Air Force travels to UT-Pan American
1/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Jan. 9, 2002
Game 14
Air Force vs. UT-Pan American
Date: Thursday, Jan. 10, 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Site: UTPA Field House (4,500), Edinburg, Texas
Television: None
Radio: KVOR AM 740 in Colorado Springs
Records: Air Force is 6-7 overall and 0-1 in the Mountain West Conference. UTPA is 14-4.
Coaches: Air Force is coached by Joe Scott (Princeton, 1987), who is in his second season with the Falcons. He has a 14-28 overall record at Air Force. Scott came to AFA from his alma mater, Princeton, where he was an assistant coach from 1993-2000.
UTPA is coached by Bob Hoffman (Oklahoma Baptist, 1979), who is in his third season as head coach of the Broncs. He most recently spent nine years as the head coach at his alma mater, Oklahoma Baptist. Hoffman has a record of 38-37 at UT-Pan American.
Series: UT-Pan American defeated the Falcons, 66-60, at Clune Arena last season in the only meeting between the two teams.
Scouting UT-Pan American
UT-Pan American is 14-4 after its 77-73 victory over Southwest Texas State Tuesday night. The Broncs had an eight-game winning streak snapped on Jan. 2 with an 81-69 loss at Texas. Bob Hoffman is in his third season as the head coach at UT-Pan American. He has a 38-37 record with the Broncs. Senior Mire Chatman leads UT-Pan American in scoring, averaging 23.9 points per game. He is second in rebounding with 5.2 boards per contest, and has team-highs of 71 assists and 64 steals. He led the Broncs with 25 points, three assists and four steals against Southwest Texas State. Senior Marcus Quinn leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 6.2 rebounds per game, and is second in scoring at 12.0 ppg. UTPA opened the season with four consecutive victories before losing, 74-66, to Northern Iowa and 89-72 to Minnesota. An 82-80 overtime win at Portland and a 70-67 defeat at the hands of Washington State preceded its eight-game winning streak.
Last Week
Dalron Johnson had 21 points and UNLV played a patient, slow-paced game to defeat Air Force 66-54 Monday night. UNLV (8-5, 1-1 Mountain West Conference) hit 53 percent from the field and 55 percent from 3-point range. Lou Kelly had 13 points and Vince Booker had 10. Joel Gerlach had 23 points for Air Force (6-7, 0-1), which shot only 36 percent from the floor. Lamoni Yazzie added 14. The score was tied at 12 after eight minutes, but UNLV pulled out to a 27-22 lead at the half. Air Force trailed 50-38 with 7:50 left to play and pulled to within 57-49 with just over two minutes left. But UNLV hit six of seven free throws in the final minutes to seal the win.
Still Liking Downtown Area
Once again this season, the Falcons are relying heavily on the 3-point shot. They lead the Mountain West Conference by making 8.1 three-pointers per contest. So far this year, 101 of the team's 247 field goals have been from beyond the arc, representing 40.9 percent. Last year, 45% of Air Force's field goals were three-pointers (245-of-544). Air Force's 31 attempts from 3-point range against Fresno State are a season-high and the most by any MWC team this season.
What's Next
Air Force travels to Albuquerque, NM for its second MWC game of the season against New Mexico on Monday, Jan. 14. The game will be shown on ESPN as part of its Big Monday telecast at 10 p.m.
Jenkins Climbing The Assist List
Junior guard Vernard Jenkins moved into the No. 8 spot on the school's all-time assist list with three assists against Liberty. Currently, Jenkins has 231 assists in his career. Vernard has recorded at least one assist in every game this season except for the Falcons' 63-53 loss to Denver on Dec. 12.
Career Games at Liberty
Senior Lamoni Yazzie scored a career-high 29 points against Liberty on Dec. 22, and also tied his career-best with six rebounds. Sophomore A.J. Kuhle also posted career-best numbers of eight rebounds and five steals. Yazzie's 15-of-17 performance from the free throw line against Liberty are MWC highs in both categories. It was the most FT's made in one game by a Falcon since Otis Jones made 17 against Utah on Feb. 19, 1994.
Shooting Down Records
The Falcons set a new school record for the best shooting percentage in one half against Montana State, Nov. 30. Air Force made 82.4% (14-17) of its shots in the first half, including 14 of its first 15 field goal attempts. The previous record was 78.9% (15-19) in the second half against U.S. International on Dec. 7, 1985. The 71.4% (25-35) shooting performance for the game against Montana State set a new McCaffrey Classic record and is the best by any MWC squad this season.
Everybody Got In The Action
Eight of the nine Falcons that played against Northern Arizona recorded a least one steal in the game. Joel Gerlach led the way with three, while three players had two. Air Force forced a season-high 24 turnovers in one of the best defensive performances this season. The team's 13 steals is the second-highest this year, one less than AFA had against Liberty.
Todd Leaves Team
Sophomore forward Robert Todd has left the team, accorsing to head coach Joe Scott. "Robert has made a personal decision to no longer play basketball at Air Force," said Scott. "We wish him the best in the future." Todd did not play in the Falcons' last four games while serving a suspension for violating team standards. He ranked fourth on the team in scoring this season with a 7.1 average. Last season, Todd led all MWC freshmen in scoring and set a new Academy single-season record with a three-point shooting percentage of 45.7%.
Bellairs Reaches Milestone
Junior Tom Bellairs became the 12th player in school history with 500 points and 500 rebounds in a career with three rebounds against UNLV. He has 606 career points and 501 rebounds. Bellairs is 44th on the school's career scoring list. Bellairs posted the 19th double figure rebounding game of his career against Oakland with a season-high 12 boards. He leads all current Falcons in career points and rebounds.
Three-Point Streaks
Air Force has now made a 3-point shot in 282 consecutive games. The last time the Falcons failed to make a three-pointer was Dec. 4, 1991 in a 57-51 victory over Adams State College. UNLV continues to hold the NCAA record for most consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer made. The Rebels have made a long-range shot in all 488 games since the 3-point field goal rule was adopted in 1986-87.
Field Goal Pct. Among The Best
Midway through the season, Air Force's field goal percentage of 47.0 is the best in school history since the 1988-89 team shot 47.7 percent. A closer look at the school's top field goal percentages for a single season:
Gotta Score 60
The 60-point barrier seems to be a benchmark for the Falcons this season. Air Force is 4-0 when it scores 60 or more points, and 2-7 when it scores less than 60. The two victores with a point total under 60 are the 57-56 win over Northern Arizona and the 52-44 triumph over Denver. Air Force has reached the 60-point mark only once in the team's last six games, and is 2-4 during that stretch. The 44 points given up by Air Force in that game is the lowest allowed by any Mountain West Conference team this season.
For the First Time ...
- With its victories over Liberty and Northern Arizona, Air Force has won consecutive road games for the first time since Jan. 24 & 26, 1989, against BYU and Utah, respectively.
- Air Force has won two road games in one season for the first time since the 1998-99 campaign. The Falcons defeated Dartmouth and San Diego State away from home that season.
- The victory over Northern Arizona was the first on the road against a team with a winning record since AFA beat Navy, 64-63, in Annapolis on Nov. 30, 1997. Navy was 2-1 entering that game.
- For the first time this season, Air Force won a game while having a lower field goal percentage than its opponent. Northern Arizona shot 48.6% from the floor, compared to 40.5% for Air Force.
- The Falcons have won four games away from Clune Arena in one season for the first time since the 1989-90 campaign. Two of those wins were against San Diego State and Colorado State at the WAC Tournament.
- With its victory over Northern Arizona, Air Force now has six non-conference Division I wins for the first time since starting conference play in 1980. AFA won five Division I games outside of league play last season, as well as in 1997-98 and '98-99.
Close Calls
Air Force is 5-1 in games decided by eight points or less this season. The only loss was a 57-53 decision to Oakland. AFA is one of only three MWC teams to have a winning record in games decided by five points or less. AFA is 3-1 in those games.
Gerlach Back on Track
Sophomore Joel Gerlach has regained his scoring touch the last two games. After acheiving double figures in six of the first seven games, Gerlach failed to reach double digits in four consecutive games. He has scored 41 points in the last two games, including a game-high 23 against UNLV. He made 13-of-29 field goal attempts and was 13-of-14 from the free throw line. Gerlach also added a career-high seven rebounds against UNLV, and now has exactly 100 in his career.
Yazzie Scoring Well
Senior team captain Lamoni Yazzie scored 14 points against UNLV, the 10th consecutive game he has scored in double figures. He currently leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.8 points per game. Yazzie, who has led the Falcons in scoring five times this season, needs 40 points to become the 55th player in school history to score 500 points. He is still the school's all-time leader in career free throw percentage at an 87% clip (127-146).
Last Year vs. UT-Pan American
UT-Pan American 66, Air Force 60 Jan. 24, 2001 - Clune Arena
John Braxton scored 14 points and Mire Chatman added 13 off the bench as Texas-Pan American defeated Air Force, 66-60, in a non-conference game in Clune Arena. The victory is the first on the road for UTPA this season in 10 chances and prevents Air Force from setting a record for non-conference Division I wins in a season. Texas-Pan American closed the first half on a 16-0 run to erase a nine-point deficit and take a 35-28 halftime lead. The run spilled over into the second half, as UTPA scored the first four points of the second stanza to take its biggest lead of the night, 39-28, with 18:37 remaining. The Falcons would have to play catch up the rest of the night. Robert Todd and Tom Bellairs each scored three points during an 8-2 Air Force run to cut the lead to 49-48 with 5:33 remaining in the game, but the Falcons could never overtake the visitors. UTPA countered the run with a 9-2 spurt to take a 58-50 lead with 3:41 left. UTPA hit six of eight free throws in the final 37 seconds to secure the win. Texas-Pan American finished the game hitting 75.0 percent from the free throw line. The team only hit 43.5 percent from the field, but forced 13 turnovers while turning it over just seven times. Air Force was led by Lamoni Yazzie, who scored 16 points. Bellairs recorded his first double-double of the season and ninth of his career with 12 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. Vernard Jenkins chipped in with 11 points and Joel Gerlach added nine. Air Force's leading scorer Jarvis Croff, who entered the game with a 14.8 average, was held scoreless for the first time in his career. The senior forward missed all four field goal attempts in 19 minutes of action.
