ALBUQUERQUE -- Red blazer.

Rabid standing room-only crowd.

National TV audience.

Yep. Must be big-time college basketball.

The University of New Mexico staked its claim for what should be a Top 25 ranking in next week's polls by hammering No. 11 UNLV in the final 12 minutes of Saturday's showdown of Mountain West Conference frontrunners in The Pit.

Behind a career-high 27 points and 20 rebounds from senior forward Drew Gordon, the red-hot Lobos (22-4, 8-2) assumed a commanding lead in the league standings with a 65-45 win over the visiting Runnin' Rebels (22-6, 6-4).

Coupled with San Diego State's stunning loss at Air Force on Saturday afternoon,
New Mexico is now two games in front of the rest of the conference with just four games left in the regular season.

"I don't know if we're the best team in this league yet, but there's no team in the last month that's guarded the way we've guarded," said Steve Alford, UNM head coach, still sporting his red blazer.

Specifically he was referring to UNM's mind-blowing defense in the second half. The Lobos held UNLV, which came into the game averaging an MWC-high 80 points, to just four field goals and 18 points after halftime.

The Rebels didn't score in the game's final 3 minutes, 22 seconds and made only one basket the final seven minutes.

"We've played a very challenging schedule and they're one of the best teams that we've played," said Dave Rice, UNLV head coach.

And then there was Gordon's play at both ends of the floor. He heled hold UNLV's Mike Moser, one of the top scorers and rebounders in the MWC, to eight points and four rebounds.

Add to it Tony Snell's bounce-back performance of 12 points that featured two roof-raising dunks, and everything was clicking for UNM.

Gordon had 18 points and 11 rebounds in the second half, at one point making six straight shots to help the Lobos turn a 36-all tie with 12:15 remaining into a 15-point advantage thanks to commanding 16-1 run.

The big man tied his career high of 23 points on a ferocious two-hand dunk at the 8:05 mark.

When he landed, he did his best Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers impersonation by flashing the title belt move -- or as Gordon called it, the "Discount double-check move" -- as he ran up court.

Even the CBS crew took notice.

"It's over, done, forgotten," said play-by-play announcer Tim Brando.

The moves that got Alford pumping his fist were two huge baskets by Snell, a 6-foot-7 sophomore who had been held scoreless the last two games.

The first decibile-raising shot was a 3-pointer off a screen coming out of a timeout, one that put the Lobos up 44-36 with under 11 minutes to go.

The other came on the next possession when he blew by UNLV's Chace Stanback on the wing and threw down a baseline jam to open a double-digit lead and send the crowd into a frenzy.

"Coach just told me to stay aggressive and keep looking for my shot," Snell said.

Gordon didn't need to look for his shots because UNLV's defense was more than accommodating.

Left in man coverage most of the second half, he became the first Lobo with a 20-20 since Jimmy Allen did so against New Mexico State in 1976 -- 14 years before Gordon was even born.

"That's why he's a potential All-American player," Rice said. "When he's right and he's good like he was [Saturday], they can play with anyone in the country."

"Things were just falling for me," Gordon said. "I don't know how or why but the basketball gods were good to me [Saturday]."

And now it appears the basketball gods are smiling on the Lobos.

Picked to win the conference before the season started, they got off a slow start in MWC play and spent much of the last month looking up at UNLV and San Diego State in the standings.

Now well out in front, they're finally about to get the attention they feel they've deserved all along.

"I want that chip to stay on their shoulder, but as I look around the country it's hard to find 25 teams doing any more than what we're doing right now," Alford said. "And that's a tribute to our players."

Contact Will Webber at 986-3060 or wwebber@sfnewmexican.com.