Lobos survive Grizzlies 62-57

SAN JOSE (KRQE) - It wasn't easy, but the No. 3 New Mexico Lobos escaped the paws of the No. 14 Montana Grizzlies 62-57 to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

"This isn’t gymnastics. We don’t get [style] points for that," Head Coach Steve Alford said. "We play this way, we play hard, we play tough."

The Lobos were led in scoring by Roman Martinez who provided both an emotional spark and the last two free throws of the game. Martinez had 19 points.

"I think we need to come out with more urgency," Marinez said. "I think we have to have more of a defensive mind."

The Lobos actually trailed by one at the half, but came out cherry-hot in the second.

Early on, New Mexico couldn't find an answer for Montana big man Brian Qvale who had 17 points in the first half.

The Lobos first half troubles were made worse by an injury to standout junior Darington Hobson.

Hobson fell hard on his left wrist and said the injury was very painful after the game.

He will have x-rays on his wrist Friday to see if he can play in the next round.

Trailing 29-28 a dejected Lobos team entered the locker room at the half.

Alford must have said something inspiring to the Cherry and Silver during halftime because the Lobos came out with fire.

"I jumpstarted them at halftime, we've had to do that on occasion. I thought in the second half we played and we didn't care about the stage," Alford said.

The Lobos used that jumpstart to start the half on an 18-3 run, giving them a big lead.

Despite the large margin, the Grizzlies refused to go gently.

Montana roared back with tough defense and cut the lead to a single point late in the game.

But Lobo Dairese Gary took over the game.

The New Mexico point guard banged into the lane several times and he either drew a foul or got an easy bucket.

Gary, who was stepped on during the second half, was clearly exhausted but managed to net 15 points.

He was 7-10 from the free throw line.

Gary even came up with a late game steal to end the Grizzlies chances of tying the game.

"A win is a win, coach always tells us a win is a win, if you win by one or if you win by 100," Gary said. "We don't want to go home yet."

New Mexico shot an uncharacteristic 25 percent from behind the arc and struggled as a team from the free throw line.

One thing the Lobos did right was lock down Anthony Johnson. The big scorer from Montana was frustrated all game long and managed a pedestrian six points.

The Lobos also keyed on Qvale in the second half, but he still accounted for 26 Grizzly points.

New Mexico will play Washington Saturday at 3:50 p.m. on KRQE-TV.