Lobos Record Win No. 20 with Dominant Performance at Air Force
USAFA, Colo. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team reached the 20-win milestone for the third consecutive season with an 88-53 victory Saturday afternoon at Air Force. The Lobos (20-4, 12-1 MW) posted their most lopsided road win in Mountain West play since 2011-12 while the Falcons (3-21, 0-13) lost their 14th straight.
Donovan Dent had 25 points and six assists for the Lobos, while Nelly Junior Joseph had 14 points and a career-high 21 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double. Tru Washington scored 16 points, a new high for Mountain West games, while Filip Borovicanin added 10 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Falcons took advantage of a cold shooting start by the Lobos, leading 5-0 after four minutes of play. A 13-0 Lobo run gave them the lead, 15-8, with 10:45 left in the half before UNM held an 18-11 lead at the midway point. The lead grew to 24-14 with 5:15 left to play before five straight Falcon points cut the margin in half. A 6-0 run gave UNM a 32-21 lead with 1:30 left before taking a 34-24 lead into the break. Dent had nine points and five assists to lead the Lobos in the first half, while Joseph grabbed 14 first-half rebounds.
In the second half, the Falcons scored five straight to cut the lead in half over the first two minutes. UNM went on a 13-0 run to take a 49-31 lead with 14:30 to play before a 7-0 run pushed the margin to 56-34 with 12:00 left. The Lobos led 61-39 at the midway point of the half and took a 64-40 lead with 8:30 left. UNM’s 10-0 run made the lead 74-42 with 6:45 to go and UNM held a 78-48 lead with 4:45 to play. A late 7-0 run made it a 85-50 game with 2:35 left as the Lobos closed out the 35-point win.
LOBO NOTES
• It was the Lobos’ largest margin of victory in a Mountain West road game since 2011-12, an 82-41 win at Air Force
• UNM reached 20 wins in 24 games, their quickest to 20 wins since 2012-13 (23 games)
• The Lobos are 12-1 in the Mountain West for the first time ever and are 12-1 in conference play for the first time since 1977-78 in the WAC
• UNM had three runs of 10-0 or better, the most 10-0 runs in a game this season, and now have 13 10-0 runs in conference play
• Joseph’s 21 rebounds are the most by a Lobo since 2011 and the second-most ever in a Mountain West game (Drew Gordon – 23 vs. Utah in 2011)
• Joseph’s 14 rebounds in the first half are the most ever by a Lobo in the first half of a Mountain West game and was one shy of his career high (15 first-half rebounds vs. Eastern New Mexico last season)
• Joseph is the first Lobo to have five consecutive double-doubles since Alex Kirk had six straight in 2013-14
QUOTABLE
“I think when you watch our team right now, they are really having a lot of fun playing together. The defense was phenomenal to turn an Air Force team over 18 times. I think we are playing hard and the right way. The chemistry is great, and obviously when you win 20 games, that helps. This is a place that always brings a unique challenge, and I thought our guys were really good in their prep and terrific all around.” – Richard Pitino
UP NEXT
New Mexico returns home for a pair of games next week, hosting Wyoming on Wednesday (8 pm) and Utah State on Sunday (2 pm). The Utah State game is already sold out, but tickets are on sale for the other three remaining home games (Wyoming, Air Force, UNLV) at GoLobos.com/tickets.