Monday, February 22
USAFA
7:30 pm MT
Air Force Academy
4-17,2-15Mountain West
65
vs
73
New Mexico
6-13,2-13Mountain West
1
2
F
New Mexico
32
41
73
Air Force
25
40
65
Photo by: Lauren DeMarco
Air Force Falters To New Mexico, 73-65
2/22/2021 10:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - Air Force men's basketball dropped a 73-65 Mountain West contest to New Mexico Monday night at Clune Arena. AJ Walker led the Falcons with 26 points and set a program record for three's in Mountain West play.
For the third straight game, the Falcons found themselves in an early hole and fighting to come back. Air Force trailed by as many as 11 points in the first-half before rallying to overtake the Lobos in the second half. New Mexico then came back to re-take the lead late.
Air Force went down 32-25 at halftime. New Mexico had its biggest lead at 30-19 before the Falcons closed out the half by cutting it to a seven point game.
The Falcons came out strong in the second half, nearly erasing the Lobo lead right away. The Falcons scored the first six points in the second half to pull to within one. Air Force took the lead at the 15:44 mark and went up by as many as seven at 44-37 with 13 minutes to play.
New Mexico then came back and re-took the lead for good at the 6:44 mark.
Walker reached 20 points for the third time in four games for the Falcons. He also made three three's on the night, giving him 44 for the season to set an Air Force record for most three's in MW play. He surpassed the record of 42 set by Tom Fow in 2011.
Senior Chris Joyce scored 16 points in 38 minutes. Joyce also tied a career-high with eight rebounds.
Junior Abe Kinrade came off the bench and tied a career-high with 15 points and a season-high six rebounds. Kinrade was a perfect 4 for 4 from the field and 3 for 3 from three point range.
Sophomores Carter Murphy and Camden Vander Zwaag made their first-career starts for the Falcons. Murphy played a career-high 31 minutes, recording career-high's with four assists and two steals. Vander Zwaag played a career-high 32 minutes, recording a team-best three steals.
New Mexico shot 59 percent from the field. Guard Makuach Maluach scored 22 points to lead the Lobos. Guard Saquan Singleton added 13 assists.
Game two of the series between Air Force and New Mexico is Wednesday, Feb. 24. The game tips at 4 pm MT and will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network.
--30--
For the third straight game, the Falcons found themselves in an early hole and fighting to come back. Air Force trailed by as many as 11 points in the first-half before rallying to overtake the Lobos in the second half. New Mexico then came back to re-take the lead late.
Air Force went down 32-25 at halftime. New Mexico had its biggest lead at 30-19 before the Falcons closed out the half by cutting it to a seven point game.
The Falcons came out strong in the second half, nearly erasing the Lobo lead right away. The Falcons scored the first six points in the second half to pull to within one. Air Force took the lead at the 15:44 mark and went up by as many as seven at 44-37 with 13 minutes to play.
New Mexico then came back and re-took the lead for good at the 6:44 mark.
Walker reached 20 points for the third time in four games for the Falcons. He also made three three's on the night, giving him 44 for the season to set an Air Force record for most three's in MW play. He surpassed the record of 42 set by Tom Fow in 2011.
Senior Chris Joyce scored 16 points in 38 minutes. Joyce also tied a career-high with eight rebounds.
Junior Abe Kinrade came off the bench and tied a career-high with 15 points and a season-high six rebounds. Kinrade was a perfect 4 for 4 from the field and 3 for 3 from three point range.
Sophomores Carter Murphy and Camden Vander Zwaag made their first-career starts for the Falcons. Murphy played a career-high 31 minutes, recording career-high's with four assists and two steals. Vander Zwaag played a career-high 32 minutes, recording a team-best three steals.
New Mexico shot 59 percent from the field. Guard Makuach Maluach scored 22 points to lead the Lobos. Guard Saquan Singleton added 13 assists.
Game two of the series between Air Force and New Mexico is Wednesday, Feb. 24. The game tips at 4 pm MT and will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network.
--30--
Team Stats
UNM
USAFA
FG%
.588
.426
3FG%
.222
.250
FT%
.688
.684
RB
37
22
TO
18
12
STL
7
12
Game Leaders
Pts
26
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
3
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
Guard
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