Falcons want to avoid another hoops embarrassment
Air Force senior forward/center Grant Parker figures most observers have left the Falcons for dead after their performance last week against BYU.
At the Marriott Center in Provo, Air Force lost for the 26th time in its past 27 Mountain West Conference regular-season games. And it was ugly. The 91-48 beat-down issued by the Cougars was the third-worst loss in the Falcons' 54-year history.
“I could see people looking at that game and saying, ‘Dang, these guys aren’t going to recover,’” Parker said. “But at the same time, I didn’t look at (the loss) as much as the game of our demise as a program. I kind of looked at it more as a wake-up call.”
The Falcons can’t afford to sleep through the snooze button Saturday afternoon, or they could be in for another humiliation. They face New Mexico, the nation’s 12th-ranked team and winner of 10 consecutive games.
Air Force lost to the Lobos by 23 earlier this year at home, and this game is at The Pit, where the Falcons have lost two straight by an average of 20 points.
“We definitely feel like we have something to prove,” junior guard Evan Washington said.
Parker noted the Falcons have five games left in the regular season in which they can improve and prepare for the league tournament. Beyond that, there’s simply the desire to avoid the kind of embarrassment players felt last Saturday in Provo.
“I never want to experience anything like that ever again,” senior center Mike McLain said. "It was not fun, at all.”
Notes: Freshman center Taylor Broekhuis will miss the game with a broken nose. Sophomore guard/forward Taylor Stewart, who has missed the last 13 games with a broken wrist, will dress and could play.
THREE THINGS TO WATCH
1. Perimeter shooting
In the teams’ previous meeting, on Jan. 20, the Lobos made 13-of-27 3-pointers, while the Falcons made just 3-of-24. That disparity was one of the main factors in New Mexico’s 73-50 blowout victory. And that came at Clune Arena. Today’s game is at The Pit in Albuquerque, where Air Force has made just 12-of-41 3-pointers (29.3 percent) and 29-of-86 shots from the floor (33.7 percent) in its past two visits.
2. Can Air Force stay close early?
The Falcons need to slow the tempo, make a few shots and make sure the Lobos don’t go on an early run that ignites the crowd at The Pit. Last season, Air Force did none of those things and trailed by 21 points less than 13 minutes into the game. If New Mexico builds a big lead early, things could get ugly. Kind of like last week at BYU, when Air Force trailed by 33 at the half.
3. Do the Lobos have too many weapons?
Air Force might be forced to pick its poison against New Mexico. Four of the Lobos are ranked in the top 14 in the Mountain West Conference in scoring: Junior guard Darington Hobson (third at 15.5 points per game), senior forward Roman Martinez (fifth, 13.9), junior guard Dairese Gary (12th at 11.8) and sophomore guard Phillip McDonald (14th at 11.4). Looking only at league games, Hobson, Gary, McDonald and Martinez rank seventh through 10th, respectively, in scoring.
