Wednesday, February 24
USAFA
4:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
5-17,3-15Mountain West
62
vs
55
New Mexico
6-14,2-14Mountain West
1
2
F
New Mexico
21
34
55
Air Force
29
33
62
Photo by: Lauren DeMarco
Air Force Defeats New Mexico, 62-55
2/24/2021 7:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - In its home finale, Air Force men's basketball (5-17, 3-15 MW) posted a 62-55 win over New Mexico (6-14, 2-14 MW) in Mountain West play Wednesday afternoon at Clune Arena. Freshman guard Joe Octave scored 18 points to lead the Falcons.
Air Force jumped all over New Mexico early, but had to overcome a massive scoring drought midway through the game to pull out the win.
The Falcons opened the game up 17-5 seven minutes in, aided by a 11-0 run during that opening span. Air Force led by as much as 16 in the opening half. The Falcons went into the half leading 29-21 despite failing to score a field goal over the final 6:35 of the first half.
Air Force opened the second half just as sluggish on the offensive end, allowing New Mexico to catch up and take a brief lead. New Mexico opened the half on a 11-1 run to jump ahead 32-30 at the 12:04 mark. Air Force did not get its first field goal in the second half until the 11:35 mark on a turnaround jumper by senior forward Ameka Akaya.
After being down two, Air Force went on to out-score the Lobos 32-23 the rest of the way to earn the win.
Octave scored the most points by a freshman for Air Force this season, with 13 points coming during the 32-point stretch in the second half.
Junior guard AJ Walker added 16 points for the Falcons. Walker dished out three assists, had two steals and went 8 of 11 from the free throw line.
The Falcons also got eight points each from sophomore forward Nikc Jackson, Akaya and senior guard Chris Joyce. Sophomore guard Carter Murphy led the Falcons with a career-high six rebounds and Akaya also recorded two blocked shots.
The Falcons had a season-high 36 points in the paint and forced New Mexico into 21 turnovers, a high by an opponent this season.
Makuach Maluach led New Mexico with 20 points.
It was the final home game for Air Force's seniors of Akaya, Joyce and forward Keaton Van Soelen.
Air Force returns to action Feb. 27 at Colorado State. The game tips at 2 pm MT at Moby Arena in Fort Collins.
--30--
Air Force jumped all over New Mexico early, but had to overcome a massive scoring drought midway through the game to pull out the win.
The Falcons opened the game up 17-5 seven minutes in, aided by a 11-0 run during that opening span. Air Force led by as much as 16 in the opening half. The Falcons went into the half leading 29-21 despite failing to score a field goal over the final 6:35 of the first half.
Air Force opened the second half just as sluggish on the offensive end, allowing New Mexico to catch up and take a brief lead. New Mexico opened the half on a 11-1 run to jump ahead 32-30 at the 12:04 mark. Air Force did not get its first field goal in the second half until the 11:35 mark on a turnaround jumper by senior forward Ameka Akaya.
After being down two, Air Force went on to out-score the Lobos 32-23 the rest of the way to earn the win.
Octave scored the most points by a freshman for Air Force this season, with 13 points coming during the 32-point stretch in the second half.
Junior guard AJ Walker added 16 points for the Falcons. Walker dished out three assists, had two steals and went 8 of 11 from the free throw line.
The Falcons also got eight points each from sophomore forward Nikc Jackson, Akaya and senior guard Chris Joyce. Sophomore guard Carter Murphy led the Falcons with a career-high six rebounds and Akaya also recorded two blocked shots.
The Falcons had a season-high 36 points in the paint and forced New Mexico into 21 turnovers, a high by an opponent this season.
Makuach Maluach led New Mexico with 20 points.
It was the final home game for Air Force's seniors of Akaya, Joyce and forward Keaton Van Soelen.
Air Force returns to action Feb. 27 at Colorado State. The game tips at 2 pm MT at Moby Arena in Fort Collins.
--30--
Team Stats
UNM
USAFA
FG%
.400
.423
3FG%
.250
.308
FT%
.556
.700
RB
40
30
TO
21
12
STL
4
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
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