And to think, the UNM men’s basketball was on the verge of blowing its 10-game win streak, No. 12 national ranking, the Mountain West lead and, potentially, the regular-season championship.
With three minutes left, the Lobos were down three to Air Force (9-16 overall and 1-11 MWC), the worst team in the MWC.
But in what is fast becoming a signature, the Lobos survived, coming out with a 59-56 win inside The Pit on Saturday off of Darington Hobson’s game-winning layup with 16 seconds left in the game.
Including Saturday’s win, the Lobos (25-3, 11-2 MWC) have won three of the last five games decided by less than four points and won all eight games this season decided by four or less points.
“For whatever reason, if you look at those last four-minute games, we have won a lot,” said head coach Steve Alford. “And this one was another one. This was one we probably shouldn’t have won, and yet they found a way. And I am very appreciative of their efforts.”
Yet, in uncharacteristic fashion, the Lobos scored less than 60 points for the first time this season.
Before Saturday, the Lobos were 1-3 when scoring 66 or less points. They nearly equaled their season lows in field goals made (18) and field goals attempted (44) on Saturday.
“Sometimes during a long season, (games) are not always going to go as scripted,” Alford said. “And you got to find ways to win, and our guys did that.”
The Lobos scored only 14 points on field goals in the first half — partly because of poor shooting (33.3 percent in the first half) and partly because the Falcons constantly put the Lobos on the line.
By the end of the half, UNM had already attempted 19 free throws (making 14). The Lobos ended the night shooting 18-of-25 from the line.
In one 10-minute first-half stretch, the Lobos didn’t hit a field goal but still managed to get eight points from the line.
Still, the game remained close, as Air Force turned the ball over 14 times compared to the Lobos’ six. Alford ran full-court press for the latter part of the first half.
“We are not really a pressing team. We haven’t been all year,” Alford said. “This is the first time we even tried to do any pressing, just to try to get the tempo going.”
Alford’s defense wasn’t the only thing that slowed down Air Force.
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The Falcons also got themselves in trouble, mismanaging the shot clock on a number of possessions, which led to multiple shot-clock violations.
While the Falcons were deliberate with their shooting, they were also efficient. They finished shooting 51.2 percent from the field, compared to the Lobos’ 40.9 percent.
In a 12-minute stretch to start the second half, the Falcons were shooting Annie Oakley numbers (78.6 percent from the field), propelling them to one of their first leads of the half, 47-46.
“They made everything in the second half,” Alford said. “You have to give them credit for that.”
Most of that came on the back of Falcons’ forward Grant Parker, who scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, from everywhere on the floor, inside and out.
The streak, however, faded and the Falcons shot just 3-of-9 in the last 10 minutes of the second half.
The game remained close throughout with no team ever leading by more than seven points. The score was tied eight times with seven lead changes.
“We weren’t ready to play from the jump,” Hobson said. “So, that is what happens when you play a team like that. They had a whole week off last week, and they came in. They don’t have anything to lose.”
Even so, Hobson — who tallied 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists — saved the Lobos from a monumental letdown.
Off a pass from Dairese Gary that hit him in the knees, Hobson shielded the ball away from two Falcon defenders, clinching a victory in the defining moments of the game.
“That is what you live for as a kid,” Hobson said. “You watch Michael Jordan and big-time players that make big-time shots at the end of games … But on any given night, any one of us can make that same play.”
