Albuquerque, N.M. — Three years ago, Dave Bliss tried to recruit Ruben Douglas and Wayland White to New Mexico. Late Wednesday night they spoiled his return to Albuquerque.
Douglas scored 27 points, White added 14 and his back-to-back baskets keyed an 11-2 run in the final minutes that led the Lobos to an 83-73 win over Bliss' Baylor Bears in a first-round game of the NIT.
Bliss, who coached the Lobos for 11 years and holds the school record for career wins, recruited Douglas and White while still at New Mexico.
Douglas eventually signed with Arizona, then transferred last year to New Mexico. White, a junior college transfer, opted to join the Lobos when coach Fran Fraschilla succeeded Bliss.
"I didn't get caught up in all the hype and emotion," Douglas said of Bliss' return to The Pit. "He's one of the few coaches in the nation who really knows my game."
"There's a reason why New Mexico recruited Ruben and Wayland," Bliss said. "Ruben hit some major league shots and Wayland's tip-in tipped the scale."
New Mexico (20-12) pulled away from a 72-71 lead on White's two baskets, the first a tip-in with 2:43 left and the second a 10-foot bank shot. Marlon Parmer scored with 1:20 remaining and Baylor's only points the rest of the way were a pair of free throws from Terry Black.
"There were big plays on both sides, but we got one run at the end that really broke it open," Fraschilla said.
Baylor (19-12) had rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit behind Black and Greg Davis. Black scored 22 points, most on a variety of dunks. Davis, who played two years at New Mexico and transferred to Baylor when Bliss took the Bears' job two years ago, finished with 17 points.
Douglas hit five three-pointers and eight of 14 shots overall in tying his career high point total. Parmer added 16 points and White had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
New Mexico plays Pepperdine in a second-round game next week.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.