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This story has been updated: Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 11:48 a.m.
Val Kilmer at the Pit (see photo)
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Scene Stealers
By Mark Smith
Journal Staff Writer
One of Hollywood's most famous was on hand, but it was the University of New Mexico Lobos who stole the show on Wednesday night in the Pit.
The Lobos clawed their way back from a 15-point deficit — getting a little help from the officials — to take a 66-63 thriller against Oral Roberts in front of 13,558 fans, including actor Val Kilmer.
"I love college basketball," Kilmer, who lives in Pecos, said at halftime. "I've heard so much about the Pit, and I was really anxious to see a game here. I just hope we can get a streak going in the second half."
Wish granted.
The Lobos (7-4) went on a 16-2 run to open the second half for their first lead of the night at 41-39.
After that it was game on.
The teams exchanged the lead six more times and the advantage was never more than four points the rest of the way. The noise level became increasingly earsplitting — and head splitting to the officials, who turned into a trio of mutes in crunch time.
"It was huge," Alford said of the crowd's intimidation. "We're up three and we miss two free throws (by Jonathan Wills) with seven seconds left, and we were actually trying to foul. And with the volume in there, it creates a little bit of chaos. And fortunately, they didn't get a shot off so it worked out to our advantage.
"That's why you play home games, especially in the Pit."
The game ended on a disputed no-call when Oral Roberts guard Robert Jarvis slashed upcourt with seven seconds remaining and the Lobos leading 66-63. Alford screamed at his team to foul Jarvis, in hopes of sending him the line before he could launch his 14th 3-point attempt of the night.
UNM's Daniel Faris and guard Dairese Gary obliged, hammering Jarvis at midcourt. But there was no whistle, and Jarvis — who made six 3s — lost the ball and UNM ran out the clock.
ORU coach Scott Sutton immediately chased the officials off the floor, but after the game made no excuses.
"Down the stretch we did a poor job of rebounding," Sutton said. "They really hurt us on the offensive glass and as a result they came out with a hard-fought win."
The Lobos simply outhustled and outgutted the more physical Golden Eagles (2-8). UNM was outrebounded 22-13 in the first half but battled its way to a 25-10 advantage in the second half. Lobos were diving all over the court and slapping the ball away from ORU time after time.
"That's what board play is," Alford said. "Obviously it helps if you have some animals — 6-8, 6-9, and can go after things — but I thought in the second half, we did some really good things."
The first half, however, must have seemed more like oral surgery for Alford than a basketball game against Oral Roberts.
The Eagles never trailed and used a 9-0 run to grab a 28-15 lead with five minutes left in the half. They led by as much as 34-19 before taking the 37-25 halftime cushion. It was the most points the Lobos had allowed in the first half this season and the fewest they had scored.
"In 18 years, this is the first time we've ever played a game in finals (week)," said Alford, who's been battling a cold, flu and laryngitis all week. "We really had a lot of trouble late in August trying to solidify a game. UTEP was moved into the conference season, which I cannot stand. It really put us in a bind and Scott (Sutton) was kind enough to start a home and home series with us ... That's my fault, I take responsibility for the first half and we won't play a game again during finals."
The Lobos' second-half comeback was led by senior wing Tony Danridge, who had 17 of his team-high 20 points after intermission, and Faris, who had 15 of his 16 points in the second half.
But the Lobos also had to play without Faris for nine minutes in the second half after the senior post picked up his third and fourth fouls just 18 seconds apart and 14 minutes left in the game. UNM played with four freshmen on the floor at times.
When Faris returned, he made his presence known by scoring seven straight points for his team, the last two on a short jumper that put the Lobos up 64-61 with 43.9 seconds left.
Faris also made a huge defensive play, getting credit for a blocked shot with the Lobos leading 66-63 with 11 seconds left. Faris and Marcus Lewis collided on the play, but nothing was called.
"It was all ball," Faris said with a coy smile. "I felt like there were a few where I got all ball (and fouls were called), and (other plays) where I was fouled. So it all worked out in the end."
Roman Martinez had eight points and a team-high nine rebounds while Gary added eight points, nine assists and made a number of critical hustle plays.
The Lobos were 2-of-15 from 3-point range (13.3 percent), but were 16-of-22 from the foul line (72.7 percent) while the Eagles were just 11-of-19 (57.9 percent) shooting free throws.
Jarvis led ORU with 22 points, Dominique Morrison had 12 and former New Mexico State forward Kevin Ford had 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.Lobo Recap
STAR OF THE GAME
Sophomore guard Dairese Gary was just 1-of-5 from the floor, but spent most of the night diving for loose balls and keeping plays — and UNM hopes — alive on his way to eight points and nine assists.
KEY PLAY
Senior Daniel Faris battled for a tip-in with 2:14 remaining to give the Lobos the lead for good at 62-61. It was UNM's fourth shot of a possession in which it wouldn't be denied. COME AGAIN
The Lobos tied their second biggest comeback in Pit history and their sixth largest overall by erasing a 15-point deficit.