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Richard Stevens: Aggies were outplayed, outcoached by Lobos, Alford
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Photo by Craig FritzTribune
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Lobos Roman Martinez (30) and Chad Toppert go after a rebound while Jamaal Smith watches from the floor. Martinez scored a career-high 24 points as UNM whupped archrival NMSU 83-69 Wednesday night. The win was payback for a loss earlier this season in Las Cruces.
Photo by Craig FritzTribune
Tribune
Roman Martinez snaps off a pass in the second half against the Aggies. Martinez's 24 points were a game-high Wednesday night.
Photo by Craig FritzTribune
Tribune
From his seat in the stands, UNM alum Grant Harvey signals NMSU player Justin Harvey: "I don't feel you've played to the full extend of your abilities tonight." The Pit was almost packed Tuesday night for the Lobos' 83-69 win over the Aggies — the announced attendance was 17,243.
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It's time to give Steve Alford a raise. The University of New Mexico's $1 million dollar man is underpaid.
At least give the Lobos first-year coach a bonus for the 83-69 spanking he gave the New Mexico State Aggies in The Pit Wednesday night.
Alford's Lobos really aren't that good, and they weren't the most talented athletes in The Pit Wednesday. The Aggies were.
The Aggies were bigger and badder, too.
But the Lobos were the best team on the court. And because of how Alford has these tenacious ten Lobos playing ball, they were the best basketball players on the court Wednesday.
This wasn't merely a 14-point payback for UNM's 71-62 loss at Las Cruces on Dec. 4. This was Lobos taking the Aggies out back to the woodshed and giving them an old-fashion thrashing.
This also was Alford placing Aggies coach Marvin Menzies on Alford's lap and teaching Menzies a few things about fundamental, disciplined basketball.
The Lobos won this thing with the same stuff they threw at Texas Tech — intense defense, inspired rebounding, team play, clutch baskets, extreme confidence.
The win pushed UNM to 10-2 on the year which isn't a record manufactured by smoke and mirrors.
This is a product of a coach understanding the game of basketball and understanding the kids who play it.
This is getting Lobos to buy into team play. This is building confidence in young player like Roman Martinez, who had a career-high and game-high 24 points.
This is teaching Daniel Faris post moves, teaching J.R. Giddens to put some air under his free throws, teaching Chad Toppert how to move his feet on defense, teaching point guards the correct angles to attack defenses.
It's a whole lot of simple things that when touched by high energy and focus let you do things like beat the New Mexico State Aggies by 14 points.
"Today was all about us as a team," said Martinez.
The Lobos won this game in a fashion similar to their 80-63 pounding of Texas Tech.
The Lobos used several offensive bursts to slip into a healthy lead and then hit key shots to kill any hopes of an Aggies' comeback. The Lobos physically and psychologically kept the Aggies a beaten team.
The Aggies didn't exactly play smart. They were lazy fighting through picks and didn't use their bulk to attack the basket. The Aggies' board play also was not inspired.
In short, they played a lot like the Lobos played in Las Cruces.
"We didn't have any aggression in that game," said Martinez of the loss at NMSU.
The Lobos had a lot of everything Wednesday including lots of help from The Pit at 17,243 strong.
"I've liked (The Pit) since I've been here," said Alford. "But there is a difference when it gets to 17,000."
The Lobos took a 35-34 halftime lead after rolling to a 34-25 gap with 5:22 to play in that half. "We let them off the hook in the first half," said Alford.
The hook came back. The Lobos led 46-36 with 14:32 to play, 51-38 with 13:05 to play and 64-49 with 8:12 to play.
Martinez, who was 10-of-11 from the line, hit two freebies at 3:20 to push UNM up 79-60 and UNM cruised to the final 14-point win.
The Lobos, who were outrebounded by 16 in Cruces, beat the Aggies on the boards 36-24 and outscored NMSU from the line by 12 points.
"This whole thing was about toughness, because we got out-toughed down there," said Alford.
Said Lobos senior Jamaal Smith: "I think we did play with a chip on our shoulder."
Alford also gave credit to The Pit for helping UNM win this rivalry game.
"It's not even close (as a rivalry) fanwise," said Alford.
