New Mexico works its way past Nevada

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- It was never easy, but New Mexico pulled away late in the second half

to defeat Nevada 75-62 on Saturday night.

"I thought that's as patient and as well I've seen Nevada play, especially through about

34 minutes in the tapes I've been able to watch," New Mexico coach Steve Alford said. "We're

getting everybody's best shot. I think our guys have really responded well. We really

responded well in the last eight minutes of this game."

Hugh Greenwood led the No. 20 Lobos (19-3, 6-1 Mountain West) with 15 points, including

4-of-5 shooting on 3-pointers, plus seven rebounds and six assists.

"I was just trying to help out whatever way I can," Greenwood said. "Whether it's

rebounding, assist-wise or tonight it was scoring. I'm very grateful that the coaching staff

and my teammates have confidence in me to score when I need to."

Demetrius Walker added 12 points off the bench, his first points since New Mexico's 55-54

win at Cincinnati on Dec. 27.

"It was just my night, I was able to come in and hit shots," Walker said. "Coach believed

I was going to come in and have a big impact on the game tonight."

Malik Story paced the Wolf Pack (11-10, 2-5) with 20 points.

"I didn't see the game as New Mexico dominating us," Nevada coach David Carter said.

"They did play very well and they shot the ball well, but our guys competed and I thought we

had a chance."

The game was tight throughout until the tide turned in the Lobos' favor after Chad Adams

hit a 3-pointer from the corner to put them ahead 53-51 with 9:30 left in the game.

A long jumper by Jamal Fenton and then an unusual shot by Adams, an attempted alley-oop

to Alex Kirk that went into the basket, suddenly made it 57-51.

After a Devonte Elliott jumper, Adams nailed another 3-pointer to push the lead to 60-53.

Story countered with a 3-pointer after a media timeout, but a 16-footer by Walker and a

layup by Bairstow extended the lead to 64-56 with 4:39 left.

Deonte Burton's layup and Jerry Evans' 3-pointer, sandwiched around Greenwood's fourth 3-

pointer of the game, left the Wolf Pack trailing 67-61 with 3:23 to go.

Walker hit two free throws to give New Mexico a bigger cushion and Nevada missed its next

two shots.

Kendall Williams iced it with two more free throws and Greenwood stole the ball and laid

it in to make it 73-61 with less than one minute to play.

"It would be nice if we could put defense and offense together. I think our defense took

a bit (off) tonight," Greenwood said. "But we responded, that's what this team does."

Nevada took its first lead of the game at 39-37 on two Burton free throws with 17 minutes

remaining. Snell's 3-pointer put New Mexico back ahead at 40-39.

The game settled into a back-and-forth affair from that point, with 10 lead changes or

ties in the next 7:30, ending with the Lobos ahead on Adams' 3-pointer.

"Chad's still banged up with his knee," Alford said. "I thought Chad did a really good

job coming back even when he got injured."

The first half was a shootout, with both teams struggling to match up defensively. The

Lobos took a 34-32 lead into the half, shooting 14 of 27 from the floor.

NOTES: This was the first official meeting between New Mexico and Nevada in the two

teams' history. ... The Lobos continue to use the free-throw line to their advantage this

season. They have converted 32 of a possible 38 three-point plays while also going 36 of 40

on one-and-one opportunities. ... The Wolf Pack's backcourt duo of Burton and Story have

together started 88 games in a row.