Jalen House didn’t act against them all the time, and the Air Force had plenty of problems of its own.
House scored 42 points, the most the Falcons have given an individual since 1995, as the Air Force fell 91-77 at Clown Arena on Saturday night in New Mexico.
Lobos also scored 20 points for Jamal Mashburn Jr.
“It may be the first game this year in which the best players from the other team beat us. It’s like getting our hands smacked,” Air Force trainer Joe Scott said. “We have done a good job this year. When I watch the game (at home) it is important for his team. The guy is hard to defend.”
House, the son of 6-foot junior point guard transfer and former NBA player Eddie House from Arizona, made 15 of 22 shots, including 4 of 7 3-pointers. He grabbed eight rebounds and stole four while playing the full 40 minutes. He also hit a half-court shot at the halftime buzzer.
“Obviously he’s a very fast shooting guard and he’s very good at finishing,” said Air Force newcomer Jacob Heidfrader, who had 20 points with six rebounds and three assists. “If he’s a little close to you, it’s hard to get back in front of him. I know we can do a better job. We have to do even better next time we play.”
Since Kendall Williams‘ 46 against Colorado in 2013, House’s 42 is the highest points New Mexico has scored by an individual.
“The basket was as big as the hula hoop tonight,” House said. “So, I felt better.”
The last Air Force (10-11, 3-7 Mountain West) opponent to score 42 was Austin Bay’s Bappa Wells in 1995.
This came as the Falcons played their first complete game without a Taylor point guard who led the team in rebounding, assists and steals and was second in scoring. Taylor sprained his left ankle last week and was unavailable Saturday. Although Scott still has a chance to play at UNLV on Tuesday, he’s not sure when he’ll be back.
New Mexico (9-14, 2-8) caught up with the Air Force to adjust to Taylor’s life, taking a 19-2 lead in the opening minutes.
The Falcons finally got back in the game, cutting the deficit to 51-48 with 13:26 remaining. However, New Mexico exploded 20-5.
“We knew we had to go out there and keep stabbing and try to get the upper hand, but they came out and stabbed us in the mouth,” Heidbrader said. “We had to try to limit it. We did not”.
AJ for the Air Force. Walker scored 18 points, while Joseph Octave and Camden Vander Schwack each added 14 points. Nick Jackson quietly took a career triple-double off the bench, finishing with nine points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. -10 views.
Falcons 45.6% vs. New Mexico 58.9% shot.
Cheyenne Mountain graduate Javonde Johnson scored six points in 31 minutes with three rebounds.
The Falcons have lost four of five since starting conference play 2-2.
“It’s college basketball, it’s college basketball at Mountain West. It’s an amazing league,” Scott said. They really need to block it out and things won’t affect them and shouldn’t bother them.
