QUOTES
Utah Head Coach Ray Giacoletti
"We continued to
fight and pick ourselves up when we were down 10 with 10 minutes to go and two
overtimes. We have to get better defensively, but we fought through it and came
back. I'm proud of them. Shaun had a huge line doing all the little things; and
I'm looking to him to pull the guys together and he's done great."
Utah Forward Shaun Green
"I just lead with the
way I play. I always like to play aggressive and just try to make the little
plays and [do the] little things to help the team win. This was a huge win for
us. It was a play-in game [at stake] so we don't have to play four games in the
conference tournament. So hopefully we can get a couple more wins before the
tournament to build that momentum to make sure we stay out of that play-in
game."
Utah Center Luke Nevill
"I have been practicing
my foul shots with the time I have been out. Those two shots I missed earlier in
the game, it happens, and I knew I just had to knock the final ones down because
we weren't going to go into another overtime. The final foul shot was just
another foul shot, that's how it is in my mind. I don't look at the clock or
anything like that I just stay focused and try and knock them down."
Utah Guard Johnnie Bryant
"I was just playing.
My teammates did a great job looking and coach was telling me I was getting
passes in the zone so I had to be aggressive and make plays. We had to prove
that Utah is not done and prove we still have something inside of us, and if
that doesn't motivate anybody than they shouldn't be playing this game."
New Mexico Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"We had to
adjust a little to Bryant and Green. We knew if we went zone, we would have to
know where they were and keep track of them.
"You have to pick your
poison against Utah. Nevill was getting the ball where he wanted and we had to
decide what to do."
"I didn't think about my job situation once during the
game. That's apart from the competition of practice or the game."
"My goal and focus is to prepare us for the conference
tournament."
"Other than not winning, our guys are battling and
fighting hard. We responded well today, but we were 6 for 11 compared to 26 for
32 [for Utah] from the free throw line. You're not going to win many games on
the road like that."
NOTES
• Utah now leads the all-time series with New Mexico
76-43, winning 14 of the last 22 games. However, New Mexico had won six of the
last nine meetings. In games played either in Salt Lake City or Albuquerque, the
home team has won each of the last 10 games.
• In Salt Lake City, Utah now has a 51-5 advantage and
has won 18 in a row. The Utes haven't lost to the Lobos in the Huntsman Center
since falling 79-76 on Feb. 16, 1989.
• New Mexico's 17 3-pointers ties the Huntsman Center
record (Utah made 17 vs. UNLV on Jan. 12, 2002) and are the most by a Utah
opponent all-time. The old mark was 15 by UNLV on Jan. 3, 2007.
• Utah has now won its last five games decided by six
points or less after losing its first nine this season.
• New Mexico scored 10 unanswered points over a three and
a half minute span to the 13:07 mark in the second half to take a 48-40 lead.
• Utah ended regulation on an 11-4 run over the last
5:43.
• This was Utah's fourth overtime game of the season--two
of those games were against New Mexico--and second double overtime game. The
Utes are now 1-3 in overtime this season.
• The Lobos became the 11th team to make at least 10
3-pointers on the Utes this season and the fourth to shoot at least 60 percent
from beyond the arc.
• Utah is 2-10 when its opponent shoots at least 50
percent from the field and 5-14 when it shoots at least 40 percent from 3-point
range.
• The Utes are now 7-11 when they outrebound their
opponents this season.
• Utah improved to 9-9 this season when shooting at least
70 percent from the free throw line.
• Utah committed at least 15 turnovers in a game for the
15th time this season and the fifth time in the last six games.
• The Utes are 8-5 when shooting at least 50 percent from
the field and 6-8 when they shoot at least 40 percent from 3-point range.
• Senior guard Ricky Johns had his fifth double-figure
scoring game of the season with all of those coming in the last 10 games.
• Junior guard Johnnie
Bryant had his seventh 20-point game of the season and his second in a row. He
also had his 23rd double-figure scoring game this season and his third in a row.
• Bryant made at least five 3-pointers for the fourth
time this season.
• Sophomore guard Shaun Green has his second 20-point
game of the season and his career. He also had his 20th double-figure scoring
game of the season and his third in a row.
• Green had the third double-double of his career and his
second in a row.
• Sophomore center Luke Nevill had his 24th double-figure
scoring game this season and his ninth in a row.
• Freshman forward Daniel Deane had third double-figure
scoring game of the season and his second in a row.