Mountain West Connection - New Mexico erases 14-point deficit to defeat Davidson, 86-81All you need to know about the Mountain West, and then somehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50409/mwc-fav.png2012-11-14T22:50:31-08:00http://www.mwcconnection.com/rss/stream/34050192012-11-14T22:50:31-08:002012-11-14T22:50:31-08:00ESPN's Katz: New Mexico to play Kansas in 2013
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<img alt="New Mexico head coach Steve Alford" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jONWL-B63bUZVvL0iB6_u-5wsqY=/0x13:297x211/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/3296599/steve-alford.0.gif" />
<figcaption>New Mexico head coach Steve Alford | US Presswire</figcaption>
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<p>Head coach Steve Alford of the New Mexico Lobos is on a mission to get his program more exposure. First he got UNM on as part of ESPN's 24 Hours of Hoops. Then the Lobos were signed up for a slate of exempt tournaments. Now Alford may have landed the big prize - a neutral site game against one of college basketball's traditional powers.</p> <p>It’s been accepted orthodoxy in LoboLandia that the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/new-mexico-lobos">New Mexico Lobos</a> men’s basketball doesn’t play away games. The main factor to that is that, unlike many major college athletic departments, UNM’s men’s basketball programs pays the bills for non-revenue sports – not the football team.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The football team was breaking even by the end of the Rocky Long era. That’s not longer the case (though football should get back to even financially under Bob Davie). But that hasn’t kept Steve Alford from trying to get marquee TV games against top flight opponents.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This week the nation got to see Alford and the break out of <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/124012/tony-snell">Tony Snell</a> against Davidson on ESPN. A few weeks back, news broke that the Lobos had signed an <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mwcconnection.com/mountain-west-basketball/2012/10/12/3494726/new-mexico-inks-exempt-tournament-deal-with-espn">exclusive agreement with ESPN</a> to participate in the network’s exempt tournaments for four years.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now Andy Katz of the Mothership is reporting on ESPN's <a target="_blank" href="http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation">College Basketball Blog</a> that New Mexico will be leaving the Land of Enchantment next season to play the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/kansas-jayhawks">Kansas Jayhawks</a>.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In an entry in ESPN’s Katz wrote today (at 5 a.m. no less):</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Meanwhile, <b>Kansas has signed up to play New Mexico in 2013</b> but the location is still unknown. The game could be in Kansas City... The Lobos continue to push for quality road games -- with a visit to Cincinnati next month to begin a new series the latest example. <b>Kansas, though, won't be making a return trip to the Pit.</b></i><b> </b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Apparently Andy Katz is the new Chuck Norris – Katz doesn’t sleep - he lies in wait, listening to the night wind for bits of basketball tittle-tattle.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, this bodes well for Lobo fans and for Alford’s stated goal of getting the program more exposure – particularly with the uncertainty of the Mountain West Conference’s TV deal and what the future holds for Alford and potential stars like <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/176455/nick-banyard">Nick Banyard</a>, Hugh Greenwood and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/124014/alex-kirk">Alex Kirk</a>. If that weren’t enough, rumor has it that UNM has lost a few transfers to conference and regional opponents because of that supposed lack of exposure. Alford and UNM seem to be trying to rectify that.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Playing exempt tournaments and top-flight opponents like Kansas, even outside The Pit, will help. The Lobos' game in Oklahoma City against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/oklahoma-st-cowboys">Oklahoma St. Cowboys</a> was a solid step, both competitively and exposure-wise.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">New Mexico can worry about playing the Tiffany programs at home later. For now, just get them on the hard court and compete.</p>
https://www.mwcconnection.com/2012/11/14/3648350/espns-katz-new-mexico-to-play-kansas-in-2013Kenn Rodriguez2012-11-13T02:36:03-08:002012-11-13T02:36:03-08:00New Mexico rebounds to beat Davidson 86-81
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<img alt="New Mexico's Tony Snell: Career-high 25 points vs. Davidson" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/J5WlUNn9K5TMPeM62Kk6zgRlYh4=/0x65:472x380/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/3176473/20120310_maw_ac4_022.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>New Mexico's Tony Snell: Career-high 25 points vs. Davidson | Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>Hosting Davidson before a national ESPN audience, the New Mexico Lobos used a big second half push and the power of The Pit to rally and defeat the Davidson Wildcats early Tuesday morning as part of ESPN television's 24 Hours of Hoops.</p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial;">The <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/new-mexico-lobos" class="sbn-auto-link">New Mexico Lobos</a> overcame a 16-point deficit first half deficit early Tuesday morning and rallied to claim an 86-81 victory over <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/davidson-wildcats" class="sbn-auto-link">Davidson Wildcats</a> before a crowd of 14,277 at The Pit in Albuquerque. The game was the second game of ESPN’s 24 Hours of Hoops and tipped off just after midnight local time.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Junior Tony Snell scored a game-high 25 points on a career high 22 field goal attempts and pulled down five rebounds while fellow junior <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/124011/kendall-williams" class="sbn-auto-link">Kendall Williams</a> added 17 points – going 13 of 14 from the free throw line - as UNM outscored Davidson 55-36 in the decisive second half. The Lobos finished the game 38 of 44 from the free throw line, pushing the Wildcats, who finished with 27 personal fouls, into foul trouble by consistently driving the lane. </span></p>
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<th class="td-left"> <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/events/109717">Final - 11.12.2012 </a> </th> <th>1</th> <th>2</th> <th>Total</th>
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<td class="td-name"><span class="loss"> <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/davidson-wildcats">Davidson Wildcats</a> </span></td>
<td>45</td>
<td>36</td>
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<td class="td-name"><span class="win"> <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/new-mexico-lobos">New Mexico Lobos</a> </span></td>
<td>31</td>
<td>55</td>
<td class="highlight">86</td>
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<p class="foot clearfix"><span class="link-more"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/events/109717">Complete Coverage ></a></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">"Obviously extremely proud of our basketball team," said UNM head coach Steve Alford after the game. "Davidson is an outstanding team. We knew they would be good from watching tape from last year. But they’re even better than advertised. To get down 16 to a team like this and come back in the last 14 minutes… I’m just extremely proud of this team,"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Davidson (1-1) was paced by De'Mon Brooks, who scored 22 points, and Tyler Kalinoski, Chris Czerapowicz and Clint Mann, each of who added 12 points. Czerapowicz finished with a 4 of 5 effort on 3-pointers while man went 4 of 7 from the field.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/124014/alex-kirk" class="sbn-auto-link">Alex Kirk</a> came off the bench to add 14 points and seven rebounds for New Mexico (1-0) and <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100859/demetrius-walker" class="sbn-auto-link">Demetrius Walker</a> added 10 points in just 14 minutes of play.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Davidson jumped out to a 10-0 lead as UNM missed their first five field goals and didn’t score their first points until the 16:15 mark. The Wildcats jumped out to the early lead using pinpoint accuracy on three pointers that seemed to stun the Lobos and quieted The Pit crowd.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">"We were a little stagnant in the first half," said Alford. "Their three shooting kind of shell shocked the team a little bit and we got a little frustrated offensively."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Davidson would push the lead all the way out to 25-9 at the 11:40 mark before the Lobos began to respond.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">UNM rallied and slowly began to trim the lead, cutting the Wildcats advantage to 37-31 with 1:34 left in the half. But Davidson closed the half with an 8-0 run to take a 45-31 lad into halftime.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">New Mexico opened on a 5-0 run in the second half that was short circuited when the Wildcat’s Jake Cohen hit a 3-pointer at the 18:06 mark. But the Lobos continued to claw, cutting the lead to 54-45 before managed another four-point bump to increase the lead to 58-45 with 14:18 left in the game.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">From there UNM went in a 16-3 run fueled by free throw shooting and an increased rebounding presence. The Lobos tied the game at 61-61 on a backdoor lay up by freshman <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/176451/cleveland-thomas" class="sbn-auto-link">Cleveland Thomas</a> with 9:17 left in the game.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">But Davidson remained game, and the lead changed hands four more times before UNM claimed the advantage at 70-68 on a pair of free throws by Williams</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">UNM pushed the lad to 81-75 but the Wildcats hit a pair of threes down the stretch to keep the game in question. UNM finally landed the knockout blow when Williams hit a pair of free throws ti make the score 85-81 UNM with seven seconds left. Brooks then airballed the ensuing 3-point attempt and the Lobos then ran the clock out.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">"I think the key in the second half was the play of our freshmen," said Alford. "(<a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/176455/nick-banyard" class="sbn-auto-link">Nick Banyard</a>) and Thomas were tremendous. They gave us a huge lift in a difficult game for freshmen to play in. I thought they energized us."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Alford also had high praise for The Pit crowd, which he said was a big key to the comeback.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">"The crowd was phenomenal – I just can’t say enough good things about our crowd," said Alford "Our kids were playing hard but we were jst getting ourselves beat. But the crowd never gave up and just continued to work for us. Then we got in a bit of a rhythm and the crowd went to a whole other level. It was a great atmosphere."</span></p>
https://www.mwcconnection.com/ncaa-basketball/2012/11/13/3639522/game-recap-new-mexico-86-davidson-81Kenn Rodriguez2012-11-11T22:29:34-08:002012-11-11T22:29:34-08:00Game preview: New Mexico vs. Davidson
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<img alt="De'Mon Brooks of the Davidson Wildcats" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/34a4F0CLnk90rHm3piMV-UxDIOc=/10x69:447x360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/3104123/141382094.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>De'Mon Brooks of the Davidson Wildcats | Jonathan Ferrey</figcaption>
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<p>New Mexico opens the season late Monday night against Cinderella Davidson of the Southern Conference as part of ESPN's 24 Hours of Hoops. The Lobos face a Wildcat team that returns most of the squad that defeated Kansas during the regular season and pushed Final Four participant Louisville in the NCAA Tournament. Here's a look at Davidson.</p> <p>In a season being touted as having one of the toughest non-conference schedules ever, the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/davidson-wildcats" class="sbn-auto-link">Davidson Wildcats</a> will be the toughest non-conference game the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/new-mexico-lobos" class="sbn-auto-link">New Mexico Lobos</a> will host in The Pit this season – and possibly the entire non-conference slate</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mountain West and Lobo fans alike may not recognize this due to Davidson’s not being a marquee name. But college basketball fans will remember that the Wildcats, out of the Southern Conference, defeated Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse 80-74 last season.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Certainly UNM head coach Steve Alford knows what his team is up against when they tip-off at 11:59 p.m. tonight as part of ESPN’s 24 Hours of Hoops.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"They are extremely good," said Alford. "We've seen them on tape enough - extremely talented. They're about eight deep but they run the floor about as well as anyone we'll play all year long. They shoot the ball from every position from three. They guard you."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Davidson (1-0) and head coach <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bob McKillop return their top eight scorers and five starters from last season’s squad that finished 25-8 and earned a 13-seed in the NCAA Tournament, losing to eventual Final Four participants Louisville in Portland, OR.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Among the vaunted returners are SoCon Player of the Year Jake Cohen, a 6-10 forward, and guard De’Mon Brooks. That duo averaged 30.0 points and 12.3 rebounds per game last season. Crafty guard <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100965/nik-cochran" class="sbn-auto-link">Nik Cochran</a>, who was also named to the SoCon preseason all-conference team, also added to the scoring, averaging 10.9 ppg with 3.6 assists per game.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"This is a very experienced team," said Alford. "All five starters are back from a team that won a championship last year and made the (NCAA) tournament. So my biggest concern right now is Davidson and we've got to get our guys prepared."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While the Lobos will be challenged to put the clamps on Brooks (that assignment may go to Lobo Tony Snell), they’ll also need to slow Cohen, a task that will likely be shared by center <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/124014/alex-kirk" class="sbn-auto-link">Alex Kirk</a> and forward <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/124013/cameron-bairstow" class="sbn-auto-link">Cameron Bairstow</a>.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Both teams are likely to try to run – and are good at it. The Lobos’ offensive keys in the transition game will be junior guards <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/124011/kendall-williams" class="sbn-auto-link">Kendall Williams</a> and <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100859/demetrius-walker" class="sbn-auto-link">Demetrius Walker</a> on the scoring end and sophomore <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/145787/hugh-greenwood" class="sbn-auto-link">Hugh Greenwood</a> on the rebounding end.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because of its thin reserves in the post, UNM must stay out of foul trouble (that will be the case the entire season). It also must try to control the pace whenever possible as the Lobos will be missing their spark plug reserve guard <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100712/jamal-fenton" class="sbn-auto-link">Jamal Fenton</a>, who often helps UNM get its transition game going.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The challenge New Mexico faces may be mitigated by Davidson’s unfamiliarity with the altitude. But having succeeded in Allen Field House, the Wildcats will not likely be intimidated by atmosphere of The Pit. The Lobos will be pushed hard to earn a win in their season opener.</p>
https://www.mwcconnection.com/ncaa-basketball/2012/11/11/3634272/game-preview-new-mexico-vs-davidsonKenn Rodriguez