Stevens: Lobos Fall 68-61 to Falcons in MW tourney
Lobos Men’s Basketball – At The Mountain West Tournament
Wednesday: Air Force 68, New Mexico 61
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
The magic of Pit West had no mojo for Craig Neal’s Lobos Wednesday in the Mountain West Tournament as New Mexico was bumped out of the Thomas & Mack 68-61 by the Air Force Falcons.
“The difference in the game was making shots,” said Lobo senior Hugh Greenwood. “Today we just didn’t get it done.”
The Lobos went into the Mountain West Tournament knowing they had to lean on a ferocious defense more than ever with Deshawn Delaney out with a broken bone in his hand.
The Falcons shot 65 percent from the floor in the second half. When the Falcons needed a big shot down the stretch, they usually hit it. The Lobos were not as fortunate.
“They gave us open shots. We just didn’t make them and that’s unfortunate,” said Lobo Sam Logwood.
Said Coach Neal: “I’m not satisfied where we finished; not happy with it. You have to give Air Force credit. They played well and they made shots.”
The Lobos were up 52-47 with 7:36 to play before Air Force grabbed a 58-53 lead with 3:51 to go with a pivotal 11-to-1 run. Air Force was up 64-59 with 1:27 to play and 67-60 with 33 seconds to play. Falcon Zach Kocur led Air Force with 20 points going 4-of-9 from 3-point range.
“One of the reasons I’m out there is to shoot threes,” said Kocur. “We just made the big plays down the stretch.”
It was not a good ending for the Lobos who lost 10 of 12 games to end the season. The No. 8 seed Lobos were stopped from protecting their Mountain West Tournament throne by a No. 9 seed Falcons team that came into the Thomas & Mack with a 2-15 tourney slate with both wins coming over a No. 8 seed.
The Falcons are now 3-15 in the MW tourney and more importantly 1-0 in the 2015 chase for the MW title and the automatic NCAA bid that goes to the survivor. Air Force advances to play No. 1 seed Boise State.
The Lobos ended the season at 15-16. Air Force advances with its 14-16 overall mark.
The Lobos only path to NCAA postseason play was to win four straight games, but they lost that opportunity by not shaking off a gutsy Falcon teams when the opportunities were there. A pivotal stretch came early when Air Force started the game shooting 2-of-15 from the floor, but ended up trailing UNM by only four points at the half.
“I think there was a little bit of nerves at the beginning,” said Falcon Hayden Graham.
The Lobos ended the season with a 1-2 mark against Air Force as the Falcons split with UNM during the regular season. The MW tourney win was the first for Air Force since March of 2010.
The Lobos were paced by Greenwood with 16 points, six rebounds and three steals. Logwood added 14 points and seven boards while Obij Aget had six points and eight boards. Arthur Edwards came off the bench with eight points.
The Lobos shot 41.7 percent from the field while Air Force shot 48 percent – 65 percent in the second half.
“They made crucial shots when they needed to make them,” said Neal. “I thought we had chances to win. Air Force made plays when they needed to make them and we didn’t.”
The Falcons went 8-of-21 from 3-point range – 5-of-10 in the second half. UNM went 8-of-25 from long range – 3-of-11 in the second half. The Lobos had 18 turnovers and Air Force had 11 miscues.
“Any time you turn the ball over 18 times against a zone, it’s going to be a long, long night,” said Neal. “When you turn the ball over, it gives them a chance to get easy points.”
Air Force had 21 points off turnovers to eight points for the Lobos. The Falcons outscored the taller Lobos 28-to-18 in the paint. UNM had the edge in second-chance points 16-to-6. The Lobos ruled the glass 33-to-25 and had 14 offensive boards to seven for Air Force. UNM was 13-of-22 (59 percent) from the free-throw line.
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is a former national award-winning Sports Columnist and Associate Sports Editor at The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net.