Air Force Academy
Colorado State
Air Force Tops Rams In MWC Opener
1/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 12, 2004
By JOHN MOSSMAN
AP Sports Writer
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Tim Keller scored 15 points and A.J. Kuhle had 14, leading Air Force to a 65-57 win over Colorado State on Monday night.
Air Force (10-2, 1-0 Mountain West), which snapped a 27-game conference road losing streak, also got 12 points from Nick Welch, 11 from Joel Gerlach and 10 from Antoine Hood.
Matt Williams had 17 points and eight rebounds for short-handed Colorado State (8-6, 0-1), which was without two starters - center Matt Nelson (knee) and guard Micheal Morris (hamstring).
Air Force, which led 30-20 at halftime, padded its lead to 38-26 on Gerlach's 3-pointer with 16:02 remaining.
Ronnie Clark had 10 of his 12 points in the first seven minutes of the half to help Colorado State trim the deficit to 43-39.
But Air Force responded with an 8-0 run, and the Rams got no closer than six points after that. Hood started the surge with a three-point play following a steal on the other end. Gerlach then hit a 3-pointer and added two free throws for a 51-39 lead with 4:40 remaining.
Colorado State was forced to foul in the final two minutes, and the Falcons hit 11-of-14 free throws.
Air Force, off to its best start in school history, was outshot 51 percent to 46 percent but made 24-of-33 free throws compared to CSU's 11-of-15.
It was Air Force's first conference win on the road since Jan. 20, 2000.
Kuhle scored 11 points in the first half to help spark Air Force to its 10-point halftime lead.
Hood's 3-pointer and Kuhle's basket in the lane gave the Falcons an early 10-6 lead.
Colorado State's Derrick Stevens hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 16-14, but Air Force outscored Colorado State 14-6 the rest of the half.
The Falcons used a five-point possession to open up a 23-16 lead. Keller was intentionally fouled by Freddy Robinson and made both free throws. The Falcons retained possession, and Gerlach hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 5:15 remaining.
Air Force scored six straight points, including five by Kuhle, to forge its biggest lead of the half, 29-18.
