Air Force Battles Utah at MWC Championships
3/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 10, 2003
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Site: Thomas & Mack Center (18,500), Las Vegas, NV
Television: ESPN+Plus, Rich Waltz (play-by-play) and Irv Brown (analysis). Shown in the Colorado Springs area on KXRM-Fox 21 (Channel 3 on Adelphia Cable)
Radio: KVOR AM 740 in Colorado Springs.
Records: Air Force is 12-15 overall and 3-11 in the MWC. Utah is 23-6 overall and 11-3 in the MWC.
Coaches: Air Force is coached by Joe Scott (Princeton, 1987), who is in his third season with the Falcons. He has a 29-55 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.
Utah is coached by Rick Majerus (Marquette, 1970), who is in his 14th season as head coach of the Utes. Prior to taking the Utah coaching job, he was the head coach at Ball State for two seasons. Majerus was also the head coach at Marquette for three years. He has a record of 306-88 at Utah, and a career mark of 405-140 in his 19th season.
Series: Utah leads the overall series, 39-7. The Utes defeated Air Force twice this season, 45-35 in Salt Lake City, and 57-52 at Clune Arena. AFA's last victory against Utah was Mar. 1, 2001, a 71-60 win at home.
AFA Tournament History
Air Force is 4-16 overall in conference tournament play. The Falcons are 1-0 at home, 1-4 on the road and 2-12 in neutral site games. The team has lost 10 consecutive tournament games dating back to a 58-51 victory over #1 seed Colorado State in the Western Athletic Conference semifinals on March 8, 1990. That is still the biggest upset in WAC tournament history, as Air Force entered the tournament as the #9 seed. Air Force is 0-2 against Utah in conference tournament action. Utah beat Air Force, 66-64, in 1987 (WAC) and 74-65 in 2000 (MWC).
The Schedule
The 2003 MWC tournament schedule follows:
Thursday, March 13
Game 1: #2 BYU vs. #7 New Mexico 1 p.m.
Game 2: #3 Wyoming vs. #6 Colo. State 3:30 p.m.
Game 3: #1 Utah vs. #8 Air Force 7 p.m.
Game 4: #4 UNLV vs. #5 San Diego State 10 p.m.
Friday, March 14
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 7 p.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 10 p.m.
Saturday, March 15
Game 7: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 8 p.m.
All Times MST
Last Year at the MWC Tournament
Top-seeded Wyoming beat Air Force, 69-67 in overtime, in the first round. Marcus Bailey scored 29 points, and hit a three-pointer with four seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime. Tom Bellairs led Air Force with 20 points.
Scouting Utah
Utah is 23-6 overall and 11-3 in Mountain West Conference play after defeating Wyoming, 86-70, in Salt Lake City on Saturday. The Utes needed one win in its final two games to clinch the top-seed at the MWC Tournament, but fell to Colorado State, 66-65, at home last Saturday. Utah finished in a first-place tie with BYU for the MWC's regular season championship, and received the top-seed in the conference tournament by virtue of sweeping two games from the Cougars this season. Trace Caton led four Utes in double figures with 20 points against Wyoming, including 5-of-6 from three-point range. Britton Johnsen chipped in with 17 points and a team-high six rebounds. Marc Jackson added 11 points and a team-high five assists. Tim Frost leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.3 points per game. Jacobson follows at 13.1, while Johnsen scores 11.6 points per game and is the team's top rebounder, averaging 6.7 per contest. Tim Drisdom leads the team and is sixth in the MWC in assists, dishing out 3.2 per game. Utah finished second in the MWC last season, and lost to UNLV in the MWC Tournament semifinals. The Utes then fell to Indiana in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Keller Earns All-MWC Selection
Tim Keller was selected to the All-Mountain West Conference third-team by league coaches and media. He is one of three sophomores on the three all-league teams. The Austin, Texas product averaged 15.3 points in AFA's 14 conference games. He connected on 41.3 percent of his three-point attempts, and was second in the league in free throw percentage (conference games only) at 87.3 percent. Keller is the second Air Force player to earn an All-MWC selection, as Jarvis Croff was a second-team pick in 2000. Junior Joel Gerlach earned all-MWC honorable mention for the second consecutive season.
60 Points is the Key
Air Force's 74-70 loss at UNLV was the team's only defeat when scoring more than 60 points in a game. Air Force is 9-1 when it reaches the 60-point plateau, and 3-14 when it scores less than 60. The only victories this season with a point total under 60 are the 57-52 win at Arkansas State, and home wins over Navy (56-43) and Savannah State (56-33). Defensively, the Falcons are 8-5 when allowing less than 60 points to an opponent, and 4-10 when their opponent scores more than 60. Air Force gave up 60 points or less in each of its last three games.
Three-Point Streak
Air Force has now made a 3-point shot in 324 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.
Highest Computer Rankings Ever
AFA's RPI ranking of 135 on Sunday, Feb. 2 was the highest ever for a Falcon team. The team's highest mark in the Sagarin Ratings this season is 70.
Three's Company
After spending the first half of the season in the top two, Air Force has fallen out of the top 20 in the nation in three-pointers made per game. AFA is sinking eight long range shots each contest, which ties New Mexico for the top spot in the Mountain West Conference. AFA's 66.7 percent (16-24) from three-point range against Ga. Southern on Jan. 1 is a season-high and the best percentage since shooting 69.2 percent from long range against Montana State on Nov. 30, 2001. AFA is making 38.1 percent (216-567) of its shots from beyond the line. Individually, Tim Keller is tied for first in the MWC for three-point percentage at 45.6 percent (78-of-171) and second for three-pointers made per game at 2.89. Joel Gerlach is third in the conference in 3-point percentage at 44.6 percent (41-92) and 10th in 3-pointers made at 1.52.
Still Looking for a Road MWC Win
After its 74-70 loss at UNLV on Feb. 24, Air Force now has a 27-game road losing streak against Mountain West Conference opponents. The Falcons won their first-ever MWC road game, 81-77 in three overtimes, at San Diego State on Jan. 20, 2000, and have not won a conference game away from home since. AFA went 0-7 on the road for the third consecutive season.
Bellairs Fifth Player to 900 / 600
Tom Bellairs is the fifth player in school history to record 900 points and 600 rebounds in a career. He has 907 points and 689 rebounds in 107 career games. Bellairs moved into a tie for the No. 3 spot on the school's all-time rebounding list and is 24th on the school's scoring chart. Bellairs is No. 4 on the MWC's all-time rebounding list, behind UNLV senior Dalron Johnson (829), Josh Davis (795), who played at Wyoming, and current Wyoming senior Uche Nsonwu-Amadi (737).
New Long Range Records
Air Force set a new school and Mountain West Conference record with 18 three-pointers against UT-Pan American on Dec. 5. The previous school record was 16 made against Doane College on Nov. 22, 1997. The previous MWC record of 17 was shared by Utah and Colorado State. The 18 three-pointers ties for the fourth-most in one game for Division I this season. The Falcons are also tied for No. 10 (16 vs. Georgia Southern) on the list for most three-pointers made in one game this season.
Last Time Out
Air Force 68, New Mexico 60
March 8, 2003 at Clune Arena
Despite having to wait through a one hour delay as the New Mexico team bus was stuck in traffic getting to Clune Arena, the Air Force Falcons shot 62 percent from the floor and defeated the Lobos, 68-60, Saturday in its final regular season game. Air Force (12-15, 3-11 MWC) used a 10-0 second half run to break open a tight game. Trailing 33-32 at the 17:13 mark of the second half, Air Force forward Joel Gerlach hit back-to-back threes to spark a 16-4 Falcon run over the next eight minutes. New Mexico was held scoreless for nearly five minutes as AFA scored 10-straight to build a 48-37 lead. UNM (10-17, 4-10 MWC) twice whittled the Air Force lead down to five points in the final minutes of play, but was unable to close the gap completely. The Falcons made 24 of their 39 attempts from the floor as they defeated UNM for the third consecutive time at Clune Arena. Gerlach scored 18 points to lead three Falcons in double figures, followed by Tim Keller with 16. AFA's nation-leading scoring defense held the country's leading-scorer, UNM senior guard Ruben Douglas, to just 15 points on 4-18 shooting. Freshman Mark Walters posted career-highs of 23 points and 14 rebounds. Air Force will be the No. 8 seed in the upcoming MWC Tournament where it will face top-seeded Utah on Thursday, March 13 at 7 p.m. MT.
Notes from the New Mexico Game
Individual
-- Nick Welch had career-highs of 10 points and six rebounds
-- Joel Gerlach scored in double figures for the fifth consecutive game. He is shooting 62.7 percent (32-51) from the field his last eight games.
-- A.J. Kuhle played 40 minutes for the first time in 10 games
-- Tim Keller scored in double figures for the seventh time in the last eight games, and has made 14 consecutive free throws
Team
-- Air Force snapped a five-game losing streak, its longest of the season
-- Air Force won its first game of the season when trailing at halftime (1-12)
-- The team's 12 victories is the most in one season since the 1989-90 campaign (finished 12-20)
-- Air Force did not make a three-pointer in the first half, the only half this season without a trey
Scoring Drought
Air Force scored just 68 points in its games at Utah and BYU, the lowest total for consecutive games in school history, surpassing the mark of 75 for games at UTEP (L, 35-66) and home vs. Wyoming (L, 40-54) during the 1981-82 season. Also, the 33 (at Utah) and 35 (at BYU) points are No. 3 and 4, respectively, on AFA's list for fewest points scored in one game.
Keller Shooting
Tim Keller is among the best shooters in the country, as evidenced by the latest NCAA statistics. Keller is No. 7 in the nation in three-point percentage. He is seventh on the school's career list for three-pointers made with 110.
Jenkins Climbing Career Lists
Senior guard Vernard Jenkins has moved into the top five on two of the school's career lists. He is fourth on the school's all-time assist list with 327 career assists, and No. 4 on the school's list for career steals. He has 141 steals in his career. Jenkins is second all-time in the Mountain West Conference for steals, behind Marcus Banks of UNLV (146) and is third all-time in assists, behind Matt Montague (439) and Marlon Parmer (384), who played at BYU and New Mexico, respectively.
Field Goal Pct. Among The Best
After the regular season, Air Force's field goal percentage of 48.8 is the best since the 1988-89 team shot 48.9 percent, which is the second-best field-goal percentage in one season in school history.
Gerlach's First Double-Double
Junior Joel Gerlach posted his first career double-double with 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds against UNLV on Jan. 25. It was the first double-double for any Falcon this season. Senior Tom Bellairs recorded the second for Air Force and 13th of his career, which is the third-most by any active MWC player.
Home Sweet Home...
Despite losing three of its last five games at Clune Arena, Air Force finished 9-4 at home, which is the best home record since the 1987-88 season, when the Falcons finished 9-4. Also, the team's six-game home winning streak to start the season marked the first time in school history AFA won its first six Division I home games. The Falcons won those six home games by an average of 22.2 points. For the first time in 30 years, Air Force won each of its first two home games by more than 20 points. The 29-point victory over Stetson on Nov. 26 was followed up with a 21-point win over UT-Pan American on Dec. 5. The last time that happened was at the start of the 1972-73 campaign, when the Falcons beat Tulane, 81-59, and Colorado State, 78-57.
Shooting Records Go Down
Air Force set a pair of new school shooting records against Colorado State Feb. 15. The Falcons made 13-of-15 shots in the first half, the best percentage (86.7) for one half in school history, bettering the 82.4 percent (14-17) against Montana State on Nov. 30, 2001. Air Force finished the game shooting 71.9 percent (23-32) from the field, the best percentage ever for a conference game. The previous record was 63 percent (29-46) vs. Hawaii (WAC) on Jan. 26, 1985.
