Webb Toyota Thoughts

Fans watching the Webb Toyota championship earlier tonight didn't see a New Mexico team.

That's because Montwood (Texas) beat Mullen (Colo.).

Mullen had two players over 6-5 and a 6-9 coach. Ignacio had a guy on stilts as well. And the out-of-staters seemed to generate better ball movement. Their players swirled, cut and set picks away from the ball and never stopped moving.

Montwood's bus was experiencing an oil problem that could lengthen their ride back to El Paso. I asked one of their assistants about the length of the drive: "Six DVDs," he joked.

The difference in the game: Shooting.

The Mustangs shot 28 percent from the field. The Rams made 57 percent of their shots.

Mullen's early zone gave Montwood issues, but the midrange jump shot -- often toward the middle of the side of the lane.

Ricky Nava said the Rams prep for every defense and counter it, but Montwood hadn't seen much zone.

Mullen, based in Denver, left five players back home, according to its coach. Colorado's rules on eligibility are more strict than New Mexico's and involve participating in a certain number of practices before you can play in a game. The Mustangs will add some more parts later to a team that didn't have a minute of varsity experience entering Thursday's opener in Farmington.

Their drive down from Denver took 12 hours last week due to snowy conditions. Unlike Montwood, they didn't plan on starting their journey home tonight.

Here's some leftover numbers from the championship game.

Stats
Montwood   Mullen
Turnovers    15   14
2-point   24-39   9-24
3-point   0-3   3-19
R   26   28
FT   11-18   7-12
A   8   8
F   12   15

Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher