SDSU dominated on the offensive and defensive
boards and
forced 17 turnovers and managed 10 steals in defeating UNM 55-34.
The Aztecs
moved to 16-4 overall and 4-2 in the MWC, half a game behind the
Lobos, who
fell to 17-3 and 4-1 in conference.
"It's exciting. We needed that one," said
Aztecs'
Jamaal Franklin, who scored 10 points in the win. "It was a really
big win
and New Mexico is a really good team. Like Coach Fisher always
stresses, you
can't win this league if you don't win home games. I feel like
this was a big
home win."
The 34 points registered by New Mexico were the
fewest for
the program in almost 40 years - when UNM scored just 32 on Jan.
31, 1976, at
Utah. The Lobos also shot an anemic 25 percent (11 of 44), their
lowest mark
since at least 1965.
"We weren't who we were," said UNM head coach
Steve Alford said. "We didn't execute our offense. We really got
dominated
inside, which we thought would be our strength. They beat us
points in the
paint; they beat us on the glass. They took away just about
everything that was
our strength."
How bad was it?
How bad was it? Consider:
- SDSU dominated UNM on the glass
42-26.
- The Aztecs outscored the Lobos
32-to-8 in the paint and 14-4 off the bench.
- New Mexico got a combined two points
from center Alex Kirk and forward Cameron Bairstow, who also
combined to go 1-of-12 from the floor.
"We just didn't execute," said UNM guard Hugh Greenwood. "They're not a great defensive team but they forced us
to turn
the ball over. We didn't rebound. We're at our best when we are
rebounding and
getting out and running."
The two teams battled evenly early on but the
Aztecs used a
14-3 run to take a 21-9 lead on a Xavier Thames three-pointer with
9:19 left in
the first half.
UNM managed to rally to cut to 25-19 but the
Aztecs finished
the half on an 8-0 run and led 33-19 halftime lead. New Mexico
finished the
half without a field goal in the final five minutes and had four
possessions
end with turnovers to end the half.
The Aztecs opened the second half on a 10-5 as
UNM was never
able to find any kind of offensive rhythm.
J.J. O'Brien led the Aztecs with 12 points and
10 rebounds.
Kendall Williams paced the Lobos with 14 points. Kirn and
Greenwood each pulled
down six rebounds to lead UNM.