Against the Falcons, New Mexico (25-6) rode the hot
shooting of junior
transfer Demetrius Walker, who came off the bench to score a
game-high 19
points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-4 from behind the
three-point arc.
“I was
very, very
pleased. I thought
we had some
lapses defensively. They
did a
very good job of running their offense with a lot of good pace. We got back and had a
little bit more
than we did in the first two games.
We took the three-point shot away from them. They only made five on the night. They shot a high percentage because of
that.
“Our bench been doing it all year,” said sophomore
Kendall Williams,
who added 10 points. “So tonight was Walk's night. He's been real efficient all year, him and
Jamal. Cameron
was real effective tonight.
We've
been doing it all year off the bench and with our balance. It
was his night to
hit a lot of shots. Usually he comes in and hits a lot of clutch
rebounds.
Walker said he felt he had
“a
real good week of preparation and practice offensively and
defensively” coming
into the game.
“First and foremost, I just wanted to come in and
provide a spark,
whether that's offensively or defensively,” said Walker.
“Tonight was
offensively. I
know coach is
probably upset with me about a few back-cuts, but we'll discuss
that later
tonight.”
Senior Drew Gordon added 15 points and seven rebounds
while Tony Snell
came off his recent schnide with 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting.
“I was really pleased with our offense,” said head coach
Steve Alford.
“I thought we ran with really good pace. We got the stops that
we needed. When
you're in this part of the season, it's about win and advance. I thought our guys
did a job every time
Air Force made a run at us, we seemed to get a basket, make the
stop to stop
the run.”
UNM shot an incredible 37 free throws, making 31. 27
came in the first
half, with the Lobos hitting 23.
“ I know we're a talented team when it comes to
free-throw shooting
when we actually concentrate,” said Gordon. “I think we
struggled a little bit
throughout the year. But when it comes down to it, I'm confident
in our team,
making the free shots that we get from the free-throw line.“
Michael Lyons and Todd Fletcher paced Air Force (13-16)
with 17 points
and 12 points respectively.