Photo by Craig FritzTribune

Tribune

New Mexico Lobos Chad Toppert (33) goes up for what could have been a game-winning shot with four seconds to play. However, UNLV's Kevin Kruger (2), who led all scorers with 29 points, blocked the shot and spoiled Toppert's heroics. The Rebels held on for an 85-83 Mountain West Conference win Wednesday night in The Pit.

Photo by Craig FritzTribune

Tribune

Ritchie McKay's final walk up The Pit ramp as the Lobos' coach was not a happy one, and he kept his head down the entire way. The New Mexico coach's contract will be terminated at the season's end. Wednesday's loss to UNLV marks the first time a UNM coach has lost five league games in The Pit.

Photo by Craig FritzTribune

Tribune

Aaron Johnson tried to be both an inspirational leader and a productive senior in his final Pit game as a Lobo. Johnson had a double-double, scoring 15 points and hauling down 11 rebounds. "I'm capable of doing that every game," he said after the 85-83 loss to UNLV. "It hurts it had to end like that."

RELATED STORIES

• UNM men's basketball: Six names might be on list to replace McKay

More LoboZone

• Richard Stevens: Faces I'll remember are the smallest ones
• Michael Garcia: Here's to you, athletes, coaches and friends. These memories - and lessons - will last forever.
• Tribune sports: Five faves

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

It was a night of basketball defined by a hurtful loss and blank stares - not meaningful words.

Coach Ritchie McKay, after his final Pit game as a Lobo, avoided the emotion in favor of the stoic we-lost-the-game approach.

The casual Lobos fan could have mistaken this game for a meaningless pre-conference game in December instead of McKay's Pit finale in February.

Senior Aaron Johnson, wallowing in what-ifs outside the UNM locker room, kept saying his stat line of 15 points and 11 boards was "disappointing, man" because this should have been the norm, not a rarity.

Maybe Wednesday's 85-83 loss to UNLV encapsulated the season of dashed hopes for the University of New Mexico and its coach.

The Lobos were close. They rallied from 16 points down. They almost won. But, in the end, they were disappointed.

McKay's farewell culminated with a fifth conference loss in The Pit, a first in the arena's 40-year history.

Although the season isn't over, several Lobos moved on in their own way Wednesday.

A crowd of about 25 fans cheered McKay after his postgame radio interview with Mike Roberts. Hugs and thank-yous followed.

"I'm very thankful for my time here, the fans here are tremendous fans," said McKay, who was fired last Thursday.

"I wish the basketball program and the athletics department nothing but the best."

The loss locks UNM (15-15, 4-11 in Mountain West Conference) in the pigtail game of next week's conference tournament against Texas Christian.

The pigtail game is when the lowest two seeds of the nine-team conference square off for rights to enter the quarterfinal round. The Lobos end the regular season against Wyoming on Saturday in Laramie, Wyo.

Against the Rebels, J.R. Giddens again assumed the star status expected of him when he transferred to UNM from Kansas.

He finished with 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting and added eight rebounds.

Almost everything Giddens did was clutch, save a missed free throw with 23 seconds left. He scored 11 of UNM's last 12 points.

Johnson had one of his best performances at UNM, providing a toughness in the paint that the Lobos often have lacked.

The way this game ended - on senior night shared with teammate Kellen Walter - was bittersweet for Johnson.

"It's disappointing as hell, man," Johnson said. "I don't know. I just was really frustrated. I'm capable of doing that every game. It hurts it had to end like that."

This was Johnson's fourth double-double of the year.

When asked where these performances have been on a consistent basis, Johnson, who played only 23 minutes, said: "I know where they were, but that's for another day."

Then he walked into the UNM locker room.

Giddens credited his performance to "just playing basketball." If that simple formula continues to click for Giddens, the Lobos lineup just got more dangerous for MWC tournament play.

Giddens, Johnson and guards Darren Prentice and Tony Danridge (14 points apiece) combined for 71 of UNM's 83 points. That's without a usually reliable Chad Toppert (9.8 points per game), who had three points on 1-of-7 shooting against the Runnin' Rebels.

Toppert's final shot Wednesday came on the baseline with about four seconds to play. It was blocked by UNLV's Kevin Kruger, who led the Rebs with 29 points.

Neither Kruger nor Giddens played in the first UNM-UNLV game in Vegas, won 76-72 in overtime by the Rebels.

The Lobos are now 3-5 in The Pit and 1-9 on the road, but, on Wednesday, UNM almost earned a win over an NCAA Tournament-bound team.

In The Pit, in front of 13,211 fans.

The road-allergic Lobos have become a tough sell in the place where winning used to be second nature. UNM did not have a losing conference record in the 17 seasons from 1984 to 2000. McKay posted four in his five seasons as a Lobos coach.

If there is any hope to carry into the MWC tourney in Vegas, it might come from UNM's losing three straight games by a combined 11 points - and rallying from 16 points down after leading by 13 points.

"We need to put teams away," Danridge said. "We need to stomp on their neck."