Falcons earn date with Lobos
Air Force is getting good at play-in games. Now it would love to parlay that into an upset of top-seeded New Mexico.
The ninth-seeded Falcons won in the opening round of the Mountain West Conference tournament for the second consecutive season, beating Wyoming 59-40 Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Last year they snapped a 17-game losing streak with a win over Colorado State in the tournament opener. This time they stopped a nine-game skid.
Their reward?
A date today with eighth-ranked New Mexico (28-3).
While Air Force has endured a couple of lean years, it did give the Lobos a scare Feb. 20 in a 59-56 loss at the Pit in Albuquerque. That followed a 23-point loss to New Mexico at home a month earlier.
“Well, we definitely know we can play with them,” said Grant Parker, who led the Falcons with 15 points Wednesday. “We showed that at their place. This is just a great chance to come out and compete with them again. We know we can do it.
“It’s a lot like BYU last year. We competed with them at their place, played them really tough in the tournament.
“So we plan on doing that this year — except just coming out with a win.”
Todd Fletcher, who added 11 points for Air Force, including a key three-point play that stemmed the Cowboys’ charge in the closing minutes, said the Falcons can upset the Lobos “as long as we control the game.”
“We don’t want to get up and down with them,” he said.
Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds realizes a repeat of his close call last month at New Mexico won’t come easily.
“As I’ve said, being from the state of North Carolina, growing up in ACC country, people don’t realize how good Mountain West basketball is,” he said. “They don’t understand the venues that make up the league. And the Pit may be the toughest place in the country. It’s close.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to play at Rupp, at Duke, fortunate to coach at the Dean Dome. The Pit and their fans, they challenge you. And I thought our kids showed great leadership. They showed tenacity.
“This game (against New Mexico) is going to be a little different. We had a week off to prepare for New Mexico prior to that game. Coach (Steve) Alford had a week off to prepare for us. So it will be a challenge. They’re very, very talented.”
Desmar Jackson had 18 points and Adam Waddell scored 12 to lead the eighth-seeded Cowboys (10-21). Waddell suffered a broken nose and missed the final few minutes of the game.