New Mexico vs Creighton Basketball Recap

New Mexico 66, Creighton 61

This is shaping up to be a special year of basketball for the New Mexico Lobos. On a night when the 13-0 New Orleans Saints finally lost an NFL game, coach Steve Alford's hoopsters moved to 12-0 on the strength of a rally that would have made Drew Brees envious.

Down by 16 in the first half and trailing 40-28 at halftime, "Los Lobos" would not be deterred. Overcoming consistently awful shooting from both the field and the foul line, New Mexico used ball security and relentless all-court energy to fight its way past a spirited but struggling Creighton club at a typically passionate Pit in Albuquerque, N.M. The five-point triumph did more than preserve an unbeaten season, of course; it further bolstered New Mexico's non-conference portfolio and gave credence to the view that wins over Texas A&M and California weren't aberrations. The more capital the Lobos can accrue right now, the more they can bank it on Selection Sunday.

Just how did New Mexico win this game? Not with shooting, for one thing; more specifically, though, the Lobos prevailed at The Pit because of sheer junkyard-dog determination at both ends of the floor. When key defensive stops had to be made, Alford's athletes produced them. When 50-50 balls were waiting to be won in a vigorously-contested non-conference clash, the Lobos snagged the orange sphere more often than not.

New Mexico shot only 30 percent from the field, 22 percent from 3-point range, and only 57 percent from the line. Teams that go 20 of 35 from the charity stripe normally lose five-point games instead of winning them, so the inaccurate assemblage from Albuquerque must have done something special to compensate for such glaring deficiencies. The key ingredient in the Lobos' winning recipe was nothing other than hustle.

While New Mexico turned the ball over just five times, the Mountain West's best team - at least to this point in the young season - forced 17 turnovers from a Creighton crew that fell to 4-6 with this stomach-punch setback on the road. With unyielding ball pressure from guards like Dairese Gary, who produced a key steal with 1:06 left in regulation and New Mexico leading by just two points, the Lobos made momentum their friend even without the jump-shooting magic which normally accompanies a second-half surge. Indeed, the home team overcame a 12-point halftime hole not by scoring at will, but defending to thrill. Had New Mexico not limited the Blue Jays to just 21 second-half points, the crowd at Bob King Court would have filed for the exits in a state of pronounced disappointment. Defense was the not-so-secret element to the Lobos' riveting rally.

That defense needed to be accompanied by something of substance at the offensive end, so on a night when Los Lobos couldn't hit the side of a barn, they simply rebounded better than Creighton, particularly on the offensive backboard. Darington Hobson - who had a LeBron James-like night with 22 points, 16 boards and six assists - plucked nine offensive rebounds on the evening, but it was an offensive rebound he didn't get that drove a steak through the Blue Jays' hearts.

With New Mexico leading 59-57 just after that aforementioned steal by Dairese Gary, Hobson missed a pair of free throws with exactly one minute left. However, teammate Ramon Martinez - who produced five offensive boards for Steve Alford - was able to retrieve the second miss. Just seven seconds later - with 53 ticks left on the clock at The Pit - Hobson dunked home the biggest two points of the game off a feed from Martinez. A four-point, two-possession lead had been established, and Creighton was unable to mount a substantial response. An NFL team in Louisiana finally suffered its first loss in 14 games, but a college basketball club in the Land Of Enchantment just rang up win number 12 in as many tries.

Don't pinch these laughter-filled Lobos, who are growing in self-belief with each passing win. As long as this roster can display the all-out effort it showed in a stirring second-half comeback against Creighton, New Mexico should be on its way to a very big dance floor in March.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer