ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team (12-8, 5-2 MW) earned a 29-point home victory Wednesday evening, defeating the Air Force Falcons (10-11, 1-7 MW), 84-55.
The Lobos earned the victory on their most efficient shooting night of the season, shooting a season-best 63 percent from the floor (29-for-46) and 52.9 percent (9-for-17) from 3-point range. The Lobos had four scorers in double-digits and six with at least eight points.
“Really happy with our guys,” said head coach Craig Neal. “I thought they came out focused and determined to get better. I’m very thankful… we’ve got Cullen coming back from a concussion, he’s only practiced once, and Tim Williams wasn’t going to play. He got really sick last night, but I thought he was terrific. I had a hunch about Anthony Mathis, and sometimes those hunches don’t pay off, but sometimes they just do.”
Elijah Brown was the team’s leading scorer at 17 points, going 5-for-8 from the floor and 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Freshman Anthony Mathis had a career night, with 16 points on 4-for-5 shooting. Three of his field goals came on 3-pointers, while the other came in the paint off of his own offensive rebound.
Tim Williams also scored 16 points and added a team-best 10 rebounds, sealing his fifth double-double this year. Xavier Adams matched his career high of 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting, while also chipping in five rebounds and a career-high three assists.
The game started as a close battle over the first eight minutes, but the Falcons fell behind due to hot shooting from the Lobos in the first half. New Mexico trailed by as much as four points early, but took the lead with 12 minutes remaining in the half and never gave it up. The Lobos led by as much as 17 points with 3:24 left in the period, and entered the break ahead 45-30.
The Lobos had their best offensive first half this season, shooting 73.9 percent from the floor on 17-for-23 shooting. They were just a few makes away from the program record for shooting percentage in a half, set in 1989.
“It felt good just to get the win,” stated Mathis. “Obviously everybody was shooting well, and when you see your teammates making 3’s, that makes you want to make one as well. Tonight everyone was just really feeling it.”
The Lobos’ fought off a comeback attempt from Air Force in the second half, but eventually locked down the Falcons to build an insurmountable lead. New Mexico saw their lead drop to single digits at 56-47 with 11:23 remaining, but followed up with a 13-0 run by holding Air Force scoreless for over five minutes. The Lobos kept the pressure on the Falcons down the stretch, outscoring them, 28-8, over the final 11 minutes and 30 seconds.
While the Lobos hit season best marks on offense, they also held Air Force to 27.6 percent (16-for-58) shooting from the floor and 37 percent (10-for-27) shooting from outside. The Lobos also won the rebounding battle at 42-26, with seven offensive rebounds.
“I thought we really prepared well for two days,” said Coach Neal. “I thought we did a nice job mixing up zone. I thought we did a nice job mixing up three-quarter court pressure in order to take time off the clock and shrink the game.”
Cullen Neal returned to the lineup and led the team with five assists. He shot 4-for-7 from the floor for nine points. Sam Logwood scored eight points and brought down six rebounds. Joe Furstinger and Michael Nesbitt each scored a pair of points off the bench and combined to bring down seven rebounds, two on offense by Nesbitt.
“I feel like we’re gaining our confidence, definitely getting better as a team,” said Adams. “When we practice well we play well, we are really seeing that. We’re really looking forward to the challenge of playing Boise State, UNLV and San Diego State.”
The Lobos will return to the road Saturday to take on Boise State at 3 p.m. on ESPN3.
“I thought our guys came out and played well, I thought they shared the ball and had great ball movement,” Coach Neal said. “I think that’s a sign of growing up and we’ve got to continue to do that. I like where we’re going and I like what we’re doing, we just have to keep competing.”
(1/27/2016) MBB v. Air Force
Lobos Blow Past Air Force, 84-55
