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Kendall Williams’ 46 points lead New Mexico to huge win at Colorado State

Kendall Williams

New Mexico’s Kendall Williams reacts after making a 3-point basket in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Boise State on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013, at the Pit in Albuquerque, N.M. (AP Photo/Jake Schoellkopf)

AP

Colorado State manhandled New Mexico on the glass. Three of the Rams’ best players -- Colton Iverson, Wes Eikmeier and Dorian Green -- went off, combining to score 68 points, which is more than most teams get against the Lobos on a normal night. As a team, CSU put up 82 points against the nation’s seventh-stingiest defense, according to Kenpom.

And yet No. 22 Colorado State lost 91-82 to No. 16 New Mexico on Saturday afternoon, snapping their 27-game home-court winning streak and dropping them two games behind the first-place Lobos in the Mountain West standings.

That should tell you just how impressive the performance that Kendall Williams put on was. New Mexico’s star guard finished with a career-high 46 points, hitting 12-16 from the floor and 10-13 from three. The 26 points that Williams scored in the second half would have been a career-high. He hit three threes in a 2:44 span late in the second half that capped a 14-2 run, turning a 70-64 deficit into a 78-72 lead. Entering Saturday, Williams only had 32 threes on the season and was shooting just 32.3% from long range. He only had 48 points in his last five games combined, shooting 29.8% from the field and 28.0% from three.

Should I mention that Williams was sent to the bench with his fourth foul midway through the second half?

With all due respect to Nate Wolters and with the knowledge that Otto Porter went crazy in a win at Syracuse this afternoon, I think it’s fair to say that what Williams did on Saturday was the most impressive and dominating individual performance of the season.

Because this is more than just a regular win for the Lobos.

Nobody wins on the road in the Mountain West. This is just the second time this season that a game between two of the MWC’s top four teams resulted in a win for the road team. And it just about locked up the Mountain West regular season title, as UNM holds a two-game lead and the tiebreaker over Colorado State.

It was, quite simply, a dazzling display from the junior guard, one that won’t soon be forgotten in Fort Collins.

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.