New Mexico forward Darington Hobson smiles at head coach Steve Alford during a Mountain West Conference tournament quarterfinal game against Air Force on March 11, 2010, at the Thomas & Mack Center. New Mexico moved on with a 75-69 win.
Thursday, March 11, 2010 | 4:10 p.m.
UNM, SDSU Advance to Semifinals
Both New Mexico and San Diego State survive second round scares to advance to the Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinals.
Darington Hobson walked off the Thomas & Mack Center floor Thursday to chants of "M-V-P" after New Mexico beat Air Force, 75-69, in its first-round game in the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
Most valuable player, indeed. Hobson, the Mountain West player of the year, scored 28 points with 15 rebounds to help the Lobos escape from the pesky Falcons.
"I thought he was dominant at both ends of the floor," New Mexico coach Steve Alford said. "That's a big time performance from the player of the year. We needed that today."
New Mexico needed it because, unlike Hobson, Air Force's play was not representative of its reputation. Despite finishing last in the Mountain West in the regular season with a 1-15 record, the Falcons were not outclassed by the Lobos this day.
Air Force held an early lead at 13-12 and trailed by only six entering halftime. Tom Fow, a reserve junior forward, came scored 17 points for the Falcons.
"They played a great game," Hobson said. "They had nothing to lose and they came out and made big plays down the stretch."
Problem was, Hobson always followed them with bigger plays. Air Force tied the lead at 48 halfway through the second half when junior guard Evan Washington converted on a three-point play.
On the next possession, Hobson took the ball down the floor and never gave it up. He crossed over in the lane, got fouled and still made the tough layup, giving Hobson a three-point play of his own.
"He had a performance today that maybe there's 10 performances like this in conference tournament history," Alford said.
Hobson wasn't shy about it, either. Whenever he made a big play — a contested three-point shot here, an acrobatic tip-in there — he followed it with a celebration just as elaborate.
Hobson prompted the New Mexico crowd to make noise by flexing, screaming and waving his arms. He received a technical foul in the second half for one of his outbursts.
"That's just something I have to work on," Hobson said. "I'm an emotional player, and I show a lot of emotion when I play."
As usual, New Mexico junior Dairese Gary served as Hobson's biggest sidekick. Gary scored 20 points, shooting 14-for-15 from the foul line, and had three assists.
"They make the game easy," New Mexico senior Roman Martinez said of Hobson and Gary. "I've said it before, they have the ability to take over games."
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