The Lobo men’s basketball team won their first ever victory in The Pit nearly 50 years ago, by beating Abilene Christian 62-53. Wednesday night the Lobos had a little déjà vu — garnering an almost identical victory.
The Lobos (5-2) picked up a 64-55 victory over the Wildcats (3-3), after withstanding a few early runs and playing without two of its starters.
Head coach Craig Neal said junior Sam Logwood was a scratch before the game, as he was nursing a deep leg contusion that limited his mobility.
The Lobos didn’t expect to play without senior forward Tim Williams, but he was taken out of the game to be examined after getting hit in the neck on the first play of the game.
Neal said he was told his star forward could play, but felt Williams “just didn’t look good,” and it was a coaching decision to keep him out in the second half.
Williams contributed eight points, even though he only played 16 minutes, and was part of a run that put the team out in front.
Senior center Obij Aget scored the first two points of the 50th anniversary matchup, but Abilene Christian answered by scoring the next seven points of the game.
Aget finished with 12 points and five rebounds in just 18 minutes of action.
Williams and junior guard Elijah Brown banded together to pull the Lobos to a tie after the first television timeout, 8-8.
The Wildcats got in the lane early and took advantage of some opportunities, taking an early three point lead in the game, 19-16. But the Lobos used two mini-runs to seize control before the end of the first half.
Junior forward Joe Furstinger dished out a couple of dimes to Williams down low, sandwiched between a pair of jump shots of his own to reclaim the lead and go up 24-19.
After the Wildcats had tied the game again later in the half, Aget spurred the Lobos by scoring seven straight points starting with a pretty alley-oop from Brown.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
New Mexico took a 35-28 lead into halftime, and although it received some late resistance, were never really challenged in the second half.
The Lobo offense looked out of sorts at times, and Abilene Christian had a pair of chances to cut the lead to five with about two minutes remaining
ACU’s Jaren Lewis missed a bunny at one end and UNM’s Xavier Adams made them pay with the first of several hustle plays. Instead of trailing 62-57, Adams sank two free throws to put the Lobos up 64-55, which proved to be the final score.
Adams also went to the ground to collect a loose ball after a Wildcat miss, calling timeout to retain possession. And he collected a late rebound to stymie any chance for a comeback.
“I thought ‘X’ was the main guy today,” Neal said, referring to Adams. “Made some big plays, getting on the floor, getting some rebounds, making some timely put-backs.”
Adams said he prides himself on bringing energy to the team, and that was why he came to New Mexico. He stepped up to help fill the void left by the two missing starters, pouring in 10 points and collecting five boards.
The energy of the crowd and the feeling that comes with playing in something like a 50th anniversary game is something the head coach said he knew he would feel, but didn’t know how powerful it would be until the moment was upon him.
Neal said he wasn’t sure how much the players realized what they were a part of Wednesday night. He said they talked about it before the game and he believes it will be something they will have fond memories of later in life.
“They are going to go down in history playing in the 50th anniversary game, and that should mean something to them,” Neal said. “But I don’t know if that sinks in — it’ll mean something to them when they’re my age.”
Neal said it was too early to assess whether Logwood or Williams would be available for Saturday’s game at Illinois State. That game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
Robert Maler is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers football and men’s and women’s tennis. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler.
