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Sunday, November 23, 2008

UNM Squanders Another Big Lead

By Mark Smith
Journal Staff Writer
          It is, after all, called a challenge.
        But this?
        For the second time in less than a week, the University of New Mexico squandered a big lead and collapsed in the closing minutes, this time falling to Central Florida 72-71 in the Cancun Challenge on Saturday night in the Pit.
        Who knows how shocking this loss will look in the long run, but as of today it ranks as one of the biggest upsets in Pit history. The Knights (2-1), who entered the evening as 18-point underdogs, used a 12-2 run in the game's final 1:51 to leave the Lobos (2-2) and an announced crowd of 12,707 stunned.
        It was New Mexico's first nonconference home loss since falling to fifth-ranked Wake Forest in 2004 — a span of 34 games.
        "There's probably not very many things for print, to be honest with you," UNM coach Steve Alford said of what he told his team after the game. "I'm not very pleased and we don't get a lot of practice time, so it's really hard to try to make them tougher. I give Central Florida a lot of credit. They fought, their kids were hungry."
        UCF, which hadn't led since the 10-minute mark of the first half — but refused to ever go away — got the game winner on a 3-pointer from Chris Baez with 4.6 seconds remaining. Senior star Jermaine Taylor set up the play, in which the Knights had the ball after a Lobo timeout with 20.7 seconds left. Taylor drove the lane, and the Lobo defense collapsed — figuratively and literally — as Taylor found a wide-open Baez in the right corner.
        "I was supposed to just come off the screen and take it up, but they did a great job of closing the gap," said Taylor, who had a team-high 18 points. "I saw my teammate and just kicked it to him ... I have complete trust in my teammates."
        It's doubtful the same feeling existed in the Lobo locker room.
        UNM blew a 16-point lead in the final 10 minutes of an 82-75 setback at Creighton on Sunday. The Lobos were up by nine with just more than three minutes left in that one.
        But at least that was on the road.
        And at a Missouri Valley Conference heavyweight.
        Saturday's game was the Lobos' second at home in the Cancun Challenge, both contests being designed as appetizers for UNM before it heads to Cancun, Mexico during the Thanksgiving holiday for the main feast.
        Everything went off just as planned on Thursday night, as New Mexico rolled Grambling State 96-50 in its first game of the 10-team event.
        The Knights were supposed to put up more of a fight, but nothing like this. They certainly weren't brought into the event to beat one of the four host teams — Vanderbilt, VCU and Drake being the others. Those are the only four eligible to win the title.
        The Knights, who were bounced 69-52 at Valparaiso on Tuesday, made it interesting for 35 minutes in the whistle-marred contest. But the Lobos started to break away when freshmen Phillip McDonald and Will Brown hit back-to-back jumpers to key a 6-0 run and put UNM up 56-49 with less than five minutes remaining.
        But the Lobos, again, couldn't finish.
        Much of that had to do with the gritty underdogs, who got two big-time 3-pointers from both Baez and Taylor in the final minutes. But it also had to do with some shaky Lobo free-throw shooting.
        Not that UNM lacked chances.
        It went 24-of-39 for the night (61.5 percent) and missed eight of its first 10 in the second half.
        "We shoot 39 free throws and can't win?" Alford said in disgust.
        Sophomore Dairese Gary led UNM with 20 points and seven assists, and was the only Lobo Alford complimented for his toughness after the game.
        Senior Tony Danridge had 13 points and tied a career high with six rebounds, but was 7-of-13 from the foul line, and senior Daniel Faris had 10 points, but was scoreless in the second half.