With just 2:32 left in UNM's 65-54 win over Utah, head coach Ritchie McKay began a timeout by walking away from his team.
He headed toward the other end of the court, then pumped his fist hard and let out a roar as he shot both hands, palms up, into the air repeatedly, encouraging the crowd of more than 17,000 to get on its feet and join in the celebration.
It was a scene indicative of the electric atmosphere at The Pit. The Lobos won their biggest, most important matchup of the season against the No. 13 team in the country, which was coming off an 18-game winning streak.
"That crowd was phenomenal, and I've never seen our guys get that excited," McKay said. "Matter of fact, I was getting a little excited on occasion."
In a contest that matched the top two players in the Mountain West Conference - Utah's Andrew Bogut and the Lobos' Danny Granger - UNM's Mark Walters delivered like the future pro.
The 6-foot-2-inch, 225-pound guard had a game-high 22 points and six rebounds.
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"He was great tonight, just phenomenal," McKay said. "He expended a lot of energy against tough Utah defense on the perimeter, and I just can't say enough about his game. That was an all-league performance."
Walters' biggest shot came with less than four minutes left in the game, when he let go a high-arching fadeaway three in the face of his defender from the top of the key. With the shot clock winding down, the ball banked off the backboard and went in, giving UNM its biggest lead of the night at 56-42.
Walters just shook his head and put his hands in the air, reminiscent of a classic Michael Jordan clip against the Portland Trailblazers in the 1992 NBA finals.
"He called that bank, too," Granger said. "I heard him."
Walters said his success against Utah was just a matter of running the offense through his big men, Granger and David Chiotti, down low.
"Dave was kicking it to me," he said. "I kept having to shoot it because I was wide open."
Also key for the Lobos was limiting the opportunities of the 7-foot Bogut, who was lauded last week in Sports Illustrated as the best big man in the country.
"I probably don't want to say too much about it because we may play them again," McKay said of their defensive strategy against the big man. "He's such a great player that you really have to change things up against him. If he gets in a groove and knows what you're doing, then he's going to get you."
It was primarily Chiotti's job to hold Bogut in check, and despite giving up four inches, he bodied up and banged down low with the Utah center throughout the game. Whenever Bogut got by him, a Lobo help defender was waiting.
When the two teams met Jan. 22 in Utah, Bogut devoured the Lobos and finished with 22 points and a career-high 20 rebounds.
Monday night he had 15 and 13.
If McKay's jubilance during the timeout wasn't enough, the sight of The Pit crowd flooding the court as time expired drove home what it meant for the Lobos to end Utah's undefeated run through the MWC.
UNM sits in second place.
Granger had 15 points and nine rebounds. Chiotti had 10 points and Alfred Neale scored 8 points and grabbed nine boards.
