Postgame Notes: New Mexico vs. Air Force

March 08, 2012

March 8, 2012

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New Mexico Basketball Postgame Notes
2012 Mountain West Tournament
Thursday, March 8, 2012
(2) UNM vs. (7) Air Force *** Las Vegas, Nev.

New Mexico (25-6) defeats Air Force (13-16) 79-64 in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas
The Lobos play the winner of the UNLV-Wyoming game in the semifinals Friday at 9:30 p.m. Mountain Time
UNM has advanced to the championship game of a conference tournament all four times it has been a No. 2 seed…the Lobos are 2-2 in those title games, beating Utah in 1996 (Albuquerque) and 2005 (Denver), and losing to UNLV in 1998 (Las Vegas) and Utah in 1999 (Las Vegas)
Tonight, the Lobos trailed 15-14 in the 1st half, but reserve Demetrius Walker fueled a 15-0 UNM run for a 29-15 lead…Walker scored 11 points during the burst on his way to a career-high 19 points, 14 coming in the 1st half
New Mexico set a school record for FTs made in a conference tournament game with 31…the previous mark was 29 vs. Colorado State on March 5, 1987, and 29 vs. BYU on March 6, 1987…the Lobos made 31 of 37 FTs tonight, or 84%
Including neutral sites, the Lobos are 11-4 away from The Pit this season
New Mexico has won 25 games for the 6th time in school history and the 2nd time in head coach Steve Alford’s 5 seasons at UNM
Fourth-year seniors A.J. Hardeman and Phillip McDonald are 99-36 in their careers at New Mexico, the most wins by scholarship Lobo players…the previous record was 98 by their former teammate, Dairese Gary (2007-11)
The Lobos have beaten Air Force 12 straight times
The Lobos are 21-1 this season when shooting 40% or better from the floor…they shot 46.5% tonight
UNM is 24-1 this season when holding the opponent to less than 70 points, but 1-5 when allowing 70 or more
UNM has made a 3-point FG in 689 consecutive games…the last game without a 3 was Jan. 3, 1991 at Colorado State (0-for-8)

Head coach Steve Alford

431-228 in his 21st season as a head coach, 123-45 in his 5th year at New Mexico
At least 22 wins in all 5 seasons at New Mexico, and an average of 24.6 wins per season
3-4 in Mountain West tournament games at UNM
13-0 in his career against Air Force
57-0 when UNM allows less than 60 points
39 straight wins and 51-1 overall when UNM scores 80 points or more

Sophomore G Demetrius Walker

came off the bench to score 19 points on 5-6 FGs, 3-4 from 3 and 6-8 FTs
14 points in 11 first-half minutes on 3-3 FGs, 2-2 from 3 and 6-7 FTs
scored 11 points during a 15-0 UNM run that provided a 29-15 lead
previous scoring high was 16 against Missouri State on Dec. 3

Senior F Drew Gordon

15 points and 7 rebounds in 23 minutes
set a career high with 9 FTs made and he is 16-18 from the line the past 2 games
336 rebounds this season, the 3rd best single-season total at UNM…the school season record is 375 by Tom King in 1960-61…King also has the 2nd-best total at 374 in 1959-60
No. 14 all-time at UNM with 609 rebounds in 57 career games, an average of 10.7 a game

Senior G Phillip McDonald