Air Force Academy
Liberty
Falcons Extinguish Flames, 66-54
12/22/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec 22, 2001
Air Force basketball coach Joe Scott wanted a .500 record for Christmas. He got it, along with the first true road win of the season, as his Falcons improved to 5-5 with a 66-54 victory Saturday over Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.
Senior Lamoni Yazzie scored a career-high 29 points and Air Force used a stifling defense to post a season-high 14 steals as the Falcons are 5-5 against Division I teams for the first time since the 1986-87 campaign.
Yazzie, who also tied a career-high with six rebounds, came alive in the second half, making three of his four 3-point attempts and 15-of-17 shots from the free throw line, including eight in a row in the final 1:11 of the game. He scored 26 of his 29 points in the second stanza.
"Yazzie had a great second half," said Scott. "He did not play real well in the first half, but he came on and gave us a big lift in the second 20 minutes."
Air Force took the lead for good with a 9-0 run midway through the second half, sparked by consecutive layups by junior Tom Bellairs, Yazzie, who was fouled and converted the three-point play, and sophomore Joel Gerlach. Gerlach's layup gave AFA a 41-34 lead with 9:50 left in the game. Liberty did not get closer than three points the rest of way.
"It's a big win for, especially with a home game coming up," said Scott. "The guys did a great job staying in shape during finals and played great tonight. It's always a big lift to win on the road."
The two teams combined for 25 turnovers in the first half as the Falcons came out with rare full court pressure resulting in nine Air Force steals. Bellairs had eight points on four easy layups while sophomore A.J. Kuhle added seven points in the first half. Those two players were 7-for-8 from the field while the rest of the team made just 2-of-9 field goal attempts. Kuhle's layup with 7:30 remaining in the first half gave Air Force a 17-14 lead, then Liberty rattled off a 10-0 run as the Falcons were held scoreless for the next 6:50 before a three-pointer by freshman Tim Keller cut the Flames' lead to 25-20. Kuhle, who had career-highs of eight rebounds and five steals, added a free throw with one second left and Liberty went to the locker room with a four-point cushion.
"A.J. does all the things that make you win," Scott said. "He played 38 minutes and gave us eight rebounds and three big free throws at the end of the game."
Air Force faces returns to the court after Christmas break on Saturday game to, Dec. 29 against Tennessee Tech at Clune Arena beginning at 2 p.m.
