Lobos greeted by fans at Sunport

ALBUQUERQUE - Don’t give up on the Lobos yet.

The men’s basketball team arrived back home in New Mexico Saturday morning to a small group of eager and devoted fans.

“We're huge Lobo fans, we support them win or lose,” Lita Sandoval said. “I've been going to the games for 42 years.”

The crowd was modest because many of the die-hard fans are on their way back from the Las Vegas, NV tournament.

Team members clad in Lobo red stopped to take pictures with fans after their plane landed at 11 a.m.

“Win or lose I'm still a big fan and I think they need the support going into the NCAA tournament,” Joshua Kotobi said.

Head coach Steve Alford also got his fair share of cheers from the waiting fans.

Alford said the team’s morale was high, despite the nail-biting three-point loss to San Diego State Friday night in the Mountain West Tournament.

The Lobos sole senior, Roman Martinez, said it was humbling to see the estimated 5,000 fans that traveled all the way to Las Vegas to support the team.

Coach Alford said the team went down fighting.

“We haven't had a feeling of loss for over two months and if you do that in college basketball, that's an impressive run,” Coach Alford told News 13.

A Lobo Pit Party is scheduled for Sunday afternoon staring at 3 p.m. when CBS unveils the 2010 NCAA championship brackets.