Lobos cruise past Cowboys

				1		2		Total
		Wyoming	20	41	61	Final
		(12) New Mexico	37	46	83

The #12 New Mexico Lobos(24-3, 10-2) put on a show in front of their home crowd Wednesday night. The Pit was rockin and Darington Hobson was all over the place leading both teams in points, rebounds and assists. Hobson put up 20 points 10 rebounds and 6 six assists in 32 minutes then watched the conclusion of the game from the safety of the bench.

The Lobos were in control the entire game as Wyoming (9-16, 2-10) struggled with turnovers and poor shooting to start the game. Ramon Martinez and Phillip McDonald both hit a trio of treys on their way to double digit scoring. As team the Lobos shot 50% from the field and hit 11 three pointers. The Lobos are in the drivers seat for the Mountain West title and high seed in the NCAA tourney.

The Cowboys were never in this one thanks to a slow start. The Cowboys finished with 15 turnovers en route to their sixth loss in a row. Despite the rough loss Arthur Bouedo did have his best game as a Cowboy. Bouedo hit 7 of 10 including three treys for 17 points. Desmar Jackson had 9 points but spent too much time shooting three pointers which is not his strong suit plus six turnovers. Djibril Thiam had 10 points and six rebounds.

On Saturday the Lobos host Air Force while Wyoming hosts #16 BYU.

AWARDS

Cowboy Joe: Bouedo was impressive his shooting and team high 17 points.

Cowboy Low: Boubacar Sylla actually dunked tonight! Too bad it took him 17 games for it finally happen.

Cowboy Foe: Darrington Hobson is a stud. Will he taken in the first round of the NBA draft?

Cowboys head to "The Pit"

Wyoming Cowboys at New Mexico Lobos
The Pit
6:00PM
TV: CBS College

The New Mexico Lobos (22-3, 9-2) are currently sitting atop the Mountain West and ranked #12 in the nation. Meanwhile the Wyoming Cowboys (9-16,2-9) have lost five in a row and eight of nine. When these two teams met in Laramie the Lobos escaped with a 70-68 victory. With the hot streak the Lobos are on it's doubtful this next game will be as close.

Darington Hobson has been the man for the Lobos this season and currently leads the team in points, rebounds and assists -15/8/4. Ramon Martinez is knocking down 43% of his three pointers and averaging nearly 14 points a game. A.J. Hardeman led the Lobos with 18 points in the previous matchup.

Desmar Jackson has been the only bright spot for the Cowboys recently. The freshman guard is averaging 10 points on season and has scored 21 or more in three of his last six games. Big Adam Waddell was hitting the boards strong but has been hampered ever since he suffered ankle and knee injuries in a win over Utah two weeks ago.

The Pit is one of the toughest arenas to play in the country. Lobo fans are intense and have helped the team to a 14-1 record at home this season. It will be pretty hard for the Cowboys to have much a shot in this one.

	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	STK
WYO	9-16	73.9	75.4	9-8	0-8	L5
UNM	23-3	77.5	67.0	14-1	8-2	W9

Lobos sneak past Pokes 70-68

A.J. Hardemen (pictured) had a career night to lead the New Mexico Lobos in a road victory 70-68 over the Wyoming Cowboys. The Lobos (16-3, 2-2) needed Hardemen to step up as they struggled with their long range shooting all game. Wyoming (8-10, 1-3) led by eight midway the first half but the lead was narrowed to 30-29 at halftime. A tight game the rest of the way with New Mexico coming out on top.

The Lobos have now won two in a row and are again setting their eyes on the Mountain West title. Hardemen went 7 of 10 for 18 points. Phillip Robinson added 15 points including a trio of triples on eight attempts. Robinson was the only Lobo to connect from long range as the rest of his teammates went 0 for 11. Darington Hobson scored 15 points with 11 coming in the second half.

Wyoming had it's opportunities to win this one but Afam Muojeke and Jaydee Luster both failed to convert on three point plays near the end. Muojeke was also called for an offensive foul while driving to hoop with under a minute remaining and trailing by three. The zone defense of the Lobos kept the Pokes from driving to the basket and forced Wyoming to settle for jumpers most of the game. Wyoming did hit 7 of 21 on three pointers but disappointed by sinking only 11 of their 19 free throws.

Muojeke led the Pokes with 15 points but took many bad shots and went 5 for 17 from the floor.
Desmar Jackson provided a nice spark off the bench for Wyoming. In twelve minutes he had 8 points and four steals. Even when he did turn the ball over Jackson kept alert on defense and grabbed a steal to score on a breakaway early in the second half.

Both teams will be action again on Wednesday, January 20th. The Lobos travel to Colorado Springs to tangle with the Air Force Cadets while the Cowboys hit for the road for Provo and the #18 BYU Cougars.

Box Score


AWARDS

Cowboy Joe: Ryan Dermody hit three treys in the second half to keep the Pokes in the game. Also grabbed 8 rebounds.

Cowboy Low: Jaydee Luster went 0-5 from the FT throw including three in the final minutes to kill the chances of a Cowboy comeback. He did drive to basket which most of his teammates weren't able to do, as well as dish out nine assists.

Cowboy Foe: Hardemen stepped up and hit big shots all game long. Only a 54% free throw shooter for the season he went 4-5 in the game.

Preview: New Mexico at Wyoming

New Mexico Lobos at Wyoming Cowboys
Arena-Auditorium
1:30pm MST
TV: The Mtn

Wyoming looks to pull off another Mountain West upset when the New Mexico Lobos make their way up to Laramie on Saturday. The Lobos come into the game at 15-3 (1-2 MWC) and trying to get their season back in the right direction. Nex Mexico started the season 12-0 but are just 3-3 in their last six including an 0-2 start in conference play. Wyoming sits at 8-9 (1-2 MWC) and pulled off an impressive upset over San Diego State last weekend. Saturday's game will be a "White Out" game where fans are encouraged to wear white shirts.

G-F Darington Hobson can and has done it all for the Lobos this year. Listed at 6'7 205lbs the Junior transfer leads the Lobos in points (16.7), rebounds (8.1) and assists (4.2). Ramon Martinez provides great Senior leadership and can be deadly from behind the arc. The Lobos have plenty of depth and are used to altitude so it will be tough for the full court press of the Pokes to do as much damage as it during the second half against the Aztecs.

Wyoming appears to be gelling as team over the last week and will need solid teamwork if they hope to hang with New Mexico. Afam Muojeke is averaging 27 points over his last two games and has been hitting a ton of shots. He's also done a much better job of ball handling with just 6 turnovers over his last four games. Jaydee Luster has become an outside shooting threat for the Pokes by hitting 8 treys over the last three games compared to four in the first 17 games.

New Mexico won both matchups last year including one point victory in the regular season finale. They will meet again in Albuquerque on February 17th.

W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	STK
UNM	15-3	78.3	67.4	11-1	3-2	W1
WYO	8-9	78.6	74.9	8-5	0-4	L1

WHITE OUT GAME VS NEW MEXICO

This game will be much better than the movie

Saturday's game against the New Mexico Lobos will be a "white out" game in Arena-Auditorium. How does this work? Well you came to right my place. Read on!

Step 1: Find a white shirt

Step 2: Find a different white shirt because the first one had nasty pit stains and no one wants to see that.

Step 3: Put head and arms into clean shirt and then pull down.

Step 4: Grab your buddies (all in matching white shirts) and head to the game.

Step 5: Don't let Dave pull that "left my wallet at home" trick when you get to the ticket office. He pulled that one on you twice already this season.

Step 5: Yell like crazy and help the Pokes give the Lobos a rude welcome.

Step 6: Tell any New Mexico fans you see what a great time you had their Bowl game this year.

For the whole scoop from the UW Athletic program click here.

Should Wyoming turn down Bowl bid?

First read this article from Robert Gagliardi. This is where the idea got started.

So yes, times are tough but what state is really rolling in money right now? Want to guarantee a failure of your football program? Well then turn down that bowl bid and see what happens. After getting a solid coach who has young and talented players coming into the system the quickest way to kill that momentum would be to stay home this December.

Why would any recruit come to a school that qualifies for the postseason and then opts out. Why did they spend months practicing and pushing their bodies to the limit if it they could never make it to a bowl game?

The team EARNED a fifth place finish in the Mountain West this year.

The University is spending a ton of money of the new Wildcatter suites at War Memorial. They will sell a lot more suites by going to a bowl game then by saving a few dollars now. Why should a company plunk down $40k a season to support a University that has no postseason aspirations.

Wyoming can gain extra income with increased ticket and merchandise sales related to the bowl appearance. Sponsors are more likely to come on board for a team with a history of going to the post season. Cowboy Joe Club donations are also likely to increase.

I'm sure that the other schools in the Mountain West would be big fans of Wyoming staying home. Sure Wyoming has benefited from Utah making it to a BCS game before just like TCU is doing this year. But if the Pokes just want to take the money that other schools earn and run with it - I'm sure they would have no problem with it.

What if we are 6-6 in two years and the state is doing well financially. Should we go to a bowl then? We may not even get an invite in the future if we turn down a trip this year. Or if we are 7-5 along with another MWC team, guess which team will get picked for the bigger bowl?

The Cowboys have sold nearly 1,500 already to the New Mexico Bowl and an official announcement hasn't even happened yet. The University must 4,000 tickets to cover its allotment which seems pretty easy. Anything above that is extra income for the Cowboys.

Here you go history buffs:

Remember back in 2006 when the Cowboys finished 6-6 with victories over Utah and New Mexico that year? Well despite having an identical record with New Mexico and winning the head to head matchup the Lobos went bowling instead of the Cowboys. I wasn't happy about that and I doubt you were either.

Now is not the time to get picky about our bowl games.

The Cowboys haven't been to a bowl game since 2004 when they upset UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl. Before that it was the 1993 Copper Bowl. We need to shorten the time between bowl appearances not lengthen it.

Notre Dame has turned down bowl games before because they felt they were too good to play in a lower bowl. This year they are staying home because of the Charlie Weiss fiasco. Luckily we don't have head stuck in the clouds like the Golden Toppers. Yes, Notre Dame is 6-6 like the Cowboys but they have the national spotlight shining on them non-stop and it has been mostly negative for the last two months. Also with Weiss gone ND has no play callers to actually run the offense or defense. None of their assistants are being considered for the head job so they don't want anyone else acting as head coach for the next month.

If the Cowboys weren't going to accept their bowl bid then what was the point of scoring 24 unanswered points to beat San Diego State? Or even taking back the Bronze Boot? This team has put together four fourth quarter comebacks this season, I want to see what else they can do.

One last note. The average temperature in Albuquerque on December 19th has been 47 degrees. Not tropical by any means but sure sounds nicer than the average of 36 degree in Boise or 33 in Laramie.

Go Pokes!

Mountain West Matchups

Here are the other matchups in the Mountain West this weekend.

Air Force at #19 BYU
1:30PM MST
TV: CBS College

This is my matchup of the week in the Mountain West. Air Force boasts a stellar defense and BYU has a potent offense. The Falcons nearly knocked off TCU and forced Utah in overtime earlier this season. I say that BYU shows it weakness on defense and Air Force comes out of Provo with a win.

San Diego State at #23 Utah
2:00PM MST
TV: Versus

San Diego State was one quarter away from winning their fifth game of the season before the Cowboys went on a tear. Now they must defeat Utah and UNLV on the road if they want to earn a bowl bid. Utah is looking to redeem themselves after getting by TCU last week. I'd love for the Aztecs to get the win but it probably won't happen.

Colorado State at New Mexico
4:00PM MST
TV: The Mtn

Not much reason to watch this one unless you like watching bad teams. New Mexico is winless but have been showing signs of life in recent games. CSU is coming off a bye week and hasn't won in two months. Hopefully the Rams won't win and get hot just in time for the Border War.

ESPN Game Day heads to TCU

#4 TCU hosts #16 Utah this Saturday and ESPN College Game Day will be there for the ride. Well they will be there before the game (game is actually shown on CBS College). This is the third time this season (and second time in a row) that ESPN has followed a been to a Mountain West game. This ties them with the Big 12 for most appearances this season.

TCU needs to win by a decent margin if they hope to keep their BCS buster hopes alive. An impressive win followed by some key losses by other teams may be enough to get the Horned Frogs in the title game. That is a very slim chance but you never know what will happen in college football.

Game time is at 5:30pm MST.

Other Mountain West matchups this weekend:

#22 BYU heads to winless New Mexico.

Hopefully BYU will blow out the Lobos in a similar fashion to the win over the Cowboys last weekend. The Lobos have been playing better as of late but this one shouldn't be close. Max Hall should have a field day throwing against the New Mexico Secondary.

Noon MST

TV: The Mtn

UNLV heads to Air Force

The Rebels still have a bowl berth possibility but by only the thinnest of margins. The Rebels (4-6) need to upset the Falcons (6-4) at home this week and then beat San Diego State in their final regular season game on November 28th. The Falcons have a stingy defense and will give UNLV problems. The triple option of AF should enjoy working against the Rebels 111th ranked run defense.

4:00 PM MST

TV: The Mtn

Cross Country Championships this weekend

The Mountain West Cross Country Championships take place in Provo, UT this weekend hosted by BYU.

Men: 8k course starts at 10a.m.

Women: 6k course starts at 11a.m.

Both races will have the BYU Cougars and New Mexico Lobos contending for the title. BYU's Mens team has won 10 out of the last 11 titles. The Cougars are currently ranked #7 in the nation. The Lobos are ranked #19 in the nation and have Jacob Kirwa and Rory Fraser the only returning top 10 finishers from 2008.

In the women's race #20 New Mexico will look to defend their title against #21 BYU. The Cougars are led by Senior Angela Wagner the 2008 MWC Cross Country Female Athlete of the Year.

Good luck to the Cowboy and Cowgirl teams competing this weekend.

Full release from the MWC.

Mountain West Mondays

Recapping all the Mountain West Action over the weekend.

TCU @ BYU

This was the game of the week in College Football. It was a great game unless you are a BYU fan. The Horned Frogs jumped out a 21-0 lead and never looked back. The only bad news is that TCU beat BYU so bad in the 38-7 win that it knocked the Cougars out of the Top 25 rankings. The win vaulted the Froggies to #6 in the BCS standings.

Box Score


San Diego State @ CSU

A tale of two halves here. CSU looked like they finally going to a win and break their four game losing streak when they were up 21-7 heading into the half. Ryan Lindley and the Aztecs took to the air for 459 yards and six touchdowns as they roared back with 35 points in the second half to end up winning 42-28. A promising start to the season has been derailed for Rams.

Box Score


Air Force @ Utah

Past games have been very close and this game didn't disappoint. The Utes had problems all game long with 6 fumbles but only losing two. The Falcons forced a 16-16 tie with a 48 yard field goal that sent the game into overtime. Utah ran for a TD in their first possession of OT then the defense stepped up and smothered the Falcons on a 4th and 2 to earn a hard fought 23-16 victory.

Box Score


UNLV @ New Mexico

It really doesn't matter who coaches the Lobos - it is the same result. The Lobos are now 0-7 following the 34-17 loss to the Rebels. You never know what will happen but chances are pretty good now that New Mexico will finish with an 0-12 record this season.

Box Score

Great MWC Matchups this Weekend!

While the Pokes have the weekend off you can tune in and scout the competition. You can preview the Cowboys upcoming opponents for the rest of the season by watching just three games this Saturday.

Game of the Week

#10 TCU @ #16 BYU
5:30pm MST
TV: Versus

ESPN College Game Day is making big news by coming to Provo. This is only the third time the GD crew has been in attendance for a game hosted by a Mountain West team. The fact that ESPN can't even broadcast the game makes it even more impressive. Best game in College Football this weekend.

TCU has their BCS dreams on the line. A loss here will sink the Horned Frogs and the MWC. The Cougars are looking to return the favor at TCU ruined their season last year.

Prediction: TCU 27 - BYU21


Air Force @ #19 Utah
2:00pm MST
TV: Versus

Air Force has one of the top defenses in the nation. Will they be able to stop the Utes and their powerful offense? Utah will become the third MWC team to become bowl eligible with a victory. These games have been close every year and don't expect anything to change.

Prediction: Utah 17 - Air Force 10


San Diego State @ Colorado State
2:00PM MST
TV: The Mtn

The Cowboys better study this game and figure out a way they can beat the Aztecs and Rams if they want to play in a bowl game this year. CSU has lost 4 in a row and is win less in the Mountain West this year. The second half of their schedule is much easier now and they need this victory at home.

Prediction: CSU 31 - SDSU 21


UNLV @ New Mexico
6:00PM MST
TV: The Mtn

This game is all about pride. If New Mexico wants to try and get a win this season this is their best chance. UNLV need this win to try and stay with the middle tier of teams in the Mountain West.

Prediction: UNLV 37 - New Mexico 17

Making the Rounds - 10/21/09

Making the Rounds: New from around the Mountain West Conference.

As seen on Mountain West Connection.

Air Force: The Falcons want to add some balance to their offense.

BYU: The Cougars still have the loss to TCU from last year on their mind.

Colorado State: The Rams can relate to the Aztecs state.

New Mexico: Greg Barlow will be handling coaching duties for the Lobos this weekend.

San Diego State: The basketball arena has a new name and a new scoreboard.

TCU: The Horned Frogs have a new Athletic Director.

UNLV: The Rebels want to try something different in the red zone. Scoring.

Utah: The student group support MUSS keeps growing at Ute games.

Wyoming: The Cowboys and Cowgirls are getting ready for the start of basketball season.

Mountain West Mondays

Mountain West Mondays

Welcome to the first installment of Mountain West Mondays. We will use this section to get you caught up from news all around the Conference.

So all of the news on Monday will relate to the other nine teams in the Mountain West.


Wyoming at Air Force
Air Force shutouts Wyoming at home 10-0. Defensive battle for both teams. The Falcons solidfy themselves as the #4 team in the Mountain West.


Box Score


Colorado State at TCU
TCU shows what their offense can do when the field isn't covered in snow and it's 15 degrees out. The Horned Frogs are now bowl eligible and still undefeated this season. TCU 44 - CSU 3.

Box Score


BYU at San Diego State
The Aztecs came out and surprised the Cougars with their tough play. This one had the possiblity of being a huge upset before BYU settled down and won their sixth game of the season. The Cougars are also bowl eligibile. BYU 38- SDSU - 28.

Box Score

Utah at UNLV
Amazing stat: both teams totaled 327 total yards on offense. Bad news is that the Utes put 35 points to the Rebels 15. This game was essentially over in the first half.

Box Score


New Mexico
The good news is that Lobos achived something they haven't all season: they didn't lose. Unfortunately they had to wait for their bye week to accomplish this feat. When they do face UNLV this weekend they be without head coach Mike Locksley who can been suspended without pay for 10 games for punching WR Coach J.B. Gerald.

Locksley says he used "poor judgement". Really? I guess he was just trying to take after Tom Cable.


MWC RECAP VIDEO

Wyoming vs New Mexico Recap - PART 2

RECAP - 2nd Half vs New Mexico Lobos

After a tough first half and Wyoming leading 17-13 the second half was a much different story. The defense showed why it is one of the best in the conference and the spread offense really started rolling.

THIRD QUARTER

The Cowboys drove 58 yards to the Lobos 8 yard line but on 4th and 2 Frankie Solomon broke up a pass intended for Travis Burkhalter. After that the teams traded the ball back and forth on the next couple possessions.

Wyoming's defense came up big midway through the third quarter when Weston Johnson picked off Donovan Porterie at the NM 40. Wyoming converted on a 4th and 4 at the NM 34. Wyoming was 1 for 4 on fourth downs for the day. Two plays later Austyn Carta-Samuels found Zach Bolger in the endzone for a 28 yard TD pass. The extra kick was blocked.

New Mexico 13 - Wyoming 23

Wyoming forced the Lobos to punt on their next possesion.

FOURTH QUARTER

With the Cowboys starting to add to their lead Coach Christensen put Brandon Stewart into the lineup and he made the most of his time. The fourth quarter belonged to Stewart.

On the following drive Stewart and four rushes for 22 yards and powered his way into the endzone from two yards out. Watts nailed the extra point.

New Mexico 13 - Wyoming 30


The next few possessions featured some ugly play with penalties for both sides. Alvester Alexander fumbled for the Pokes was able to recover.

Brandon Stewart concluded the scoring on a beautiful catch and run for a 54 yard touchdown. He made that sure the held on to the ball as he streaked down the sideline for the score. Extra point was good.

New Mexico 13 - Wyoming 37


New Mexico threatened near the end of game but Alex Toney picked up off Porterie in the end zone and went down four a touch back. Wyoming ran out the clock and picked up their fourth victory of the season.

OFFENSIVE GAME BALL: Austyn Carta - Samuels

The freshman phenom does it again. Three starts = three victories. 15/30 232 yards and 3 TD's.

His streak of MWC Offensive POW was broken however.


DEFENSIVE GAME BALL: Wyoming Defensive Line

Lobos only gained 47 yards on the ground during the game on 32 attempts. They actually had negative yards rushing in the second half.


UP NEXT:

Wyoming @ Air Force - 10/17 2pm MT. Televised on the Mtn.

Wyoming vs New Mexico Recap - PART 1

RECAP - 1st Half vs New Mexico Lobos


PRE GAME - The story here was the weather. A major snow storm hit the front range that sent tempratures plummeting and blanketed the area with snow. New Mexico stayed Friday night in Cheyenne and had to be escorted to Laramie over a closed Interstate 80 by two snowplows and a Wyoming Highway Patrol car Saturday morning to make it to the game. Game time temperature was 15 degrees and the Laramie area received 7 inches of snow.

The weather kept a lot of fans at home because they couldn't get to the stadium and also caused MLB to postpone game 3 of the Rockies - Phillies NLDS game in Denver. The Lobos arrived with only 2 hours to prepare for the game and had to cut their pre game warm-ups short.

FIRST QUARTER - Things started off poorly for the Pokes after stopping the Lobos on a 4th and 5 at the Wyoming 26. After gaining only 6 yards on three plays the Cowboys attempted a fake punt from their own 33 yard line. The fake punt resulted in a fumble and the Lobos recovered on the Wyoming 23. It took only play for New Mexico to take advantage of this mistake and take lead. Donovan Porterie found Ty Kirk for a 23 yard score to put the Lobos up 6-0. The extra point made it 7-0.

New Mexico 7 - Wyoming 0

Wyoming got the ball back and Austyn Carta-Samuels drove the Pokes down to New Mexico's 8 yard line before a 15 yard personal foul sent them back to the 23 yard line and killed all the momentum.

New Mexico took over at their 10 yard line and ended up losing 6 yards on two rushing plays. The Lobos tried a screen pass in their own end zone and Mitch Unrein was there for the tackle to force a safety. Greet job of the defense to pick up the slack left by the offense.

New Mexico 7 - Wyoming 2

SECOND QUARTER - The Cowboys failed to score after getting the ball back after the safety. On their next possession Alvester Alexander had 50 rushing yards on three rushes in a 8 play 68 yard drive. Alexander scored on a 33 yard run that gave the Cowboys their first lead of the game. Extra Point was good.

New Mexico 7 - Wyoming 9

The Lobos kept up their tough first half play and were able to put together a 8 play 43 yard drive that ended in a 43 yard field goal by James Aho. This put the Lobos back on top.

New Mexico 10 - Wyoming 9

Wyoming was on the verge of going 3 and out when New Mexico was flagged for roughing the passer and the 15 yards gave the Wyoming a new set of downs and fresh hope to finish the first half on a high note. Austyn rushed for 14 yards and then Brandon Stewart added another 4. The Cowboys went to the air and Carta-Samuels found Travis Burkhalter for a 31 yard score. Carta-Samuels then found David Leonoard for a two point conversion. Giving the the Cowboys a 7 point lead and they would never look back.

New Mexico 10 - Wyoming 17

New Mexico continued to fight and drove down to the Wyoming 14. After failing to reach to the end zone they settled for a 31 yard field goal by James Aho. This concluded the scoring for the Lobos for the day.

New Mexico 13 - Wyoming 17


END OF FIRST HALF