Jan. 10, 2009
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Jan. 10, 2009 – Lobo Basketball vs. Air Force 
- Tonight was Steve Alford’s 50th game as the Lobos’ head
coach – he is 34-16 midway through his second season at UNM - This was the biggest win over Air Force since a 92-59
victory in The Pit on Jan. 3, 1990 – New Mexico has recorded
3 straight wins over Air Force for the first time since a
7-game run between 1996-2001 – UNM improved its series lead
to 44-18, including a commanding 26-2 advantage in The
Pit. - New Mexico trailed 3-2 one minute into the game and held
a 9-6 lead at the 14:46 mark of the first half before
going on a 15-0 run over the next 2:55 to go up 24-6 – the
Lobos hit 9 of its first 13 shots, including 5-7 from
3-point range to surge out to a 24-6 lead 8:23 into the
game. - Four days after its worst shooting performance in The
Pit in 12 years (28.8% vs. UTEP), New Mexico shot 54.3%
(25-46) from the floor – UNM had hit just 36% (59-163) of
its shots in its previous 3 games, including 29.6% (16-44)
from beyond the arc – it was the best FG and 3-point
shooting performance this year against Air Force, which
entered the game ranked first in the MWC in FG percentage
defense (37.6%) - The Lobos’ 78 points were the most scored against the
Falcons this season – Stanford’s 76 were the previous
high – Air Force entered the night second in the MWC in
scoring defense, allowing just 58.2 ppg – which UNM
surpassed with 9:40 left to play - UNM has held 4 straight opponents to less than 40%
shooting from the floor (38.5%, 77-200) for the first time
since the first 4 games of the 2006-07 season – Air Force
has hit just 30.2% (29-96) of its shots in its last 2
trips to The Pit. - The Lobos have now won 26 straight games when allowing
less than 60 points and are 47-2 in such games since
2004-05 - UNM committed just 8 turnovers, improving to 3-0 this
season when giving the ball away 10 times or less – the
Lobos are 9-2 when it commits fewer turnovers than its
opponent this season - New Mexico has made a 3-pointer in 598 consecutive
games; the last time it didn’t connect was Jan. 3, 1991,
going 0-8 against Colorado State
True Freshman Phillip McDonald
- 15 points with 11 coming in the first half – reached
double figures for the 7th time this season after scoring
a combined 10 the past 3 games - Season-high 4 3-pointers – 3 in the first half
Sophomore Jonathan Wills
- Season-highs of 8 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds – had
season totals of 25 points, 9 assists and 2 rebounds in
his previous 16 games - Career-high 25 minutes played
Senior Daniel Faris
- Fourth-straight game scoring in double figures (11) –
one shy of matching his career-high – averaging 15.8/game
during that span - 3 blocked shots, increasing his season totals to a
career-best 29 (1.7/game) – 9th game with multiple blocked
shots this season
Senior Tony Danridge
- 10th-straight game scoring in double figures (15),
extending his career-high – averaging 15/game during that
span
Senior Chad Toppert
- Scored in double figures (15) for the 10th time this
season and hit 3 3-pointers for the second straight night - Moved back atop the UNM career 3-point percentage list
at 45.08% (229-508)
Freshman Will Brown
- Season-high 6 rebounds along with 2 blocks