National Basketball Association
New Mexico 70, San Diego St. 60
When: 10:15 PM ET, Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Where: The Pit Arena, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Officials:
# Tom O'Neill, # Gerry Pollard, # Scott Thornley
Attendance:
15411
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 14 New Mexico 70, San Diego State 60: Sophomore center Alex Kirk scored a season-high 25 points, including a career-high three 3-pointers, as the host Lobos won their fourth straight game.
Cameron Bairstow finished with 16 points and guard Tony Snell added 10 points for New Mexico (24-4, 11-2), which holds a two game lead in the Mountain West with three games remaining.
Reigning Mountain West Player of the Year Jamaal Franklin scored 16 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds for San Diego State (20-8, 8-6), which fell into sole possession of fourth place in the Mountain West.
Unlike the first meeting on Jan. 26 which saw San Diego State blow out New Mexico 55-34 - the lowest point total since 1976 for the Lobos - this game was much more competitive at the start. The Lobos, behind 11 points by Kirk, took a 28-26 halftime lead in a half that featured 12 ties and three lead changes.
But the Lobos started the second half with a 14-4 run fueled by 3-pointers by Kirk and point guard Hugh Greenwood to take a 42-30 lead. San Diego got as close as 54-49 on a basket by James Rahon with 4:31 remaining, but the Lobos answered with a 11-4 run to win going away.
GAME NOTEBOOK: New Mexico improved to 16-0 when leading at halftime. ... Franklin has scored 10 or more points in 47 of his last 48 games. ... Junior G Kendall Williams, who scored 46 points, including 10 3-pointers, in New Mexico's 91-82 win at Colorado State on Saturday, finished with eight points on 1-of-6 shooting.
Top Game Performances
San Diego St. |
|
New Mexico |
Jamaal Franklin 16 |
Scoring |
Alex Kirk 25 |
Winston Shepard 3 |
Assists |
Kendall Williams 8 |
Jamaal Franklin 9 |
Rebounds |
Alex Kirk 7 |
Jamaal Franklin 9 |
Free Throws Made |
Cameron Bairstow 6 |
J.J. O'Brien 2 |
Steals |
Jamal Fenton 1 |
Winston Shepard 1 |
Blocks |
Alex Kirk 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
San Diego St.
|
60 |
36.2 |
4-23 |
14-21 |
7 |
33 |
1 |
7 |
11 |
New Mexico
|
70 |
47.7 |
4-13 |
24-32 |
18 |
29 |
3 |
1 |
9 |