Boise State Broncos ON SI

What head coach Richard Pitino said after New Mexico’s big win over Boise State

‘First half was absolutely about as good of basketball as I’ve seen in my 13 years being a head coach,’ Pitino said
Bob Lundeberg|
New Mexico head coach Richard Pitino.
New Mexico head coach Richard Pitino. | Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Friday’s highly-anticipated Mountain West Conference men’s basketball showdown between Boise State and New Mexico was over after 20 minutes. 

The Lobos (15-4, 7-1) closed the first half on a 23-2 run to take a 48-21 lead into the locker room. New Mexico dominated Boise State (13-6, 5-3) in every phase of the game before a capacity crowd at The Pit to seize sole possession of first place in the MWC standings with an 84-65 victory. 

“A great win against a program we really, really respect,” Lobos head coach Richard Pitino said after the game. “First half was absolutely about as good of basketball as I’ve seen in my 13 years being a head coach. Guys were ready to go. Team defense was amazing. Effort, phenomenal. Rebounding the basketball was terrific, and then playing such a fun style of basketball to get out on the break was terrific.

The Lobos had 20 fast-break points in the opening half and finished with 29. 

Here are the highlights from Pitino’s postgame press conference.

On the game plan against Boise State

“For one, we have a lot of respect for Boise. We had to be aggressive with (Alvaro) Cardenas on ball screens because he’s really a wizard passing the ball. I think Donovan (Dent) is one of the best point guards in the country, but Cardenas is terrific as well, so we wanted to do our best to take away his vision. We really, really wanted to try and crowd (Tyson) Degenhart because he’s terrific as well. And in the first half, it went according to plan about as good as I’ve seen.”

On bouncing back strong from a loss to San Jose State

“Just foaming at the mouth to get back. San Jose State game stung. We hadn’t lost in over a month. We responded very, very well after the New Mexico State loss, and I thought they were locked in and ready to compete. Sometimes when you have a tough loss, it’s hard to play one of the best teams in the league. But I thought it was good for our guys.

“And Boise had been playing great. I mean, they just beat Wyoming by 40, they had Utah State beat. So they had a lot of confidence. It was a great start, and a great finish.” 

On holding Boise State to five made 3-pointers

“We knew they were really hot, so it was just a point of emphasis. It wasn’t really one thing that we did. That Utah State game was unbelievable, the way they shot the ball. Wyoming was phenomenal as well. They had been extremely hot, so I think our guys understood that it was very important to take away the 3.”

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Bob Lundeberg
BOB LUNDEBERG

Bob Lundeberg is a reporter for Boise State Broncos On SI. An Oregon State graduate, Bob has lived in Idaho since 2019 and is an avid hiker and golfer.

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