As well as Air Force played on Saturday in almost upsetting 12th-ranked UNLV, the Falcons were that bad on Tuesday night. Worse, actually. Here are some first half numbers: The Falcons shot 7 of 27 from the floor, which is just 25.9%, including just 2 of 14 from three-point range; they were outrebounded by eight, and committed nine turnovers. It all added up to a 40-19 lead for New Mexico, and the Lobos rolled to an 81-42 victory. It was the worst home loss in Academy history.
While the Falcons were horrible in the first twenty minutes, the Lobos hit 16 of 28 shots--57.1%. The margin could have been worse, save for the fact that UNM had five offensive fouls, nullifying scoring chances.
The second half was more of the same, as New Mexico eventually built a 44-point lead and cruised to the easy win. The Lobos upped their record to 18-4, and crept within a half game of San Diego St. and UNLV for first place in the Mountain West. For the Falcons, it was their fifth straight loss. They now stand at 1-5 in the MW, and 11-9 overall.
Afterward the Falcon's Mike Fitzgerale said, "That's not who we are. It was a bad effort. We didn't play good defense, and that's part of our identity."
Head coach Jeff Reynolds talked about the effect of Saturday's close loss, "I feared about putting out such an emotional effort, and having such a quick turnaround."
At the end, the field goal percentage numbers favored New Mexico 59.3 to 29.4. All eleven players that they dressed saw action and scored. Kendall Williams and Drew Gordon led the way with 13 points, while Phillip McDonald and Demetrius Walker added 11.
There was one bright spot for Air Force. That was a career-high 11-point night for freshman Max Yon, who hit 3 of 6 shots, and 3 of 4 from the foul line.
Now the Falcons need to have a very short memory and look forward to their next game, which will be Saturday at Colorado State. Tipoff is at 3:00 pm MT.
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