"We're a gritty bunch. Our guys are grinding it
like
crazy," said UNM head coach Steve Alford. "We got stagnant in the
second half. But this was a really good win for us and we have a
huge week next
week."
New Mexico (8-0, 23rd in the USA Today/ESPN
Coaches poll and
25th in the Associated Press poll) led by as many as 19 in the
second half but
Indiana State (4-2) battled back behind the play of Jake Odom, who
scored 23 of
his game-high 25 points in the second half comeback.
Kendall Williams scored a career-high 24 points
for UNM,
most of the scoring coming in the first half as New Mexico took
the game over
with a pair of 9-0 runs keyed by Williams’ offense and the Lobos’
stingy
defense to take a 33-19 halftime lead.
"Kendall (Williams) does what Kendall does,"
said
Alford. "He's a big-time player and we need him today because Tony
(Snell)
and Demetrius (Walker) never got going."
The Lobos looked to be able to escape in
regulation when
Williams drew a foul with 14 seconds left in the game and UNM up
64-62. But the
junior guard missed both free throws and Odom raced back after the
second miss
and tied the game 64-64 on a lay up with two seconds left.
Odom’s lay up capped a 7-2 Sycamores run to end
the game
triggered by a trey from Justin Gant.
In overtime, Greenwood asserted himself. The
Aussie hit a
three pointer on UNM’s first possession of the extra period then
Tony Snell
added a jumper as the Lobos started on a 5-0 run to seize the
initiative an the
lead at 69-64. After an ISU basket, Greenwood hit a tough shot
inside the lane
then capped the run with a trey following a lay in by Manny Arop
to give UNM a
74-68 advantage. Chad Adams then made 3 of 4 free throws down the
stretch to
seal the win.
"Hugh hadn't made a shot all night and then he
steps up
and makes two threes in overtime," said Alford. "Chad (Adams) did
some big things for us and I thought that was key. This was a
really good win
for us."
Greewood scored 14 and pulled in nine rebounds
while Adams
registered a double-double, scoring 12 points and pulling in 10
rebounds wile
shooting 7 of 8 from the free throw line. Center Alex Kirk added
10 points and
4 rebounds while Cameron Bairstow came off the bench to add eight
points and 11
rebounds.
The Lobos outrebounded Indiana State 44-37, 34
-28 on the
defensive glass, though the Sycamores outscored UNM in the paint
30-24, mostly
on drives by Odom.
Many Arop added 17 points and 10 rebounds for
ISU and Dawon
Cummings scored 10 points. The Sycamores bench outscored New
Mexico’s reserved
17-10.
New Mexico turned the ball over 13 times
compared the
Sycamores 11 but outscored ISU 17-9 in points off turnovers.
UNM shot a paltry 5- of 25 (205) in the second
half after
shooting 50% (13 of 26) in the first half to finish with 22 of 57
(38.6%)
shooting. ISU reversed that trend shooting 13 of 25 (52%) in the
second half
after shooting just 8 of 27 (29.6%) in the first half. The
Sycamores finished
with 23 of 59 shooting (39%).
The real difference came in free throw shooting
as ISU shot
just 18 of 30 (60%), missing many front ends of 1-on-1
opportunities as the
Sycamores got UNM into foul trouble early in the second half and
paraded to the
line often. The Lobos by contrast hit 28 of 34 (82%).