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UNM Men's Basketball: The slide stops, the fight begins with 91-83 win over Wyoming

Three players were ejected for a scuffle late in the game, but the Lobos still broke a three-game losing streak

By Jeremy Fowler
Tuesday, January 30, 2007

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Three players were ejected for participating in a fight during the closing minutes of the Lobos' 91-83 win over Wyoming on Jan. 30, 2007.

Three players were ejected for participating in a fight during the closing minutes of the Lobos' 91-83 win over Wyoming on Jan. 30, 2007. Watch »

These days, even wins turn into something dark for the University of New Mexico.

Three players were ejected for participating in a fight during the closing minutes of the Lobos' 91-83 win over Wyoming on Tuesday.

Lobos point guard Jamaal Smith threw a punch at Wyoming guard Brad Jones after the clock stopped at 1:10. Jones and Cowboys guard Brandon Ewing also were tossed after officials took 10 minutes to dissect the issue on video.

Smith and Ewing got tripped up while Lobos guard J.R. Giddens tried to rebound over Wyoming's Joseph Taylor. Smith threw a punch at Jones, who was trying to help his teammate. Ewing, meanwhile, pushed Lobos guard J.R. Giddens. Taylor kicked Smith when he was on the ground. UNM coach Ritchie McKay and assistant coach Brad Soucie had to physically restrain a flailing Smith.

"It was a terrible incident," Smith told The Tribune, declining to discuss details. "I'm sorry that it happened. That's not my nature. This is a first for me. I wish it wouldn't have happened."

The Lobos will likely be without Smith for Saturday's game at Colorado State. NCAA rule 10-19-2 states "the first time an individual participates in a fight during the season, the individual shall be suspended from participating in the next NCAA game."

Kim Melcher, the communications director with the Mountain West Conference, said a conference can decide to strengthen the punishment if it sees fit. The MWC must review the tape on Wednesday before coming to a conclusion, Melcher said.

Ewing declined comment after the game. McKay, however, didn't blame his players, namely Smith, for hitting a threshold. McKay still needs to see the tape, he said.

"I thought our guys responded to what was happening out there," McKay said. "The game got really physical, and about the last five minutes they decided to foul on every possession. As a player, you can only take so much of that. I think Jamaal kept getting pushed down to the ground. How many times can you get pushed down without coming back?"

Mike Roberts, the Lobos' play-by-play announcer, said he doesn't recall a similar incident in the last 40 years watching games in The Pit.

Now back to basketball. A 14-3 run midway through the second half propelled the University of New Mexico to its first win in more than two weeks.

The Lobos (13-10, 2-6 in Mountain West Conference) finally gave The Pit crowd something to cheer for after suffering a 21-point blowout six days ago against BYU. The announced crowd of 12,404 watched Wyoming take a 34-30 halftime lead.

UNM snapped a three-game losing streak thanks largely to guard Ryan Kersten, who finished with a season-high 20 points, 14 of which came from the free-throw line (14-of-16). Four players finished in double figures for the Lobos, including guards Darren Prentice (13 points), Tony Danridge (11) and Chad Toppert (10). Forward Aaron Johnson had a season-high 14 rebounds.

One player who didn't join the scoring surge was Giddens, who didn't play in Saturday's 76-72 loss to UNLV because of a sprained ankle. Giddens finished with eight points on 3-of-10 shooting and nine rebounds.

This was a horrible day for Ewing, the conference leader with 20.4 points per game entering Tuesday. Ewing finished with four points on 2-of-12 shooting. Wyoming went 4-of-16 from the 3-point line.

Playing Johnson and 6-foot-9 Daniel Faris (eight points) together for the first time in awhile thwarted Wyoming's guards, who were trying to drive the lane all night.

"We had so much attention to their guards (in the first half), they were taking advantage of our extension on pick and rolls," McKay said. "When you have a big guy in there to absorb extension, usually works a little better. We tried it and it worked."