Air Force Academy
Northern Arizona
Falcons sneak by Northern Arizona, 57-56
1/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2002
Sophomore Joel Gerlach scored a game-high 19 points and Air Force used a stifling defense as the Falcons defeated Northern Arizona, 57-56, Wednesday night in Flagstaff, Ariz., to improve to 6-6 and win its second consecutive road game for the first time since the 1988-89 campaign.
The Falcons forced 24 Northern Arizona turnovers and collected 13 steals and have won two straight games on the road for the first time since defeating Brigham Young and Utah on Jan. 24 and 26, 1989.
"We stayed alert and concentrated well in the second half. That's what you need to do to win on the road," said Air Force head coach Joe Scott. "This is a big win for our program. They (NAU) were 26-5 here at home the past three years."
For the third straight game, the Falcons struggled through the first half. After making its first two shots and jumping out to a 5-0 lead, Air Force made just one of its next 12 shots and was down 14-10 midway through the stanza. Gerlach, who had not scored in double figures in his last four games, kept the Falcons in the game with 10 points in the first half, including a three-pointer that cut NAU's advantage to 16-15. A 3-pointer by sophomore A.J. Kuhle gave the Air Force a 20-18 lead, but the Lumberjacks scored the last five points of the half for a 23-20 lead at the break.
"I was working this afternoon on how to get Joel more involved in the offense," said Scott. "What I liked was he scored in a variety of ways tonight."
Junior Tom Bellairs came on strong in the second half with 11 points after going scoreless in just seven minutes of action in the first half. Bellairs started the second stanza with a blocked shot, then hit a three-pointer as Air Force scored the first eight points of the half to give the Falcons a 28-23 lead and they never trailed again.
Bellairs made one of the biggest shots of the game with 3:15 remaining as a drained a 25-footer with one second remaining on the shot clock to give Air Force a 47-40 advantage. It would be the Falcons' final field goal of the game, as Northern Arizona started fouling the Falcons soon thereafter. Bellairs finished with 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
"Tommy gave us a big emotional lift with that three-pointer," said Scott. "It was a big shot, but also a play that we run. That's as exciting as anything."
Air Force came through by making eight of ten free throws in a 31-second stretch for a 56-49 lead with 19 seconds left. NAU cut the lead to five with a layup by Kodiak Yazzie, then he drew a foul on Air Force's Lamoni Yazzie on the inbounds play to go to the free throw line. He made one of his two shots, then Lamoni Yazzie made one-of-two from the line for a 57-52 advantage. Kodiak Yazzie was fouled with four seconds left and again just made one of his two free throws. The Falcons' Vernard Jenkins was fouled with three seconds left, missed both shots and Kodiak Yazzie hit a three-pointer at the buzzer for the final margin. Kodiak Yazzie led NAU with 17 points.
Air Force's Lamoni Yazzie added 15 points, including nine-of-10 from the free throw line. Yazzie, who grew up just a few miles north of Flagstaff, had several fans in the crowd and did not disappoint them.
"I'm happy for Lamoni, he hit some big shots for us." said Scott.
Air Force returns to the court on Monday, Jan. 7 when it opens Mountain West Conference action against UNLV at Clune Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
