New Mexico breezes past Texas Tech

Freshman Dairese Gary scored 18 points, shooting 7 of 11 from the floor as he hit all four of his 3-point tries, and J.R. Giddens and Chad Toppert each scored 13 points in New Mexico’s 80-63 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday.

It also gave Alford, New Mexico’s first-year coach, his second win in five tries against Knight, his former coach at Indiana.

The Lobos (9-2) hit nine of 11 from 3-point range, setting a school record (81.8 percent) for best percentage in a game, and Alford even threw in a little zone defense to go with the man-to-man he learned under Knight.

Mike Singletary came off the bench to score 25 points for Texas Tech (6-4), and Trevor Cook and John Roberson each had 12.

Alford had beaten Knight only once in their first four meetings as coaches. He spoke all week about how much he disliked facing his mentor, the coach who recruited him to Indiana.

But in their most recent showdown three years ago, Alford’s Iowa team handily beat Knight and Texas Tech, 83-53.

Alford, a two-time All-American, captained the Indiana team that won the 1987 NCAA title — the most recent of Knight’s three national championships.

• No. 25 Brigham Young 86, Pepperdine 67 — At Provo, Utah, Lee Cummard scored 21 points to lead the Cougars over the Waves, pushing BYU’s home winning streak to 37 games.

Trent Plaisted had 18 points and matched a career high with 18 rebounds for the Cougars (9-2), who overcame 29 turnovers — 19 of them in the first half — by shooting 57 percent. Cummard was 10 of 12 from the field.

Pepperdine (5-7) had 24 turnovers, shot 31 percent from the floor and was outrebounded, 46-37.

• Utah 66, Missouri State 54 — At Salt Lake City, Luke Nevill had 18 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots as the Utes beat the Bears.

The Utes (6-3) led 37-20 at halftime by dominating inside and forcing 10 turnovers.

Dale Lamberth scored 18 points and Devan Mitchell 14 for the Bears (5-3).

• North Dakota State 83, Colorado State 69 — At Fargo, N.D., Brett Winkelman and Ben Woodside combined for 48 points to help the Bison beat the Rams.

Winkelman had 26 points and 11 rebounds for North Dakota State (6-5).

The Rams (5-5), down by 12 at halftime, could get no closer than five points in the second half.

Stuart Creason, a 7-foot senior, led the Rams with 25 points.

• Montana State 79, Wyoming 72 — At Casper, Wyo., Divaldo Mbunga had 23 points and eight rebounds, and the Bobcats survived a late Cowboys rally.

Mbunga helped put the game away with six free throws in the final three minutes after Brandon Ewing scored six straight points to give Wyoming a 64-62 lead.

Carlos Taylor and Casey Durham each scored 14 points for Montana State (5-4). Ryan Dermody led Wyoming (4-4) with 17 points.