Air Force (11-6, 2-0 Mountain West) couldn't stop the Lobos from hitting
shots and had trouble getting inside for rebounds, making up for it by harassing
the Lobos into 23 turnovers - 16 on steals - that led to 31 points.
New Mexico (14-3, 1-1) shot a staggering 69 percent, had just three players -
Troy DeVries, Mark Walters and Alfred Neale - miss shots, and had a 28-9
rebounding advantage. It still wasn't enough to prevent the Lobos' 20th straight
conference road loss.
Even with the mistakes, New Mexico still had a chance at the end.
The Lobos got within three on DeVries' layup two minutes into the second
half, then went more than six minutes without a field goal as Air Force pushed
the lead to 45-36. New Mexico got close again, fell behind by 12, then made a
late 13-2 run, taking a 58-57 lead on Neale's 3-pointer with 46 seconds left.
Air Force took the lead right back with 29 seconds left, when Welch powered
inside for a three-point play that made it 60-58.
New Mexico never got a chance to get it back.
Matt McCraw snared another sloppy crosscourt pass by the Lobos and hit two
free throws with 21 seconds left to put the Falcons up four, then Welch hit two
free throws after David Chiotti scored at the other end.
Chiotti led New Mexico with 17 points and Neale added 15.
New Mexico played without top scorer and rebounder Danny Granger, who had
surgery Monday to repair torn cartilage in his left knee.
The Lobos didn't seem to miss him much in the first half.
New Mexico set a torrid pace at the start, scoring from the post, the
perimeter, everywhere. By the time they were done, the Lobos had hit 13-of-16
shots (81 percent) and had an 11-1 rebounding advantage.
It still wasn't good enough to give them the halftime lead.
Air Force took a different tact, working the ball around the perimeter and
out of the high post, and was pretty effective, too.
The Falcons shot 13-of-21 in the first half, including Tim Anderson's
four-point play with seven minutes left, and led by as much as 12. It wasn't
quite as good as New Mexico's start, but Air Force made up for it with scrappy
defense, scoring 20 points off 13 turnovers for a 36-31 halftime lead.
NEW MEXICO (14-3)
Chiotti 8-8 1-1 17, Neale 6-7 1-1 15, DeVries 2-6 1-2 6, Collins 1-1 0-0 2,
Walters 6-13 0-0 13, Osby 1-1 0-0 2, Hart 0-0 0-0 0, Prentice 2-2 0-0 5, Harden
0-0 0-0 0, Danridge 0-0 0-0 0, Phaler 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 27-39 3-4 62.
AIR FORCE (11-6)
An.Hood 5-10 1-1 12, Burtschi 3-8 0-0 6, Welch 6-12 5-6 19, McCraw 3-5 2-2
10, Keller 2-5 0-0 5, Anderson 2-2 4-5 9, Holum 0-1 0-0 0, Buchanan 1-1 0-0 3.
Totals 22-44 12-14 64.
Halftime-Air Force 36-31.
3-Point Goals-New Mexico 5-8 (Neale 2-3, Prentice 1-1,
DeVries 1-2, Walters 1-2), Air Force 8-17 (Welch 2-2, McCraw 2-4, Anderson 1-1,
Buchanan 1-1, An.Hood 1-2, Keller 1-4, Burtschi 0-3).
Fouled out-None.
Rebounds-New Mexico 24 (Walters 7), Air Force 8 (Buchanan,
An.Hood 2).
Assists-New Mexico 12 (DeVries 6), Air Force 14 (An.Hood,
Keller 4).
Total fouls-New Mexico 17, Air Force 11.
A-5,187