NCAA Tournament First Round Recap - New Mexico vs Montana

(3) New Mexico 62, (14) Montana 57

In an opening day of the NCAA Tournament that saw five double-digit-rated seeds move into the second round, 3rd-seeded New Mexico was lucky enough to escape its first round matchup with 14th seed Montana.  Despite being stymied for much of the evening, the Lobos were able to make key defensive stops down the stretch to earn a hard-fought victory and keep the Big Sky champion Grizzles from pulling off the second 14-over-3 upset of the evening.

The highly regarded Lobos entered the matchup having won 15 of their last 16 games, but they never looked the Elite Eight product predicted by their best player, Darington Hobson.  The ever fiery Hobson boldly proclaimed his Lobos would reach the East Regional Final. For much of the night, however, a New Mexico appearance in the round of 32 was very much in doubt.

The first half was a closely-fought battle with many lead changes and less than stellar shooting.  Montana perhaps exposed what might end up being New Mexico’s Achilles heel: a lack of frontcourt size.  With no New Mexico player standing above 6’8”, the Grizzlies employed a big frontcourt lineup that seemingly gave the Lobos fits throughout the night.

Montana came into the 2010 NCAA Tournament as a one-man show.  Anthony Johnson’s stellar 42-point performance in a thrilling comeback win over Weber State in the Big Sky Tournament had made national headlines.  But on Thursday, the Grizzlies employed a totally different game plan.  Center Brian Qvale exploded for 26 points and 12 rebounds and cast a deep shadow upon Johnson, who struggled mightily against the Lobos.

> Broswe a great selection of MWC Apparel online through MWC-Fans.com!

After the Grizzlies took a one-point lead into the halftime locker room, the Lobos exploded for a 17-0 run to seemingly put any thoughts of an upset on the rocks.  New Mexico forward Roman Martinez continually hit clutch shot after clutch shot as the Lobos extended their lead.  But just as in the Big Sky Conference final, the Grizzlies did not go quietly into the night. 

The Grizzlies cut a 14-point second-half deficit to a mere two points with just over four minutes remaining.  Down the stretch, the Lobos were unable to put the game away at the free throw line and were bailed out by poor Montana offensive execution down the stretch.  On a day which saw fellow 3 seed Georgetown fall to Ohio, the Lobos were willing to take any result that gives them an opportunity to advance. 

WHAT’S NEXT:

New Mexico will face Pac-10 Tournament champion Washington in the round of 32.  The 11th-seeded Huskies overcame a 15-point second-half deficit to upset sixth-seeded Marquette. 

By: Zach Bloxham
DFN Sports Guest Writer