A wide-open Rytis Petraitis caught the ball behind the three-point line with seven seconds left in Air Force’s game at New Mexico on Saturday, and not a thought crossed his mind.

The Falcons’ play design was to look for a backdoor, but a UNM defender missed on Petraitis, leaving the sophomore forward with plenty of space.

Many players hesitate or overthink when given open looks from deep. Petraitis didn’t.

He drilled the shot, which became the game-winner in Air Force’s 78-77 upset win over the Lobos.

“I caught the ball at the top and was like, ‘Well, I’m going to shoot it,’ and it went in,” Petraitis said. “I didn’t really think about it much. It was more of just an instinct. That’s how you have to shoot it.”

Petraitis’ game-winner was his first since high school, when he hit a buzzer-beater to win a state championship.

The shot against UNM topped that.

“That one at The Pit was against a top-30 team in the country,” Petraitis said. “You can’t beat that.”

Petraitis was stellar in his first season at Air Force, winning Mountain West Freshman of the Week six times. He’s been even better as a sophomore.

The forward leads Air Force in points (14.9), rebounds (5.8), assists (3.7) and steals (1.7) per game. He notched Air Force’s second-triple in program history on Jan. 23, when the Falcons beat UNLV 90-58.

Air Force coach Joe Scott said the combination of Petraitis’ improvement and his learning of the team style has allowed him to take the next step.

“He has been working unbelievably hard to do what we do,” Scott said. “When we have that and he does what he does, we have a chance to be good.”

Petraitis believes his passing has improved the most in his game, which has translated well to Air Force’s “Princeton” offense.

“I’ve been making a lot tighter passes than usual,” Petraitis said. “I get those chances to make passes that most people wouldn’t be able to see or throw.”

Petraitis’ situation is interesting.

As a sophomore, he is still eligible to transfer after the season, per Air Force Academy rules. But once he’s a junior, Petraitis’ window to transfer will close.

He hasn’t made a decision yet.

“I haven’t given it any thought,” Petraitis said. “I’m invested in my classes right now because it’s stressful.”

Scott refused to answer questions regarding Petraitis’ specific situation, initially, before giving his brief thoughts on it.

“Wait till the end of the (expletive) year,” the coach said. “Every kid has to deal with that.

“In this day and age, you’re allowed to ask that question. I don’t want to answer that question because I know it’s out there. It comes down to how much I pour into him. We want growth people who know there’s so much more to life (than basketball), and you’re getting all of it here.”

Whether Petraitis will stay or go is uncertain. But for the next month, he is committed to helping his team win games.

Air Force’s win over the Lobos was its first since Jan. 23. The Falcons (9-17, 2-12 Mountain West) are a half game ahead of San Jose State in the league standings, as the Spartans have played — and lost — one more game than Air Force.

Petraitis believes that he and his teammates can build off Saturday’s success and compile a few more wins before the postseason.

“We didn’t get a win for a month, so we needed to get that and get our morale high and show that we can compete,” Petraitis said.