UNM Men’s Basketball Wounded But Trap-Savvy in Victory over Florida Golf Coast
UNM’s Chris Howell (8) and JT Rock (35) get position under the basket for a rebound. The Lobos surged in the second half to pull away from upset minded FGCU. Photo: UNM Athletics
As far as trap games go, the University of New Mexico men’s basketball team made its escape, albeit not completely unscathed.
Losing both Tomislav Buljan and Chris Howell to first-half leg injuries and playing a listless opening 20 minutes, the Lobos played with more intent after intermission and pulled away from Florida Gulf Coast for a 75-59 victory in front of 12,204 fans Sunday afternoon in the Pit.
Antonio Chol scored 14 points and tied with three others with seven rebounds as UNM (9-2) turned a one-point lead just seconds after halftime into a 25-point edge 18 minutes later before the Eagles (5-6) finished the game on a 9-0 run.
“Obviously, we weren’t playing our best basketball (in the first half), Chol said. “Coach just kind of reiterated that we could go out there and dominate them.”
Howell (at the 3:11 mark) and Buljan (1:57) suffered injuries in about a minute span late in the first half, just when the Lobos were starting to look like team that played its basketball of the season in its previous wins over Santa Clara and VCU.
Both were on the bench in the second half. Coach Eric Olen said he wasn’t sure about the severity of either’s ailment as UNM gets ready to start Mountain West play Saturday at home vs. San Jose State.
“I don’t know exactly what it will look like going forward,” Olen said. “Neither was able to finish the game, so that’s typically not a good sign. But I know both those guys will do a good job in their recovery and try to get ready.
Luke Haupt and JT Rock played big minutes in their place as UNM went on a 20-7 run for a 48-34 lead at the 13-minute mark.
Rock had 10 points, seven rebounds, tying the team high on the glass, and two blocks. Haupt was all over the court, finishing with seven points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals. He had five points, three rebounds, three assists and all three steals in the second half alone.
No FGCU player reached double figures in scoring. Jordan Ellerbee and Rory Stewart each had nine points.
Rock’s minutes – and play – have skyrocketed the past four games and was critical Sunday on both ends as the Lobos took control in the second half.
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“I try to prepare myself the same for every game and just make sure that I’m ready to whatever our team needs,” he said. “Just staying consistent with the work that we do everyday and trust myself to go out there and do what I can to help us win.”
FGCU had one more run, cutting the deficit to 51-44 with 8:47 left. Chol answered with a huge 3-pointer to kickstart a 7-0 spurt. The lead grew to 75-50, thanks in part to Milos Vicentic, who played 7 ½ minutes with Buljan out. He hit four consecutive free throws on a foul and then a technical on the Eagles bench during a 13-0 UNM run.
The Eagles scored the game’s first nine points and led for most of the first half; the Lobos finally grabbed their first lead with 6:55 left on a pair of Rock free throws for a 17-16 edge.
Olen acknowledged that Sunday’s game being sandwiched between the big road win at VCU and the start of Mountain West may have contributed to the slow start vs. FGCU.
But UNM’s resilience nullified the trap aspect.
“There’s a human nature factor of how the season ebbs and flows,” Olen said. “So, we had two really big wins, and we had long travel coming back from Virginia. … Those are just excuses. When the ball goes up, you’ve got to be ready to go.
“I really like the way we responded, though. That’s something that’s really gotten us to this point.”
As the Lobos head toward the games that really matter, their improvement much match that resilience.
“If you just look at the win-loss record, I feel pretty good about the position we’re in,” Olen said as the team heads into conference play. “I think if you look possession to possession how we’re playing, we feel like there’s a lot of room for growth and growth that needs to happen if we want to get to where we want to go. If this is a group that has championship aspirations in the Mountain West, we’re not at that level, yet.”
PATTON UPDATE: Olen said guard Kevin Patton is away from the team for personal reasons, and the team hopes to have him back soon.
