DAILY LOBO new mexico
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March 14, 2014
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
UNM withstands Fresno State’s press, advances by J.R. Oppenheim
assistantsports@dailylobo.com @ JROppenheim LAS VEGAS — Whether it was man or zone, the Lobos have seen about every kind of defense an opponent can throw at them. So when Fresno State threw a fullcourt press over the course of Thursday night’s Mountain West Basketball quarterfinals at the Thomas & Mack Center, the Lobos knew what to do. The Lobos cut through that press, utilized by Fresno State more
frequently in the second half, and continually attacked the basket. The big men tandem of center Alex Kirk and forward Cameron Bairstow flaunted their typical game, and UNM advanced into Friday’s semifinals with a 93-77 win. UNM now plays Boise State in Friday’s semifinal at 9:30 MT. “We’ve prepared for every type of zone,” guard Kendall Williams said. “I think that’s been a positive for us because now we’ve over analyzed situations and over prepared, which is never a bad thing.” A 1-3-1 zone defense from San
Diego State halted UNM’s quest for another Mountain West regular-season championship six days earlier. “We’ve been working on that,” Williams said. “What happened Saturday, talking about the San Diego State game, they were able to throw a zone defense at us that a lot of teams don’t prepare for.” Bairstow and Kirk matched the game-high with 21 points apiece, and Bairstow pulled down 10 rebounds. Williams, the third leg of the Lobos’ Big 3, added 17 points. Fresno State head coach Rodney Terry called UNM (25-6)
an NCAA Sweet 16-caliber team and expressed kind sentiments to Bairstow and Williams. “They’re a team that cannot only advance in this tournament, have a chance to win this tournament, but go a long way in the NCAA tournament,” Rodney said in his press conference. “They have all the ingredients to be a Sweet 16-type team.” But Neal acknowledged that the tournament selections have not been announced yet, and said the Lobos can’t let expectations get to their heads. Last year Harvard upset UNM, a No. 3 seed
Aaron Sweet / @AaronCSweet / Daily Lobo New Mexico forward Cameron Bairstow dribbles past Fresno State’s Paul Watson during the second-round Mountain West Basketball Championship in Las Vegas, Nev. on Thursday. The Lobos defeated the Bulldogs 93-77.
that won the conference regularseason and tournament. “We just want another chance,” Neal said. “It’s nice to hear those things but our guys have to stay grounded because I think it affected them last year. I really do. It was new for them. They weren’t used to it. Well, we’re used it now.” Much like their previous meeting in mid-January, both teams took numerous foul shots. UNM benefitted more from the line, converting 31 foul shots in 38 attempts, while Fresno State hit a lower clip, 19 of 28. These teams combined for 74 free throws in their previous meeting, bringing the two-game total for free throw attempts to 140. “It’s always going to be important getting to the free throw line, firstly,” Bairstow said. “We understand that it is the highest percentage play in basketball. We want to get there as much as possible. Tonight I think we did a good job converting it.” UNM never trailed against Fresno State this time around, building a 14-3 lead over the first 4:23. Bairstow and Kirk together scored eight of the first 10 points, and Williams provided his first of nine assists on the second scoring play. The Lobos built its advantage to as many as 14 points before holding a 49-35 halftime edge. Fresno State did not manage any significant runs over the second half and UNM built its largest lead at 7354. The Bulldogs hit six four 3-pointers in the second half, including four from guard Paul Watson, and UNM outscored Fresno State by only two points in the latter 20 minutes, 44-42. The Bulldogs featured some balanced scoring with four in double figures: guard Allen Huddleston with 18, forward Alex Davis with 17, guard Paul Watson with 16 and guard Marvelle Harris with 13. Fresno State hit 39.7 percent from the field (25 of 63), 29.6 percent from the 3-point line (8 of 27). UNM shot 56.9 percent on field goals (29 of 51) and 28.6 percent from beyond the arc (4 of 14).
ASUNM moves Wellness Center proposals ahead by Mychal Miltenberger news@dailylobo.com
Members of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico Senate saw further review of three proposals for the proposed creation of the new Wellness Center. Associate President of Student Services Tim Gutierrez, who attended the meeting Wednesday night as a guest speaker, said ASUNM will be integral in determining which proposal to go with in the future. “They will play a major role from the standpoint of expressing the desires of the students wanting to have a destination institution with a first-rate facility that they can access at any time,” Gutierrez said. First proposed about eight years ago, the Wellness Center would be located on UNM’s Lot A, adjacent to Central Avenue, according to a report by the Daily Lobo. According to an information packet distributed by Gutierrez at the meeting, the first proposal aims to establish a 170,856 square-foot stand-alone Wellness Center, which would incorporate Recreational Services, Student Health and Counseling and
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Employee Health Promotion. It would also include a multipurpose activity courts gym, a leisure pool, an indoor running track, offices and classrooms. This proposal is estimated at $69 million, and is projected to add $268 in student fees annually. The second proposal would be an additional 100,000 square-foot recreational facility that would sit directly east of Johnson Center and would include a MAC Gym, a climbing wall, an indoor running track, multi-purpose rooms, a juice bar and offices, according to the packet. This facility is estimated to cost $36 million and is projected to add $138 annually in student fees. The third proposal would include a 100,000 square-foot recreational center plus a phased renewal of Johnson Center, according to the packet. The renewal would include conversion of the Johnson pool to a leisure pool, an upgrade to the Olympic pool, upgrading infrastructure and addressing building code issues. Costing the most among the three proposals, the projected cost is estimated at around $86 million and is projected to add $298 annually in student fees. Gutierrez said he would like to have a
selection made on the proposal as soon as possible in order to give students something concrete when discussing the project with the administration. “We would like to have a decision as soon as possible,” Gutierrez said. “We want to give our students something to hold onto, something to push for and something to champion to the administration, because part of this is going to come down to a discussion with the administration on what is going to be there to serve our students the best in the future.” ASUNM Sen. Ayham Maadi said he believes the first proposal would potentially kill two birds with one stone by putting further pressure on the University to address the issue of parking on campus. “Parking is in need of complete overhaul as well,” Maadi said. “So I am thinking option one would also put pressure on decision makers when it comes to parking... We would have a brand new Wellness Center with SHAC included, while also putting direct pressure on decision makers when it comes to parking.”
A little night music
“Go to Fresno and make some noise”
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Number of senators stay the same
The night also saw Bill 7s, which would have increased the number of senators in ASUNM from 20 to 25, fail to pass by one vote. One of the driving forces behind the bill was some senators’ belief that 20 is an underrepresentation of UNM’s growing student population. “I don’t feel like 20 is enough to represent the amount of students we have at UNM,” said ASUNM Sen. Liliana Benitez de Luna. “I feel like on my end, I am not getting out there and talking with enough students, and I definitely feel like five more senators would help us all with that.”
Electronic textbooks UNM Provost Chauoki Abdallah also stopped by at the meeting to encourage senators to begin gathering student opinion regarding students’ heavier reliance on electronic textbooks. Provost Abdallah said the average student spends around $1200 a year on textbooks. He said he hopes that a move toward e-books will save students money in the future.
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