Air Force Academy
Navy
Falcons Pound Navy, 86-46
11/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 28, 2003
Freshman Dan Nwaelele led five Air Force players in double figures with a game-high 18 points Friday as the Falcons blew out Navy, 86-46, in Annapolis, Md. The 40-point margin of victory is the largest in a road game against a Division I team in the 48-year history of the Air Force basketball program.
Nwaelele, playing in just his second collegiate game, came off the bench to make four-of-six shots from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. He also collected a career-high four rebounds in 22 minutes of action. Sophomore Nick Welch, playing in his first game since knee surgery in September, started the first game of his career and scored a career-best 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor.
Air Force (2-0) took the lead early and never looked back. The Falcons broke the game wide open with a 28-3 run over a span of 10 minutes to take a 32-7 lead with 7:52 left in the first half. Junior Tim Keller capped the run with one of his three three-pointers in the game. Keller finished with 11 points, as did freshman Matt McCraw. Senior Joel Gerlach added 10 points and a game-high six rebounds.
The Falcons, who held a 45-20 lead at halftime, came out just as hot in the second half, outscoring the Midshipmen 13-5 to open the stanza and move the lead to 58-25. Navy (0-3) scored the next 10 points to cut the Falcon lead to 25, but Air Force made 16-of-18 free throw attempts in the final 6:30 of the game as they continued to expand the lead.
Falcon coach Joe Scott emptied his bench for the second consecutive game and played all 15 players. Scott had five freshmen on the court at the end of the game. Freshman Jacob Burtschi had his second straight solid game, scoring nine points and adding three rebounds and two assists.
The Falcons are 2-0 for the first time since the 1998-99 season and for just the 12th time in program history. The Falcons shot 56 percent (24-43) from the field and committed only seven turnovers against Navy, which turned the ball over 19 times.
David Hooper led the Midshipmen with 14 points and three rebounds. The loss was the worst by a Navy team since dropping a 121-64 decision to Duke on Feb. 1, 1964.
Air Force continues its road swing on Sunday, Nov. 30 with a game at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. (CT).
