ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Playing on a heavily taped ankle, Dairese Gary had 17 points and seven assists in his final home game to lead New Mexico to a 66-61 victory over Air Force on Saturday.
Gary, who made 11 of 13 free-throw attempts for the Lobos (20-11, 8-8 Mountain West), turned his right ankle midway through the first half, and the three minutes it took to be taped up accounted for all of his time off the court.
It was the third win in a row for New Mexico, which beat No. 3 BYU on Wednesday.
“I thought we did a good job of coming back after a big win,” Lobos coach Steve Alford said. “We were a little sluggish in the first half.”
The Falcons (15-14, 6-10) led for most of the first half, but New Mexico opened the second half with a 15-5 run to go up 46-38, with Gary scoring five points during the surge. The Lobos never trailed again.
New Mexico’s free-throw success helped fuel its rally, with the Lobos outscoring the Falcons 22-4 from the line. Drew Gordon added a double-double for the Lobos on 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Derek Brooks scored 17 points for Air Force, which had a chance to tie the game in the final moments, trailing 64-61. However, Brooks’ 3-point attempt with 10 seconds left missed, and a put-back attempt by Michael Lyons rolled off the rim.
“You have to get a win on your senior night,” Gary said. “But at halftime, it was stressful.”
New Mexico earned the No. 5 seed in the Mountain West tournament and will play Colorado State. Air Force is the sixth seed and will face UNLV.
