Mountain West Tournament - Quarterfinal

(1) New Mexico 75, (9) Air Force 69

Thankfully for the 8th-ranked New Mexico basketball squad, the Lobos (29-3) will not have to play the Air Force Academy until the next calendar year.  Just three weeks ago, the Falcons (10-21) took the Lobos to the brink in Albuquerque.  Thursday afternoon, the upstart Falcons, fresh off their MWC Tourney play-in victory over Wyoming, gave the top-seeded Lobos all they could handle in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.  The Lobos advance into the semifinals to face the winner of the Colorado State-San Diego State matchup. 

New Mexico was led by Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Darington Hobson, who single-handedly kept the top 10 Lobos from wilting in the first game of the MWC tourney has they have done the past four seasons.  Hobson was a man amongst boys, scoring 28 points and adding 16 rebounds. 

The Falcons, using effective back cuts and a great game plan, continued to hang around the athletically superior Lobos throughout the afternoon.  Just when it looked as though New Mexico was ready to pull away, the Falcons answered.  But, as the clock began to wane in the second half, the Mountain West’s best player showed the depth of his determination.   Hobson seemingly made every big play and was the consistent emotional leader on the floor the Lobos have come to depend on. 

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Thousands upon thousands of partisan New Mexico fans filled the seats at the Thomas and Mack Center to watch the Lobos claim their school record 29th victory of the season.  The crowd was instrumental in keeping the momentum in the hands of the Lobos, who would have been beaten by any other team in the tournament with the performance they put forth this afternoon.

The Falcons shot a blistering 54 % from the field and kept the Lobos out of the paint for most of the game.  The Lobos also kept themselves out of the paint as well.  New Mexico relied too heavily on the outside shot, tying to merely get by on its athleticism. That approach nearly proved costly.  The Lobos shot a paltry 28 % from the 3-point line and nearly half of their shot attempts came behind the arc. 

Air Force, who was within three points with just over four minutes to play, was led by Tom Fow, who scored 17 points off the bench, including three timely 3-pointers.    

WHAT’S NEXT

The Lobos will match up with the winner of the Colorado State-San Diego State quarterfinal.  The Lobos swept the Rams this season, while spitting their matchups against the Aztecs.  San Diego State is situated squarely on the bubble and would love the opportunity to punch its at-large ticket to the Big Dance with victory over the top-seeded Lobos.  With a victory in the semis the Lobos would almost certainly assure themselves a 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

By: Zach Bloxham
DFN Sports Guest Writers