The night of Jan. 28, 2002, might not ring a bell in the minds of many students at UNM.
For five of the nine current Lobo men's basketball players and their head coach, it means nothing, because they were elsewhere, not yet a part of the program.
To Lobo basketball enthusiasts and veteran players Ruben Douglas, Jamaal Williams, Chad Bell and Ryan Ashcraft, that date marks the last time UNM earned a victory on foreign hardwood. Now, all nine players find themselves up against an intimidating 16-game road-losing streak, which they have one final chance to shake.
"Hopefully we don't send Ruben out with a, what is it, 16, 15-game losing streak on the road," Williams said. "We need to go out and get this win for Ruben and end that losing streak."
Saturday afternoon, the Lobos (10-16, 4-9 MWC) will attempt to ground the Air Force Academy Falcons (11-15, 2-11 MWC) and gain momentum for the Mountain West Conference Tournament. UNM is jockeying for position in the MWC standings. UNM sits alone in seventh place, only a half game behind Colorado State University. With a victory on Saturday combined with Colorado State losses to Utah and Brigham Young this weekend, the Lobos could catapult into sixth, setting up an opening round tournament battle versus the third-place finisher.
For that to happen, UNM needs a repeat performance of its first game against AFA in The Pit. In that contest, the Lobos shot their way to a 73-59 victory, in which they played one of their most fundamentally sound games of the year. That game featured a UNM half-court offense, which exploited the undersized Falcons front line, with a 1-2 punch from forwards David Chiotti and Bell. Chiotti played a sparkling game, scoring 10 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
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The only difference in this game is the Lobos do not have the home-floor advantage. They still possess Douglas, who will be playing his final regular season game. Douglas continues his euphoric season, leading the nation in scoring at 28.9 PPG. He also recently earned ESPN.com's National Player of the Week honor for his outstanding performances against San Diego State and Utah.
Douglas needs 35 points against Air Force to reach 2,000 for his collegiate career. If he reaches 35, he would also break Kenny Page's UNM single-season scoring record of 784 points set in 1979-80.
Air Force has lost 11 of its last 13 and is in the midst of a five-game losing streak, its longest of the year. A win or a loss has no bearing on the dismal Falcons, as they have already locked up the eighth place position and will face the No. 1 seed in the MWC tournament opener.
AFA has won two in a row at home against the Lobos, including a 47-44 victory a season ago. The Falcons are led by sophomore guard Tim Keller, who is averaging 15.2 PPG and junior forward Joel Gerlach, who is averaging 11.9 PPG.
If the Lobos play to their ability, they should be able to end their discouraging road-losing streak and spoil the Falcons' senior night ceremonies.
Tip off is scheduled for 4:07 p.m., Saturday at Clune Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo. The game can be heard live on 770 AM or seen on Channel 13.
