Falcons Host Texas-Pan American
12/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Dec. 3, 2002
Date: Thursday, Dec. 5, 7:05 p.m. MST
Site: Clune Arena (6,002), USAFA, Colo.
Television: None
Radio: KVOR AM 740 in Colorado Springs
Records: Air Force is 2-2, UT-Pan American is 2-4.
Coaches: Air Force is coached by Joe Scott (Princeton, 1987), who is in his third season with the Falcons. He has a 19-42 record in his tenure at Air Force. Scott came to AFA from his alma mater, Princeton, where he was an assistant coach from 1993-2000.
Texas Pan-American is coached by Bob Hoffman (Oklahoma Baptist, 1979), who is in his fourth season with the Broncs. He has a 46-47 record at UT-Pan American, and a career record of 377-141 in 15 seasons.
Series: Texas-Pan American holds a 7-5 advantage in the series. The Broncs have won the last two meetings between the teams, a 58-52 overtime victory last season in Edinburg, Texas, and a 66-60 win at Clune Arena two years ago. Air Force's last win over UT-Pan American was Jan. 20, 1983, a 51-46 victory at Clune Arena
Scouting Texas-Pan American
Texas-Pan American is 2-4 after losing a pair of games at the Hofstra Wingate Holiday Tournament last weekend. The Broncs fell to Quinnipiac, 72-62, in the semifinals on Nov. 30, then lost to Lehigh, 66-52, in the consolation game on Dec. 1. Junior Allen Holcomb leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.0 points per game. He had 18 points and 20 rebounds, a team-high, in the two tournament games. He also paces the team by averaging 9.5 rebounds per game. Senior Kevin Mitchell follows with a 13.2-point per game average after scoring 15 points last weekend. Mitchell has a team-high 13 steals and is second on the Broncs with 21 assists, six less than team leader James Davis. The Broncs lost their first two games of the season to New Mexico State (62-59) and Tulsa (80-50). They evened their record at 2-2 with wins over Concordia (88-55) and Mississippi Valley State (73-68) before going to last weekend's tournament.
Last Year Against UT-Pan American
Texas-Pan American 58, Air Force 52 ot
Jan. 10, 2002 at Edinburg, Texas
Mire Chatman scored 28 points, including all seven of Texas Pan-American's points in overtime, and Andruis Sakalys added 16 as the Broncs defeated Air Force, 58-52, Thursday night in front of 4,575 fans at the UTPA Field House in Edinburg, Texas. Chatman opened the scoring in overtime with a steal and a dunk with 2:35 remaining, giving UTPA a 53-51 lead. The Falcons scored their only point in the overtime period on a free throw by sophomore Joel Gerlach with 38 seconds left. Gerlach missed the second free throw and Tom Bellairs tipped the ball out to teammate Vernard Jenkins. On the ensuing possession, Bellairs drove the lane and was whistled for traveling with three seconds left. The inbounds pass went through a couple of Air Force players' hands, and Chatman came up with the ball and was fouled. Air Force coach Joe Scott was then charged with two technical fouls for arguing the traveling call on Bellairs and was ejected from the game. Chatman made five of six free throws with one second left for the game's final margin.
Eight Tourney Teams on Schedule
Eight of Air Force's 20 opponents this season received a bid to either the NCAA or NIT Tournament last year. Three Mountain West Conference teams made the NCAA field of 65, while three others played in the NIT. Here is a breakdown of this year's opponents in the 2001-02 tournaments.
NCAA - Wyoming, Utah, San Diego State
NIT - Louisville, Tennessee Tech, UNLV, New Mexico, BYU
Three-Point Streak
Air Force has now made a 3-point shot in 301 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.
Kuhle's Hot Streak Ends
Junior A.J. Kuhle had his string of consecutive games with a three-pointer made halted at 17 against Arkansas State. He attempted just one trey in the game. He made a three-pointer in each of Air Force's final 15 games last season, and the first two games this year. Kuhle also played 40 minutes for the first time in a game this season. He averaged 40.1 minutes per game in conference games last year, and played every minute of the team's final eight games.
Big Monday Matchup
For the first time since Feb. 1, 1992, Air Force will host a nationally televised game when ESPN shows the AFA-Wyoming game on Monday, Feb. 17 as part of its "Big Monday" tripleheader. Tip-off is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. The Falcons have three other games on television this season, two on SportsWest (March 1 vs. BYU and March 8 vs. New Mexico) and one on ESPN-Plus (Feb. 15 vs. Colorado State).
Early Conference Stats
A number of Air Force players are among Mountain West Conference statistical leaders as of Monday, Dec. 2.
Tim Keller
#1 in three-pointers made per game, 3.5
#8 in three-point field goal percentage, 48.3
Joel Gerlach
#6 in blocked shots per game, 1.25
#6 in three-pointers made per game, 2.00
#8 in points per game, 16.8
#9 in field goal percentage, 53.8
#9 in three-point field goal percentage, 47.1
Vernard Jenkins
#4 in three-point field goal percentage, 55.6
Also, Air Force leads all MWC teams in:
Scoring Defense, 55.0 points/game
Three-pointers, 9.5 made/game
Rebounds Allowed, 30.2 rebs/game
Last Weekend's Games
Air Force 57, Arkansas State 52
Nov. 29, 2002 at Jonesboro, Ark.
Joel Gerlach scored 24 points and Tim Keller added a career-high 19 for Air Force as the Falcons defeated Arkansas State in men's basketball, 57-52, Friday night. Gerlach, a sophomore forward from Littleton, Colo., hit 7-of-12 shots from the field and 8-of-10 free throw attempts to help the Falcons (2-1) claim their second straight win of the season. Paris London led ASU with 13 points on the night. The Indians led as late as 2:26 left to play in the game, when London hit the tail-end of a pair of free throws to give the Tribe a 50-49 advantage. But that is when Tom Bellairs, plagued all evening with foul trouble, re-entered the game with four fouls after sitting for 14 minutes hit a five-footer to give the Falcons the lead for good. But despite the outcome of that play, Gerlach was the man for the Falcons on this night. With the Falcons trailing 44-39 with 7:43 left in the game, Gerlach was fouled by ASU's Lucious Lenear. Gerlach nailed both attempts, then blocked a shot on ASU's next possession and then scored the next six points for the Falcons to help out the sputtering offense. For the Indians (1-2), London led the way in scoring, with 13 points, but hit just 4-of-13 shot attempts on the night. The Indians got outrebounded in the game as well, mainly due to Kim Adams being in foul trouble all evening. Odie Williams, starting for the first time this season, dropped in 12 points for the Indians.
Tennessee Tech 60, Air Force 47
Dec. 1, 2002 at Cookeville, Tenn.
Damien Kinloch scored a game-high 23 points and Tennessee Tech held Air Force to just 19 points in the second half as the Eagles extended the second-longest home court winning streak in the nation to 32 with a 60-47 victory Sunday. Air Force (2-2) controlled the tempo of the game in the first half. The Falcons never trailed in the first stanza thanks to 78 percent shooting (7-of-9) from three-point range. Tim Keller made all four of his three-pointers in the first half and had 12 points at halftime. Keller's fourth three-pointer of the game with 1:07 left before halftime broke a six-minute scoreless streak and the Falcons took a 28-25 lead to the break. The second half was a completely different story, as TTU (3-1) pounded the ball inside early in the second half, with Kinloch scoring the first six points to give the Eagles a 31-28 lead. Air Force had trouble getting shots off early in the stanza, and finally scored its first points of the half on a free throw by Gerlach with 15:18 remaining, snapping an 8-0 run by TTU right out of halftime. The Eagles then went on a 10-0 run, capped by an alley-oop dunk by Milone Clark, to move the lead to 43-29. Air Force finally made its first field goal of the second half with 8:23 left on a Gerlach layup, which cut the Tech lead to 43-31. The game was back and forth the rest of the way, with Air Force never getting closer than eight points. Gerlach led Air Force with 17 points, while Keller was held scoreless in the second half and finished with 12.
Notes from Last Weekend's Games
Arkansas State
-- Sophomore Tim Keller scored a career-high 19 points ... He also tied his career-high with four assists
-- Joel Gerlach scored a season-high 24 points ... He made 7-of-12 shots from the field and 8-of-10 free throws
-- Gerlach and Keller combined for 43 of Air Force's 57 points ... They had 25 of the team's 26 points at halftime (Gerlach 15, Keller 10) ... David Peterson had AFA's only other point at the break
-- Sophomore backup center David Peterson played a career-high 27 minutes, and tied his career-best with four rebounds
-- Air Force outrebounded an opponent for the first time this season, and for the first time in its last 13 games, dating back to Jan. 21 at home against BYU (27-23) ... The Falcons outrebounded their opponent just three times last season
-- The victory snapped a nine-game road losing streak
Tennessee Tech
-- Air Force had a school-record low nine rebounds, surpassing the old record of 12, set last year against Missouri
-- Tom Bellairs posted season-high totals for points (9), assists (5) and minutes (28)
-- AFA's 77.8 shooting percentage in the first half (7-for-9) was the best in one half since going 8-for-10 (80.0 percent) in the first half against Montana State last season at the McCaffrey Classic
What's next
The Falcons travel to Statesboro, Ga., for a game against Georgia Southern on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 11 a.m. MST. Air Force will leave on Friday, Dec. 6 and return after game on Dec. 8. AFA hosts Belmont University on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at Clune Arena at 7:05 p.m.
