ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico men’s basketball team reached the 20-win plateau for the fourth straight season by downing Air Force 98-61 on Tuesday night at The Pit. The Lobos (20-6, 11-4 MW) matched their season high scoring total while handing the Falcons (3-23, 0-15) their 19th straight loss.
Antonio Chol scored a season-high 20 points to lead New Mexico, setting his Division I career high total. Jake Hall had 16 points while Deyton Albury posted a 14-point, nine-rebound, six-assist performance. JT Rock had 12 points off the bench on 5-5 shooting from the floor.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After the Falcons scored the game’s opening basket, the Lobos went on an 8-0 run to take a 8-2 lead with 17:30 left. Air Force cut the margin to 10-9 with 15:15 left before the Lobos pushed the lead to 18-11 with 12:30 to go. UNM led 24-14 at the midway point of the half, but back-to-back threes by Air Force cut the lead to 24-20 with 9:00 left. UNM pushed the lead to 41-29 with 4:30 left and used a 7-0 run to hold a 48-31 lead with 2:00 left. The Lobos would take a 55-33 lead into the break as they closed on a 7-0 run. Chol had 15 first-half points, already setting a career-high, to lead UNM in the first half.
In the second half, the Falcons cut the margin to 19 over the opening five minutes before UNM took a 69-45 lead with 12:00 left. UNM used a 9-0 run to take a 75-45 lead at the midway point of the half before extending the margin to 90-48 with 4:00 left with a 15-1 run. The Lobos would close out the 37-point win over the final minutes.
LOBO NOTES
• New Mexico swept the season series by a combined 79 points (after winning 91-49 at Air Force), the second-largest combined margin for UNM in sweeping a home-and-home series in program history (trailing only the 1996-97 series with BYU which totaled 84, with a 74-32 win in The Pit and a 90-48 win in Provo)
• The Lobos made 15 threes, their 13th game with double-digit threes
• UNM’s 55 first-half points were its most in the first half since scoring 55 in the first half of a 99-86 win over No. 16 Utah State in 2024
• The Lobos shot 67.9 percent (19-28) in the first half, its highest shooting half since 2019-20 (73.3 in the second half vs. Houston Baptist)
• Hall scored in double figures for the 12th straight game, the second-longest streak ever by a UNM freshman
• Eric Olen becomes the fifth Lobo head coach to win 20 games in his first season at UNM (Norm Ellenberger, Dave Bliss, Steve Alford, Craig Neal)
QUOTABLE
“I thought we did a nice job of competing throughout and not letting external factors, like who they had available or the scoreboard, to dictate our performance. It is important in situations like this to play good basketball throughout the game. I thought we did that tonight for the most part.” – Eric Olen
UP NEXT
The Lobos will begin a two-game road trip on Saturday with a visit to Fresno State. Game time is 6 p.m. MT and the game will air on CBS Sports Network.