Up 13 points and in control of the game with 17:23 left in the second half, the Lobo men’s basketball team broke Colorado State apart.
The Lobo defense spared the Rams just two field goals in the next 10 minutes as UNM jumped out to a 20-point lead and eventually sealed an 85-52 win Wednesday night at The Pit.
“I thought we attacked. I thought we played strong. We were physical,” head coach Steve Alford said.
Coming off a two-game losing streak, which included a letdown at home against San Diego State and a 19-point lopsided defeat to UNLV on the road last Saturday, UNM (16-4, 2-2 MWC), needed to muster a win to stay in contention for the Mountain West regular season title.
“Some of the hardest things in athletics is when you’ve been knocked down, is to see how you’re going to react,” Alford said. “Our guys really reacted even better than what we’d hoped.”
The Lobos came out firing, hitting four of their first five shots to start the game. Two of those baskets were 3-pointers from sophomore guard Tony Snell.
The shots kept falling.
With 7:38 left in the half, a steal by junior forward Chad Adams led to a layup by freshman guard Hugh Greenwood and ignited a 17-2 run that gave the Lobos a 43-21 lead with under three minutes to go.
Despite giving up five quick points to start the second half, the Lobos response matched the intensity from the first half — unlike the previous two games.
“At the UNLV game and the San Diego State game, we were feeling comfortable at half time,” senior forward Drew Gordon said. “This time we had to make sure that we maintained focus and kept the pressure the whole game.”
And keep the pressure they did.
The Lobos forced the Rams into 20 turnovers and held them to 37.2 percent shooting for the game, including 21.4 from 3-point range.
Colorado State (13-6, 2-2 MWC) was held to one point over its season low of 51, which it recorded four days ago against Wyoming.
The Lobos finished with four players in double-digits.
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Gordon recorded his 11th double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Snell and senior guard Phillip McDonald each added 12 points and junior guard Jamal Fenton had 10.
The Lobos dominated fast break points 25-4 and on the bench outscored the Rams 42-5.
Alford, who wore his red blazer, will continue to do so for the next three games. After the UNLV loss, he told his team he was going to challenge it more than he ever has.
“It’s going to be 13 days like they’ve never seen,” Alford said. “Red blazer will be out again Saturday. It’s on.”
“Basketball is not easy at this level, and a lot is going to be thrown at them,” Alford said. “This is a pretty important 13 days of teaching that we are doing and the guys have bought it so far, but they still have a long way to go.”
