Falcons Host Exhibition Game Against Brock University
10/29/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 29, 2007
The Air Force men's basketball team opens the 2007-08 season this Wednesday, Oct. 31 with an exhibition game against Brock University of Canada beginning at 7 p.m. in Clune Arena. The game is open to the public and admission is free.
The Falcons will begin their first season under head coach Jeff Reynolds, who takes over after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Air Force. Reynolds has a career record of 82-34 as a collegiate head coach, spending three seasons as the top man at Wingate College (1997-2000) and one at North Carolina Wesleyan (1985-86).
During his two seasons as an assistant, Reynolds helped guide Air Force to its two most successful campaigns on the basketball court. In 2005-06, the Falcons were 24-7, the best record in program history, and played in the NCAA Tournament for just the fourth time ever. In '06-07, Air Force posted a 26-9 record, setting a new school record for most victories in one season, and advanced to the semifinals of the NIT. Air Force was just one of 17 Division I teams to win at least 50 games the last two seasons.
Senior captain Tim Anderson leads the way this season after earning honorable mention all-Mountain West Conference honors last year. The 6-3 guard started all 35 games and averaged 9.1 points and 3.5 rebounds in '06-07. His 101 assists tied for the team lead and his team-high 62 steals tied for the second-most in one season in program history. Anderson, the only Falcon to start a game in his career, scored a career-high 24 points against Colorado and pulled down a career-best eight rebounds in AFA's opening-round game of the NIT against Austin Peay.
Three other seniors, Adam Hood, Eric Kenzik and Keith Maren, are on the roster this season, but each of them enters the campaign with less career games played than Anderson started last season (35). Adam Hood, a 6-1 guard, played in 16 games last season and averaged 2.4 points per contest. He notched career-highs for points (9), rebounds (4) and assists (6) in the Falcons' 82-31 blowout of Colorado College last season.
Kenzik, meanwhile, averaged 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 15 games last season. He scored a career-high eight points against Colorado College and had a personal-best four rebounds vs. Wyoming. The 6-9 forward/center is expected to be a force in the middle for Reynolds this season. Maren, a 6-8 forward/center, saw action in 13 games a year ago and scored 1.3 points per game, including a season-high four vs. CC.
The junior class consists of three players that saw significant action off the bench for last year's 26-9 club. Andrew Henke, a 6-6 guard/forward, played in 33 of the team's 35 games last season and started to show his offensive explosiveness in many of them. He averaged just 4.6 points per game, but scored a career-high 16 points in a career-best 30 minutes against Wyoming at the MWC Tournament. He also notched double figures against Colorado, Norfolk State, San Diego State and Santa Clara, where his 13 points earned him the top sixth man award at the Cable Car Classic. The Falcons won the tournament with a 78-48 rout of the Broncos, one of Air Force's nation-leading nine victories by 30 points or more.
Matt Holland, a 6-6 forward, and Anwar Johnson, a 6-5 guard, also return for the '07-08 season. Holland, who did not see action as a freshman, played in 18 games last year and averaged 1.2 points per game. He scored a career-high five points against Colorado College and Radford. He also had four points in eight minutes in his first career game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Johnson, meanwhile, averaged 1.8 points per game in 32 contests as a sophomore and shot 50 percent (23-46) from the field, several of them coming on highlight-caliber dunks. He posted a career-high eight points against Colorado College and added seven on 3-for-3 shooting against Colorado.
The Falcons open the regular season by hosting the Air Force Classic. Air Force will battle Dartmouth in the first round on Friday, Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. The University of Northern Colorado and VMI will play in the other first-round game beginning at 5:30 p.m.
