Kendall Williams Leads #19 New Mexico in 2OT Thriller at Charleston Classic

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, November 21, 2013

The Charleston Classic turned out to be just that Thursday afternoon, as 19th-ranked New Mexico outlasted a stubborn UAB squad to win a thriller in double overtime, 97-94.

Kendall Williams led the Lobos with 29 points and nailed a three-pointer with the clock running down to zeroes to force the first overtime period.

Alex Kirk scored the final five points for New Mexico in the first OT, including a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left that extended the game into another five-minute extra period.

UAB's Todd Frazier led all scorers with 34 points, but it was Williams who provided the key plays for the win, hitting Cleveland Thomas for an open three-pointer with 39 seconds left in the second overtime. Thomas' bucket put the Lobos up by three and UAB could not overcome the lead as time ran down.

A senior guard, Williams flirted with a triple double, dishing 10 assists with six rebounds. He's the leading scorer for 3-0 New Mexico this season, averaging 22 points per game, increasing his average scoring output each season he's been with the Lobos.

Williams was 8-for-18 from the field, including 4-for-8 from downtown, adding nine points from the foul line where he made nine of 10.

UAB dropped their first game of the season after three wins; the Lobos remain unbeaten and face the unbeaten (4-0) Massachusetts Minutemen Friday afternoon at 2:30 pm ET in one of the tournament's semi-final match-ups. On the other side of the bracket, Davidson and Clemson meet in the other semi-final game, 9:30 pm ET.

The final is Sunday afternoon at TD Arena in Charleston, SC, following the consolation game.

Drew Gordon's 27 Points and 20 Rebounds Lead Lobos over UNLV

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, February 18, 2012

With 20 of the Top 25 teams taking to the hardwood on Saturday, there was plenty of fuel to turn February's frolics into March Madness, and, while some of the best teams in the country were easily handling their opponents, it was Drew Gordon and the New Mexico Lobos who turned a lot of heads.

Unranked New Mexico has been largely overlooked by the pollsters, but, after winning at #13 San Diego State, 77-67, on Wednesday and absolutely punishing #11 UNLV, 65-45, the Lobos stand alone atop the Mountain West with an 9-2 record in the conference and a gaudy 22-4 mark overall.

Gordon, a burly, 6'8", 245-pound forward devastated the UNLV front line with a career high 27 points and 20 rebounds, tying his season high number for board dominance. The senior, who transferred from UCLA after the 2009-10 season, made 13 of 20 field goals, passed off a couple of assists and made three steals. It was his eighth double-double of the season, a stat which should have most of the big men in the country seeking ways to slow him down.

The Lobos appear to have the conference title all but wrapped up, with four games remaining against some of the dregs of the Mountain West. Their upcoming opponents have a combined record in the conference of 16-24, and the Lobos have already beaten each of them earlier this season.

NOTABLE: At the top of the rankings, #1 Kentucky, #3 Missouri and #4 Kansas won without much of a problem. Syracuse and Duke, ranked 2nd and 5th, were idle, but #6 Ohio State was overthrown at Michigan, the #17 Spartans taking them down by a 56-51 score, while winning their 16th straight home game. The Spartans tied the Buckeyes for second place in the Big Ten at 10-4, both teams just 1/2 game behind 10-3 Michigan State.

Ohio State wasn't the only ranked team to be upset. #9 Baylor lost at home to Kansas State, 57-56, #13 San Diego State fell to Air Force, 58-56, and #24 Gonzaga fell to San Francisco, 66-65.

In Arkansas, both Florida's Erving Walker and the Razorbacks' BJ Young scored 31 points, but the Gators were 30 points better, winning on the road by a 98-68 final.

Another team getting some notice is Wichita State, as the Shockers, tied with Gonzaga at #24, rode Joe Ragland's 30 points for a 91-74 win over Davidson.

#16 Murray State proved to be as good as their 26-1 record implied, pounding #22 St. Mary's, 65-51.

Lobos Stun BYU Again as Mountain West is Mashed

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Sometimes, a team just has another team's number.

In the case of the New Mexico Lobos, that number is two, the times they've beaten BYU this season, or maybe it's 32, the number of Jimmer Fredette's jersey (he had 33 in the most recent loss), but probably it's 18, the number of points by which they beat the Cougars, in an 82-64 thrashing at BYU Wednesday night.

18 is also double the number by which the Lobos topped the Cougars last time they met, when New Mexico stopped them, 86-77, back on January 29.

Junior guard Phillip McDonald, who had a mere 11 points in their first meeting, set the tone with 26 on Wednesday, hitting 9 of 14 shots from the field, including 5 of 8 from three-point range, making many in the crowd wonder, "Jimmer who?"

The Lobos also took advantage of the absence of BYU's Brandon Davies, as forward Drew Gordon dominated inside, with 15 points and 15 boards. Davies was booted from the team for allegedly engaging in pre-marital sex, a violation of team and school codes which maintain that students remain virtuous and chaste. Like it or not, rules are rules, and Davies broke one.

Missing his presence in the middle, as the Cougars' third-leading scorer and top rebounder, sets up a potentially game-changing scenario in the upcoming Moutain West conference tournament, the winner of which receives and automatic bid to the NCAAs.

With #3 BYU supposedly already in, the door is now open for UNLV (10-5 in conference play) and New Mexico (7-8, but hosting 6-9 Air Force in their final regular season game). Of course, with BYU missing one of their key starters, somebody still has to beat San Diego State, and the only team to have done that this season is BYU, twice.

That team could be the Runnin' Rebels, upon whose home court the tournament will be played. San Deigo State topped them twice this season, but only by six points each time. Maybe the Lobos will rise to the occasion, though they've lost to the Aztecs by 6 and 10 points.

Whatever the case, expect the Mountain West to send three teams - BYU, San Diego State, and somebody else - and maybe even four, onward to March Madness.

NOTABLE: BIG EAST not so easy... Connecticut, after surprising many early in the season, is clearly on the tournament bubble now, having lost convincingly at West Virginia Wednesday night, 65-56. The Huskies have dropped three of their last four and finish up their regular season at home against Notre Dame on Saturday.

Tied at 9-8 with Marquette and Villanova, the Huskies, if they lose to the red-hot Fighting Irish will need a couple of wins in the Big East tournament to garner enough consideration by the selection committee to advance to the NCAAs. All three of the 9-8 teams are ensured to finish at least at .500, though Villanova is also on the ropes, having to play on Saturday to close out their regular season at Pitt. The Wildcats have lost three straight and five of their last seven.

Marquette appears to be the lucky dog of the bunch, finishing up at Seton Hall, also on Saturday. The Golden Eagles had won three straight before falling to Cincinnati on wednesday, 67-60.

Tennessee, Kansas, Wake Forest and New Mexico Advance

NCAA Tourney Update

Midwest Region

1 Kansas 90
16 Lehigh 74
Marcus Morris led Kansas with 26 points and 10 rebounds, as the tournament's top seed cruised past Lehigh. The Jayhawks will face #9 Northern Iowa in the second round.

6 Tennessee 62
11 San Diego St. 59
On a day in which 5 double-digit seeds won, Tennessee squeaked past San Diego State to advance to the second round against the University of Ohio Bobcats, upset winners over Georgetown, on Saturday. Melvin Goins, who hadn't scored in his previous two games, came up big down the stretch with key shots to carry the Vols to victory. Goins, who was 4 of 5 from 3-point range, joined teammate J.P. Prince with 15 points apiece.

East Region

9 Wake Forest 81
8 Texas 80 OT
Battling back from 8 points down in overtime, the Demon Deacons dispatched Texas in the opening round. The Longhorns, once ranked #1 in the nation, have to be considered the biggest collapse of the season. Led by forward Al-Farouq Aminu's 20 points and 15 rebounds, Wake Forest survived a see-saw affair, also getting 19 points and 12 boards from Ishmael Smith. The Deacons will face top-seeded Kentucky in the second round

3 New Mexico 62
14 Montana 57
Montana didn't make it easy on New Mexico, keeping the game close until the final minute, but the Lobos prevailed as Dairese Gary carried the team down the stretch. Roman Martinez led the Lobos in scoring with 19 points. Gary had 15. New Mexico will face #11 Washington in the second round.

NCAA Conference Scoreboard (through games of March 18)

Conference W-L
ACC 1-0
Atlantic-10 0-1
Big East 1-3
Big Ten 0-0
Big 12 3-1
Conference-USA 0-1
Mountain West 2-2
PAC-10 1-0
SEC 2-2
West Coast 1-0
Western Athletic 0-0
Other 5-6

*Conferences with only one tournament team listed as "Other."