ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)—Mark Walters scored 19 points and New Mexico hit a school record 20 3-pointers to beat Santa Clara 93-59 at the NABC Classic Saturday night.
New Mexico (2-0) turned the game into an early rout by hitting 13 3s in the first half. Fifteen of the Lobos’ first 18 field goals were 3-pointers.
Reserve guard Jeff Hart’s 3-pointer with 36 seconds left broke the previous school record of 18. Reserve center Kellen Walter hit the 20th 3-pointer from the baseline with 13 seconds left despite pleas from New Mexico coach Ritchie McKay for the Lobos to not score anymore.
Santa Clara (1-1) managed an early 8-8 tie, but New Mexico then hit five straight 3s in a 15-4 run. Danny Granger, Troy DeVries and reserve forward Alfred Neale hit three straight, Walters connected from behind the arc after a field goal by Bronco Doron Perkins and Granger hit another 3-pointer after another basket by Perkins.
The Lobos closed the first half with four straight 3s, two of them by Neale and one each from Granger and Walters, who stole the inbound pass after Granger’s 3-pointer.
Travis Niesen led Santa Clara with 17 points and Perkins had 10, but the Broncos had no answer for New Mexico’s long-range scoring. The Broncos shot 14 3s, but hit only two.
Not that the Lobos needed any help, but Santa Clara went 6 1/2 minutes without a field goal late in the first half and had only three field goals through the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Walters finished with four 3s and his best scoring game in nearly two years. Granger hit five 3s, Neale had four, all in the first half, and DeVries hit three. Granger finished with 18 points, Neale scored 16 and DeVries 12.
The previous 3-point record of 18 was set in 1997 against Holy Cross and tied against Texas-El Paso in 1998.
New Mexico, for the game, hit 20 of 35 3s and overall shot 56 percent from the field.
