Air Force Falls To (RV/--) New Mexico at MW Championships

LAS VEGAS, Nevada - Air Force men's basketball, playing at the 11th-seed, fell 82-56 to sixth-seeded (RV/--) New Mexico (22-9, 10-8 MW) at the 2024 Mountain West Men's Basketball Championship tournament. The Falcons were eliminated from the tournament and cap the season with a 9-22 season record. Sophomore Rytis Petraitis led the Falcons with a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds.

New Mexico was dominant inside, out-scoring the Falcons 50-24 in the paint and holding a 45-25 advantage in rebounding. JT Toppin led four New Mexico scorers in double-figures with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Jaelen House added 16 points.

The Falcons fell behind early and could never find the offensive spark to get things going. The Falcons shot 40 percent from the field for the game.

Petraitis notched a double-double for the second-consecutive time at the MW Championships, as he was one off of his career-high for points. The sophomore was 9 of 13 from the field and 2 for 3 from three. He also drew 10 of the 16 fouls called on New Mexico.

Junior Beau Becker scored eight points, making two threes and blocking a team-best two shots. Junior Byron Brown led the reserves with seven points on 3 of 5 shooting. Sophomore Kellan Boylan led the Falcons with four assists and three steals.

Air Force blocked six shots in the game and finished with 122 on the season, which ranks second all-time in a season at the Academy. The Falcons made seven three's on the night to finish with 273 three's on the season, which is the fourth best in a season in program history.

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