For the Lobos' season, it's make or break at Air Force.(Sports)

Byline: Edgar Thompson ethompson@abqtrib.com / 823-3614

More and more, the University of New Mexico men's basketball team is beginning to resemble the Lobos of 1994-95 the school's least successful team in 18 years.

A loss at the Air Force Academy tonight could complete the comparison.

Entering their matchup with the Falcons at 7:07 tonight, the Lobos already have many similarities with the ill-fated club of six seasons ago.

For the first time since then, UNM (13-7, 3-4 in Mountain West Conference play) has done the following:

*Lost five of six games.

*Dropped four road games in a row.

*Entered the second half of the conference season with a sub-.500 record in league play.

The 1994-95 squad is also the only Lobo team since 1986 to lose to the Falcons, falling 59-58 on a buzzer-beater at the Academy in March 1995.

UNM's second loss to Air Force (6-15, 1-6) in the past 23 meetings is a real possibility tonight. Colorado State visited Air Force on Jan. 29 and was shocked 46-45, two days after pushing the Lobos to overtime in The Pit.

"It's a very dangerous game," Lobo …