New Mexico
Deadspin | No. 22 St. John's meets New Mexico in battle of the Pitinos
St. John’s is about to see the degree of difficulty in its schedule increase, and the opener of that challenging stretch will be a family affair.
Unbeaten through three games and coming off its first win as a ranked team in nearly a decade, No. 22 St. John’s will host New Mexico on Sunday afternoon in New York in the fourth coaching matchup between Rick Pitino and his son Richard Pitino.
Rick Pitino is 2-1 against his son.
The Red Storm (3-0) are starting a week when they not only face New Mexico, but 12th-ranked Baylor on Thursday in the Baha Mar Hoops tournament in the Bahamas/ St. John’s might face 11th-ranked Tennessee or Virginia in that event.
St. John’s is coming off three wins in its on-campus arena in Queens over Fordham, Quinnipiac and Wagner by a combined 76 points.
“New Mexico is probably the No. 1 offensive-pace team in the country, and I know it better than anybody,” Rick Pitino said after the Red Storm earned their first win as a ranked team since Dec. 28, 2014.
“So we’ve got to get ready for this pace. They’ve got a great guard, they’ve got great support players, they’ve got a terrific inside player. This is a tough, tough test.”
The first three games featured moments when the Red Storm struggled, especially during Wednesday’s 66-45 win over Wagner. St. John’s scored 18 straight points to pull away in the final 10 minutes.
The Red Storm shot 50 percent from the field (21 of 42) but took 13 fewer shots than Wagner and missed 12 of 30 free throws.
RJ Luis Jr. scored 13 points as St. John’s top scorer, but Aaron Scott made three key shots during the decisive run and added 11. Scott made his key contributions after sitting out against Quinnipiac on Nov. 9 with an illness and tweaking his ankle in practice ahead of the Wagner game.
“We did our job against these three teams,” Rick Pitino said. “Now it’s really going to get tough.”
Pitino changed the starting lineup by having Kadary Richmond come off the bench along with Zuby Ejiofor, but both could return to starting on Sunday.
New Mexico (3-0) received 15 points in this week’s Top 25 poll and is seeking its second win over a ranked opponent this season. The Lobos knocked UCLA out of this week’s poll by beating the then-No. 22 Bruins 72-64 on Nov. 8.
New Mexico is attempting to start 4-0 for the second time in three seasons after earning a 100-81 home win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Tuesday, when the Lobos forced 22 turnovers following forcing 21 against UCLA.
Donovan Dent, who is averaging a team-high 19 points a game for the Lobos, totaled 25 points and 10 assists and continued his improvement from his sophomore season. Dent averaged 14.1 points on 52 percent shooting from the field but last season but is shooting 58.8 percent in 2024-25.
“It was a good win for our guys,” Richard Pitino said. “I thought they were ready to go. When you have a big win like UCLA, everyone is telling them how great they are. Then you have another big game against St. John’s coming up. I thought the mental approach was terrific to handle their business against (Corpus Christi).”
Besides Dent’s big showing on Tuesday, Kayde Dotson added 18 points and Tru Washington 15.
–Field Level Media
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LAS CRUCES, N.M. — An ‘imposter nurse’ in Las Cruces is facing 34 charges after nearly causing the death of a patient and illegally giving medications to patients under 18 years old.
A Doña Ana County grand jury indicted Margarita Gonzalez. She is accused of assuming the identities of nurses in Texas to get hired at four nursing facilities in Las Cruces:
- Village at Northrise
- Las Cruces Wellness and Rehabilitation
- Peak Behavioral Health
- Matrix Home Care
The New Mexico Department of Justice’s Medicaid Fraud and Elder Abuse Bureau investigated and discovered instances where Gonzalez illegally gave injections and dispensed prescriptions, including narcotics to eight inpatient residents under 18 years old.
An investigation also found Gonzalez was also about to allegedly give “an incorrect insulin dose” to a patient that they claim could’ve killed the patient if another nurse hadn’t caught the error.
Several facilities fired Gonzalez over patient safety concerns and an observed lack of knowledge.
“Impersonating a healthcare provider is a reckless and selfish crime that subjects those most vulnerable to risk of serious injury or death,” Attorney General Raúl Torrez said. “I will not tolerate those who risk the safety of patients or cause danger and unnecessary confusion within the healthcare system. These charges should keep anyone attempting to pose as a healthcare provider on notice: we will find you, and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law to protect New Mexicans.”
Gonzalez’s charges include identity theft, nursing without a license, abuse of a resident, distribution of controlled substances to a minor and fraud totaling over $25,000.
If convicted on all counts, Gonzalez could face up to 100 years in prison.
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