I was at a theater Christmas party when the artistic director explained that he had two season tickets to the University of New Mexico men's basketball games, and he regularly had difficulty getting his family to go with him. Being a UNM alumni and Albuquerque resident for 17 years, I told him I followed the Lobos and would go to games if I could.

He called the next week a couple hours before game time, and I had to turn him down. Plans had been made, and I was sure he wouldn't call me again. He did, though, and I got to see the Lobos eke out a two-point win against Dayton at the end of December. The Lobos were 14-1 at the time.

This team was not supposed to be this good. With one senior and two juniors, the men's team was picked to be a middle-of-the-road Mountain West team, maybe getting to the NIT at the end. While not playing juggernauts like Kansas or Syracuse, the Lobos still racked up wins against Texas Tech, Texas A & M and California and BYU. All were ranked at the time. Only BYU is ranked now. Still, wins are wins, and the Lobos have a lot this year.

Yesterday, I got the Lobo call three hours before tip off against San Diego State. Even with my Mom in town, I got the family okay to go to the game. The Lobos had only three losses, but one of them was losing to SDSU on the road. It was time for pay back, or something. With a rum and coke tailgating beverage, we were off to the game and in The Pit to catch the national anthem. The game was sold out, with about 14,500 people filling the arena, and this is a renovation year. The Pit will hold about 2000 more once the luxury boxes are done. It will never be the utilitarian 18,018 seats it once was, but the outside architecture will be much better. As cool as The Pit looked on the inside, it always looked like a red barn on the outside. This will all change by next year.

The Lobos jumped off to an early lead, thanks to the rocking Pit noise, but SDSU shook off the jitters and played a fairly even first half. With a couple seconds left in the first half, the Lobos led by only two. UNM threw the ball in to their quality ju-co transfer, Darrington Hobson, and he squared up for a 55-foot bomb at the buzzer. Our seats were just behind the north side basket where he shot the ball. It swished through the net, and the crowd went wild. It was easily the most amazing shot I've ever seen in a live basketball game, and probably why I'm writing about basketball this morning.

The Lobos controlled most of the second half, keeping the Aztecs at bay by five to ten points. That is until the last three minutes of the game. SDSU started hitting 3s, and a six-point Lobo lead with 44 seconds left in the game disintegrated into the unthinkable: The Lobos up two with one second left, and the Aztecs shooting three free throws after a foul on a three point shot attempt.

We screamed. The first free throw bounced off the rim but went in. We screamed again, and he missed. We screamed again. He swished. No half court miracle shot this time. Overtime.

The Aztecs had momentum in overtime and took the lead. Both teams had players foul out. With a minute left in overtime, Hobson hit a three pointer to give the Lobos a one point lead, and with the score tied at 86 and 2.7 seconds left, he swished two free throws. Hobson scored eight of our 10 points in overtime and had 29 points and 12 rebounds for the game. He was a monster all game, but there were still 2.7 seconds left.

The Aztecs threw a high looping pass 3/4 the length of the court. Their player got it, dribbled left twice and turned to take a good look for a three pointer to win the game. It clanged off the side of the rim. Game over. Lobos win! Lobos win! Lobos win!

They aren't Kansas or Syracuse or even West Virginia, but the New Mexico Lobos are 21-3 and nationally ranked. They go on the road this week for two games, so their stunning record will probably not hold up without adding a blemish. It's still amazing that a group with mostly underclassmen would ever be in this position.

It was my second live game this season, and for the second time, UNM won by two. Wins are wins though, and yesterday was one of the most fun games I've seen in years. I have to admit it. I have Lobo basketball fever this year, and that hasn't happened in a long time.

Chris Jungle has never hit anything he wanted from 55 feet away.