Air Force Wins At (RV/--) New Mexico, 78-77

ALBUQUERQUE, NM - Air Force men's basketball (9-17, 2-12 MW) pulled off a 78-77 win at New Mexico (21-7, 9-6 MW) in Mountain West play Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 15,011 at the Pit. Rytis Petraitis hit the game-winning three with seven seconds left in regulation to lift Air Force to its first win at The Pit since 2007.

With the win, Air Force snapped a 13-game losing streak to the Lobos at The Pit.

In a back-and-forth battle that featured nine lead changes, Air Force battled back late to take the win. An 11-0 run by New Mexico erased a six-point lead and had the Falcons trailing by five with 4:30 to play.

Air Force quickly tied the game back up with a basket by Petraitis and a three by Ethan Taylor to make it 70-70 with 3:12 to play.

Jamal Mashburn Jr. then followed with back-to-back baskets to put New Mexico up by four with under two minutes to play. The Falcons kept it close with another three by Taylor and a bucket by Byron Brown, sandwiched around a UNM bucket, to make it a one-point New Mexico lead with 58 seconds to play.

Following a free throw that put the Lobos up two, Beau Becker was able to swing the ball to a wide open Petraitis, who calmly drilled the three from the top of the arc to give the Falcons the lead. Air Force was able to withstand a last second shot by New Mexico to pull out a rare win in Albuquerque. It was just the program's fifth-ever win at The Pit.

Air Force shot 52 percent of the day and committed just eight turnovers. Becker led five Falcons in double-figures with 19 points and six rebounds. Petraitis scored 15 points to go with three rebounds. Kellan Boylan scored 10 points and had four assists.

Taylor scored 11 points, adding three rebounds three assists and two steals. Taylor made three three's to give him 77 on the season, moving him into fifth all-time at Air Force for most three's made in a season.

The Air Force bench provided much-needed help with 23 points. Byron Brown led the reserves with 10 points and four assists. Freshmen Luke Kearney and Wesley Celichowski also played impact minutes, with Kearny hitting a pair of three's to go with eight points. Celichowski scored five points, making his first-career three as well.

New Mexico had four in double figures, led by forward Nelly Joseph, who scored 17 points and blocked three shots. Mashburn Jr. added 16 points.

Air Force returns to action Tuesday, Feb. 27 hosting Boise State. The game tips at 7 pm MT.

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Team Stats

Beau Becker

Rytis Petraitis

Ethan Taylor

Byron Brown

Players Mentioned

Beau Becker

Kellan Boylan

Byron Brown

Wesley Celichowski

Luke Kearney

Rytis Petraitis

Ethan Taylor

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