ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - New Mexico coach Craig Neal planned to chuck a zone against New Mexico State on Wednesday night, but no one could have predicted just how well it would work.
The Lobos opened in a 2-3 zone and used it on occasion in the first 10 minutes of the game, during which they fell behind 23-10.
From that point, however, it was New Mexico, which ended the first half on a 24-5 surge on the way to a 62-47 victory.
“They put the zone on and we were just really bad executing against it for whatever reason,” said Aggies coach Marvin Menzies. “We were very tentative and stopped being aggressive.”
The idea was to neutralize New Mexico State’s athleticism, Neal said.
“We were going to make them make jump shots to beat us,” he said.
“They’re terrific at getting to the rim. (Daniel) Mullings has had an unbelievable career and he’s on attack mode all the time. We just wanted to make them make some jump shots.”
With a young and inexperienced group, it was a defense in which the Lobos (4-3) could feel confident, Neal said.
“Our guys understood the game plan,” he said. “That was the first time that we had with this group that I can say they really understood what we were trying to teach and what we were trying to do.”
New Mexico’s Deshawn Delaney, who scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds, said it was almost a relief to go zone.
“It was kind of easy for us to play zone,” he said. “That’s one of our strongest points. Playing man, everything was kind of hurting us so we had to go zone.”
It also helped that offensively, Delaney came out looking to score, putting up 14 in the first half.
“I got tired of losing,” he said. “That was one of the main things. I tried to come out more aggressive. I tried not to shoot myself out of the game.”
Devon Williams added 13 points for New Mexico. Remi Barry led the Aggies (3-5) with 13 points, and Mullings added 10 and nine rebounds.
TIP-INS
New Mexico: The Lobos came into the game with a 116-96 overall advantage in the series.
New Mexico State: Associate head coach Paul Weir served with Lobos head coach Craig Neal under Steve Alford at Iowa.
UP NEXT
New Mexico visits Valparaiso on Saturday.
New Mexico State plays host to rival UTEP on Saturday.
NOTEABLE
New Mexico State: Daniel Mullings, with three steals, became the Aggies’ career leader with 218, passing Hernst Laroche.
NOT A WALK ON
New Mexico junior college transfer Tim Jacobs, a preferred walk on who has been forced to play because of injuries to other guards, had four steals, four assists and a career-high nine points.
“I can’t say enough about him,” Neal said. “That’s why we recruited him. Everybody can say what they want, that he’s a walk on. He’s not a walk on. He was recruited to play here. I know him.”
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