Air Force Rolls Past New Mexico, 89-77

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Air Force men's basketball (13-13, 4-9 MW) coasted to an 89-77 win over New Mexico (19-6, 6-6 MW) in Mountain West action Friday night at Clune Arena. The Falcons shot 66 percent from the field and got 44 combined points from sophomore Jake Heidbreder and senior Carter Murphy.

Air Force played a strong first half, shooting 59 percent from the field, which led to a 39-32 halftime lead. The Falcons Scored 26 points in the paint in the opening half. Heidbreder led the way with 19 points on 8 of 8 shooting from the field, which included a pair of three's.

Trailing 27-23 with 6:39 to play in the first half, Air Force went on a 12-0 run to jump ahead 35-27.

The Falcons were even better in the second half, shooting 73.1 percent from the field. Air Force opened the half with a 10-0 run to jump ahead 49-32. The Falcons got up to a 22-point lead at one point in the game.

The Falcons scored 50 points in the paint on the night, its best in a game since 2019.

Heidbreder shot 11 of 13 from the field for the game, including 3 for 3 from three-point range. Heidbreder made his first 11 shots to start the game.

Murphy came off the bench to score a career-high 18 points, 14 coming in the second half. Murphy went 8 of 12 from the field, and 8 of 9 on two-point attempts.

Joining Heidbreder and Murphy in double-figures were sophomore Beau Becker and freshman Rytis Petraitis. Becker scored 15 points on 6 of 8 shooting, including 3 of 5 from three. He also added a career-high three blocked shots. Petraitis chipped-in with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Sophomore Jeffrey Mills also played well for the Falcons, with team-high's of six assists and seven rebounds.

Jamal Mashburn Jr. led New Mexico with 32 points, going 13 of 24 from the field. Javonte Johnson added 16 points and Donovan Dent scored 10.

Air Force's 12-point win was the first double-digit win over the Lobos since 2004. Its 66 percent shooting was the fifth-best ever in a conference game and the best since 2006. Air Force also shot a season-best 52 percent from three, connecting on 9 of 17 from long range.

Air Force returns to action Tuesday, Feb. 14, at Utah State. Tip time is 7 pm MT and the game will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network.

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Team Stats

Jake Heidbreder

Carter Murphy

Beau Becker

Rytis Petraitis

Players Mentioned

Beau Becker

Jake Heidbreder

Jeffrey Mills

Carter Murphy

Rytis Petraitis

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