'Nyah Wilson was outstanding': UNM guard's career night helps Lobos claim fourth straight win

_MER2534 2.jpg — UNM’s Nyah Wilson (3) attempts a shot against the Air Force defense during their game Saturday at the US Air Force Academy, Colo.

UNM’s Viané Cumber, left, and Air Force’s Madison Smith wrestle for possession of the ball during Saturday’s game.

UNM’s Aniyah Augmon rises above Air Force’s Madison Smith during their game at the US Air Force Academy, Colo., on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024.

Lucas Peerman Lucas Peerman Lucas Peerman Sports Editor

Ken Sickenger Ken Sickenger

Published January 27, 2024 - 6:52 p.m. Modified March 3, 2025 - 2:00 a.m.

The final score may insinuate New Mexico had a comfortable road win over Air Force on Saturday. But the scrappy Falcons weren’t as accommodating of hosts as the 66-51 Lobo victory in Clune Arena might suggest.

Air Force Academy hit one more field goal, knocked down six more three-pointers and forced 17 more turnovers than UNM.

However, the Lobos dominated at the charity stripe (hitting 23 more free throws than the Falcons) and down low (holding a 52-30 rebounding advantage) on their way to a fourth straight Mountain West victory.

UNM (15-6, 6-2 Mountain West) is alone in second place in the conference standings, one game behind co-leaders UNLV and Wyoming, which each have one loss apiece (both to the Lobos).

Air Force (9-12, 2-6) remains in ninth place in league standings.

UNM, which got a career night from guard Nyah Wilson as she recorded the first double-double of her career, never trailed.

“Nyah Wilson was outstanding and I thought all of our first five really contributed,” Lobos coach Mike Bradbury said. “Air Force is a hard team to play, so it’s a good road win.”

Wilson went 7-of-11 from the field and 10-of-12 from the free throw line to tie her career high with 24 points (the same amount she scored in an 84-77 win over Fresno State on Wednesday) and pulled down 10 rebounds, one off a career mark.

Center Charlotte Kohl added 10 points and 13 rebounds, her fourth double-double of the season. Guard Aniyah Augmon was one rebound away from a double-double, recording 10 points and 9 rebounds. Forward Paula Reus added 12 points.

Guard Milahnie Perry paced Air Force with 19 points but she was the only Falcon to score in double figures.

UNM jumped out to a 20-7 lead after the first quarter and held on for a 34-20 advantage at the half.

Air Force rallied in the second half, however, closing to 37-36 in the first five minutes, 37 seconds of the third quarter and forcing Bradbury to call a time out.

“They started pressing us and turning us over and things got hectic there for a minute. We adjusted our press offense during the timeout and it was pretty effective. Once we broke the press, we were able to score pretty easily and kind of regained control of the game,” he said.

Out of the time out, the Lobos went on an 12-2 run to close the third and maintained a double-digit lead most of the fourth quarter.

Air Force played tough, suffocating defense throughout, stealing the ball 12 times and forcing 23 turnovers, but couldn’t convert the changes in possession into points. The Falcons shot a frigid 20-of-74 (27 percent) from the field, including 8-of-30 (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

“Air Force leads the (Mountain West) in steals and they’re good at forcing turnovers. We knew we needed to control the boards and try to win in the paint and we did a pretty good job,” Bradbury said. “Charli (Kohl) had a good bounce-back game and made a big difference inside.”

UNM hit one fewer field goal (19-of-45) than its opponent and didn’t have a great night shooting the three-pointer (2-of-9, 22.2 percent) but drives to the basket and offensive rebounds (including seven from Kohl) often led to trips to the free throw line, where they hit 26-of-32 (81.3 percent).

The Falcons were 3-of-6 from the free throw line.

UNM next travels to San José State (6-13, 1-6) for a noon (MT) tip on Wednesday.

LOBOS 66, FALCONS 51

NEW MEXICO (15-6, 6-2 Mountain West): Reus 4-8 3-3 12, Kohl 2-2 6-7 10, Cumber 2-11 2-2 7, Augmon 3-8 4-6 10, Wilson 7-11 10-12 24, Lauro 0-1 0-0 0 Joaquim 1-2 0-0 2, Bates 0-0 0-0 0, Langermann 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 19-45 26-32 66

AIR FORCE (9-12, 2-6): Macmillan 3-9 0-0 7, McNabb 1-11 1-2 4, Cortez 3-10 1-2 8, Perry 7-18, 1-2 19, Smith 3-5 0-0 6, Adams 2-4 0-0 4, Hargrave 0-1 0-0 0, O’Hallaren 1-10 0-0 3, DeVaughn 0-3 0-0 0, Huntimer 0-2 0-0 0, Britt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-74 3-6 51

New Mexico 20 14 15 17 — 66

Air Force 7 13 18 13 — 51

3-point FGs: NM 2-9 (Reus 1-3, Cumber 1-5, Langermann 0-1); AF 8-30 (Macmillan 1-4, McNabb 1-2, Cortez 1-3, Perry 4-7, Smith 0-1, Hargrave 0-1, O’Hollaren 1-9, DeVaughn 0-1, Huntimer 0-2); Rebounds: NM 52 (Reus 6, Kohl 13, Cumber 7, Augmon 9, Wilson 10, Lauro 1, Joaquim 2); AF 30 (Macmillan 1, McNabb 8, Cortez 5, Perry 4, Smith 6, Adams 2, Hargrave 2, O’Hollaren 2, Huntimer 1). Assists: NM 4 (Augmon 1, Wilson 2, Joaquim 1); AF 12 (Cortez 1, Perry 4, Smith 6, Britt 1). Steals: NM 2 (Reus 1, Cumber 1); AF 12 (Macmillan 1, McNabb 1, Cortez 2, Perry 2, Smith 2, Hargrave 2, O’Hollaren 1, DeVaughn 1); Blocks: NM 4 (Kohl 2, Cumber 1, Joaquim 1); AF 2 (Perry 1, Adams 1). Turnovers: NM 23, AF 6. Total fouls: NM 12, AF 23. Fouled out: None.

Journal Staff Writer Ken Sickenger contributed to this report.