Monday at The Pit.
Tindall jumped out to hit a pair of 3-pointers and a reverse layin, which he managed to toss up through the arms of towering defenders, to score eight points in the first four minutes of the game.
Tindall had nine of UNM's 19 points with less than 12 minutes remaining in the first half.
From there the Lobos rapidly built a demanding 12-point lead with scores from Tindall, Chiotti, forward Alfred Neale and guard Mark Walters.
UNM connected on its first 10 shots.
Chiotti and Neale matched up for a give-and-go, as Chiotti snatched the offensive rebound and had the ball waiting for Neale as he passed through the lane and to the basket for the dunk.
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"The Lobos shoot it awfully well," NMHU head coach Ed Manzares said. "We had a tougher time guarding the perimeter and Chiotti and Neale controlled the tempo inside. The Lobos have a lot of great athletes."
UNM suddenly turned cold late in the first half. After leading by as many as 13, the Lobos' lead began to slip away until they led by only five, 2 minutes before the half.
"They were hitting their shots," junior transfer Collins Ferris said. "They were on fire and we were in a slump a little bit."
UNM looked refreshed after the long break, and with back-to-back 3-pointers, Neale set the stage for what would be a long second half for the Cowboys.
"We kind of slacked off for a time - we weren't playing Lobo basketball," Neale said. "We knew from the jump that we had to pick it up."
The start of the second half was similar to the start of the first, but this time UNM took the lead and ran.
After Neale swatted 6-foot-8 Jamaal Weaver's jump shot in the paint, Ferris hit from 3-point territory to give UNM a 19-point advantage.
Tindall continued his scoring ways contributing nine points in the second half, even though the starters saw limited minutes in the later period.
Ferris had eight points and freshman guard Ryan Wall had six off the bench.
It was UNM's eighth consecutive win and they have yet to lose this season. Though the team has shown drastic improvement from last year, McKay said the level of competition has not been great for his team so far this season.
"We won the other night by fifty-something and we won tonight by 27," he said. "I know they're competition, but honestly I don't know how good we are. Our guys have motivated themselves this whole eight-game stretch."
Chiotti pounded down 19 points and 10 rebounds for UNM and Neale added 16 points and six boards.
The Lobo men's team will have the rest of the holiday week off and will return to action Monday at The Pit.
Tipoff against the University of Portland will be at 7 p.m.
