U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.—J.R. Giddens scored 14 points to lead New Mexico to a 68-51 win over Air Force on Wednesday night.
With the scored tied 35-35 at the intermission, the Lobos began pulling away early in the second half. Roman Martinez opened the scoring with a 3-point basket, and Giddens and Daniel Faris began scoring from beneath the basket. The Lobos opened a 15-point margin with some 5 minutes to play, and coasted home for the win.
Faris was in double figures for the Lobos with 11.
Eric Kenzik led Air Force scoring with a career-high 11 points.
New Mexico (21-6, 8-4) in the Mountain West Conference and 21-6 overall, entered the game in third place in the conference and on a four-game wining streak. With the win New Mexico completes a season series sweep of the Falcons, having defeated Air Force 59-44 in Albuquerque on Jan. 19. Air Force (13-12, 5-7) was in sixth, and had broken a three-game losing skid with win over Wyoming on Saturday.
The teams battled on even terms early, until the Lobos opened a 14-point bulge midway through the first half behind the three-point shooting of Chad Toppert, who canned three shots from beyond the arc, and Jamaal Smith who added another three-pointer.
Not to be outdone, Air Force answered with a long-range basket by Andrew Henke and a pair of 3-pointers from Eric Kenzik, to narrow the margin to 27-22, and eventually tied the game at 29-29. Three-pointers by Dairese Gary and Darren Prentice gave the Lobos the lead, but Henke tied the game with a 3-pointer shortly before the halftime buzzer.
