Air Force Academy
Savannah St
Falcons Pound Savannah State, 72-35
1/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2004
Air Force Academy, Colo. -- Antoine Hood scored a season-high 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and Air Force tied its best start in school history Tuesday with a 72-35 victory over Savannah State at Clune Arena. The Falcons are 8-2 for just the second time in school history and extended their winning streak to six, the longest since the 1988-89 season.
Air Force (8-2) ran away with the game early, making 11 of its first 13 field goals en route to a 27-11 lead midway through the first half. The Falcons kept pouring it on throughout the first stanza, shooting 76 percent (19-of-25) from the field and they took a 45-21 lead into halftime.
The second half was much of the same story as head coach Joe Scott emptied his bench early in the half. Air Force scored the first 13 points of the second half with Hood making three layups. The nation's top-ranked scoring defense allowed its fewest points of the season and forced 19 Tiger turnovers.
Tim Keller added 11 points for Air Force and four players, Joel Gerlach, Nick Welch, Matt McCraw and Dan Nwaelele finished with seven points. Welch added five rebounds and a career-high four assists.
Jamal Daniels led Savannah State (1-14) with 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Falcons are 8-2 for just the second time in school history, the first coming during the 1988-89 season, the last time an Air Force team finished .500 or better (14-14). Air Force has never been 9-2 in the 48-year history of the program.
The Falcons will attempt to go 9-2 on Friday, Jan. 9 when they host IPFW at 7:05 p.m.
