Air Force Academy
Montana State
Falcons Take Down Montana State, 70-65
11/30/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov 30, 2001
Sophomore A.J. Kuhle led a hot shooting Air Force basketball team with a career-high 16 points Friday as the Falcons advanced to the title game of the McCaffrey Classic with a 70-65 victory over Montana State in Fresno, Calif.
The Falcons (3-2) came out of the gate on fire, making 14 of their 17 shots from the field, setting a school record for the best shooting percentage in one half at 82.4 percent. Air Force made 14 of its first 15 field goal attempts, including its first eight three-pointers, and finished the game shooting 71.4% (25-35).
The Falcons jumped out to a 32-15 lead in the first 15 minutes of the game, sparked by three 3-pointers from Kuhle, who finished the game 6-of-6 from the field and 4-of-4 from three-point territory. Montana State made a little run at the end of the half and Air Force took a 38-26 halftime lead to the locker room.
AFA's hot shooting continued in the second half, as the Falcons made four of its first five shots, but the Bobcats (1-3) cut the lead to 44-37 with 15:46 remaining in the game. The Falcons built the lead back up to 12 with a layup by junior Vernard Jenkins and a three-pointer by Kuhle, who played 27 minutes coming off the bench.
"A.J. played a terrific game tonight," said Air Force coach Joe Scott. "He took advantage of his opportunities and he just doesn't so anything wrong on the court."
Another spark off the bench for Air Force was freshman David Peterson, who filled in when starting center Tom Bellairs picked up his fourth foul midway through the second half. Peterson responded with two field goals and two assists.
"Peterson is a very good passing center with great instincts," said Scott. "He is on his way to becoming an excellent player at Air Force."
Air Force kept the lead in double figures until the final three minutes of the game, when the Bobcats made a 10-2 run, with all of MSU's 10 points scored by Aaron Rich. Rich's jumper with 1:24 left made the score 67-61, but Air Force senior Lamoni Yazzie sealed the game by hitting 3-of-4 free throws in the final 26 seconds.
"We are learning how to win basketball games," Scott said. "We played a solid 37 minutes tonight, and we have only been playing 25 good minutes lately."
Five Falcons scored in double figures, as Yazzie and sophomore Joel Gerlach and Robert Todd each had 11 points. Bellairs chipped in with 10 points. Yazzie led the squad with four rebounds and a season-high five assists.
Air Force faces host Fresno State in the championship game tomorrow night at 9 p.m. (MST). The Bulldogs defeated UC Riverside, 73-58.
