Revived Simons, Logwood lead offensive output
Players now out of Weir’s doghouse combine for 48 points in MWC win
The high plains of Wyoming have not been a friendly place for The University of New Mexico over the years.
On Tuesday night, it was home away from home in a record-setting fashion thanks to two players who were nowhere to be found for about a month early in the conference season.
Getting a combined 48 points from Sam Logwood and Troy Simons, the Lobos (14-14 overall, 9-6 in the Mountain West) picked up their first win in Laramie’s Arena-Auditorium in four years with a wild 119-114 victory. Six Lobos finished in double figures, led by 24 points apiece from Logwood and Simons.
Those same two players sat out for nearly half of the MWC schedule after each fell out of favor with head coach Paul Weir. Logwood sat out seven games and Simons five.
It was easily the best game for both since returning to the lineup.
Logwood was particularly efficient, hitting 11 of 12 shots and grabbing a team-high nine rebounds while playing the majority of the game as the team’s primary post player. Starting forward Joe Furstinger battled foul trouble all night and fouled out with just nine points in 14 minutes, leaving Logwood to play the majority of the time as what would be considered the center.
“Since [Logwood] came back, I think his offensive patience has really allowed him to have better games,” Weir said during his postgame radio show on KKOB-AM. “I think early in the year and before he took some time off, he was just forcing a lot.”
It was the most points a visiting team had ever scored against the Cowboys in the AA, a building that opened
more than 35 years ago. It was also the 15thhighest single game point total in UNM history.
Makuach Maluach added 20 points for the Lobos, with a dozen of them coming at the free throw line. As a team, the Lobos were 32 of 43 from the line and had 13 3-pointers.
The win pushes them into sole possession of fourth place with three games remaining in the regular season. Up next is a Sunday home date against UNLV.
Weir said he was angry with his players as the final horn sounded, but thought better of reading the riot act to them back in the locker room.
“I was upset with a lot of things, but not going to go in after beating Wyoming on the road and be upset with the guys,” he said. “I can’t do it. They [the Cowboys] beat Boise here, they beat Nevada here, we’re 9-6, we got a fun game coming up — this is a meaningful February to this team and I’m so happy for them.”
The Lobos did turn the ball over 20 times and had trouble holding onto it when Wyoming switched to a zone defense. They made up for it by shooting nearly 62 percent from the field.
UNM led for all but two minutes of the game, taking a 55-53 lead into halftime and then quickly expanding it to 67-59 when the mounting foul issues starting wreaking havoc on Wyoming. Forward Hayden Dalton picked up his fourth with 16 minutes left and didn’t re-enter until the closing moments.
The Cowboys cut it to a one-possession game but UNM steadily pulled away and got the margin to double digits, 88-78, when Logwood converted a layup with 8:30 remaining.
A pair of Maluach free throws put the Lobos over the century mark with three minutes remaining.
Wyoming (17-11, 8-7) hung around until the closing minutes as Louis Adams poured in a game-high 31 points to lead four Cowboys in double figures. The MWC’s third-leading scorer, Justin James, had 23 points while Dalton had 21.
As a team they shot 58 percent from the floor and matched UNM’s total from the outside with 13 3-point buckets.
“It was a fun offensive basketball game,” Weir said. “We just have to find a way to guard better.”
NOTES
The Lobos have set a new school record for 3-pointers in a season with 314, topping the previous mark set 20 years ago. … Anthony Mathis extended his streak of double-digit games to 15, but just barely. He had just three points when he picked up his fourth personal foul early in the second half but rallied to 10 points before getting called for his fifth foul. … It’s safe to say Dane Kuiper’s shooting slump is over. He was 3-for-4 from the field and had 11 points. The last two games he is 6-for-9 from the floor, his best two-game span since late December.