Falcons Host Colorado on Thursday
11/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 28, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Game #8
Air Force Falcons (5-2) vs. Colorado Buffaloes (4-2)
Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007
7 p.m. - Clune Arena
SITE
Location - USAFA, Colo.
Arena - Clune Arena
Capacity - 5,858
RADIO
Network - Air Force Basketball Network
Flagship - KVOR AM 740, Colo. Spgs.
Play-by-play - Jim Arthur
TELEVISION
Network - The Mtn.
Play-by-play - Tim Neverett
Analyst - Joe Cravens
INTERNET
Gametracker - GoAirForceFalcons.com
COACHES
Jeff Reynolds (UNC-Greensboro, 1978)
Air Force - 5-2, First Season
Overall - 87-36, Fifth Season
Jeff Bzdelik (Illinois-Chicago, 1976)
Colorado - 4-2, First Season
Overall - 79-49, Sixth Season
ALL-TIME SERIES
Overall - Colorado leads 16-3
First Game - Feb. 22, 1958
Result - Colorado won 54-50
Last Game - Nov. 18, 2006
Result - Air Force won 84-46
Current Streak - Air Force - 1
Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge
The Falcons were in Spokane, Wash., last weekend for the Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge, hosted by Washington State University. Air Force went 1-2 during the tournament and junior Andrew Henke was named to the all-tournament team, his second selection this season. Here are the results and all-tournament team:
Friday, Nov. 23
Air Force 58, Mississippi Valley State 40
Washington State 66, Montana 55
Saturday, Nov. 24
Washington St. 71, Mississippi Valley St. 26
Montana 59, Air Force 57
Sunday, Nov. 25
Montana 69, Mississippi Valley St. 62
Washington State 71, Air Force 62
Most Valuable Player
Kyle Weaver, Washington State
All-Tournament Team
Andrew Henke, Air Force
Carl Lucas, Mississippi Valley State
Cameron Rundles, Montana
Taylor Rochestie, Washington State
Derrick Low, Washington State
2007 Air Force Classic Champions
Air Force captured the championship of the 2007 Air Force Classic on Nov. 10 with a 71-62 victory over Northern Colorado in the first-ever regular-season men's tournament at Clune Arena. Here are the final Air Force Classic results:
Friday, Nov. 9
Northern Colorado 104, VMI 97
Air Force 67, Dartmouth 38
Saturday, Nov. 10
Dartmouth 98, VMI 87 (Third-Place)
Air Force 71, Northern Colorado 62 (Championship)
Most Valuable Player
Tim Anderson, Air Force
All-Tournament Team
Andrew Henke, Air Force
Will Figures, Northern Colorado
Sean Taibi, Northern Colorado
Alex Barnett, Dartmouth
Reggie Williams, VMI
Reynolds First to Win Initial Three
Air Force head coach Jeff Reynolds became the first head coach in program history to win his first three games with the Falcons when AFA defeated Western State, 73-49, on Nov. 14. His 5-2 mark ties Chris Mooney for the second-best start ever by an Air Force head coach. Jeff Bzdelik was 6-1 after his first seven games.
Last Time Out
Derrick Low hit six 3-pointers Sunday to lead No. 9 Washington State to a 71-62 comeback win over Air Force in the Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge.
Low made 6-of-8 3 pointers and a free throw, all in the second half, to help Washington State (6-0) erase a 30-26 halftime deficit.
Air Force (5-2) opened hot, making six of 12 3-pointers in the first half and holding a 40-37 lead with 13:42 left.
But the Cougars went on a 14-0 run while holding the Falcons scoreless for nearly 7 minutes to build a 51-40 lead. Air Force battled back to 68-62 in the closing seconds, but the Cougars won it at the free-throw line.
Taylor Rochestie had 22 points and Kyle Weaver added 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for Washington State.
Low, who sat out most of the first half after two quick fouls, had made just six of 15 shots in the first two games of the tournament. But he was unstoppable in the second half as WSU won all three games in its round-robin tournament.
Tim Anderson scored 15 for Air Force (5-2), which lost its second consecutive game. Evan Washington added 14.
Air Force led 30-26 at halftime, thanks to 50 percent shooting while holding the Cougars to 44 percent. The numbers shifted in the second half, with WSU shooting 55 percent and Air Force 34 percent. The Cougars hit 7-of-10 from beyond the arc in the second half.
After trailing all game, a 3-pointer by Low allowed Washington State to tie the game at 37. After Washington's 3 for Air Force, Low hit another 3-pointer to tie the game at 40 with 13:13 left.
Robbie Cowgill's free throw gave WSU its first lead of the game at 41-40, and Low's fourth 3-pointer of the second half extended the lead to 44-40.
Washington State built a 51-40 lead during a 14-0 run in which Air Force was held scoreless for nearly 7 minutes.
After Henke made three straight free throws to cut WSU's lead to 51-43, Low hit a pair of 3-pointers to rebuild the lead.
The teams, best known for defensive intensity, kept scoring low in the early going. Rochestie's 3-pointer tied the game at 11 for Washington State with 10:23 left.
Washington's layup lifted Air Force to a 27-20 lead with 3:23 left, giving the Falcons one more point than Mississippi Valley State scored the day before in a 71-26 loss to Washington State.
Notes from the Wash. State Game
Team
-- Air Force shot a season-high 93.8 percent (15-16) from the free-throw line
-- Air Force is now 0-4 against teams ranked in the top 10
Individual
-- Tim Anderson tied his season-high with five assists
-- Matt Holland dished out a career-high three assists in a career-best 26 minutes
-- Evan Washington scored a career-high 14 points and tied his career-highs with four rebounds and 35 minutes
-- Keith Maren tied his career-high with 32 minutes played
Non-Conference Home Streak at 38
Air Force now has a 38-game winning streak at home against non-conference opponents. That is the third-longest streak in the country behind Duke (55) and Sam Houston State (40). The last loss at home to a non-Mountain West team at Clune Arena was against Tennessee Tech on Dec. 29, 2001 (64-44).
Nearly Unbeatable at Clune
The Falcons have been close to unbeatable at Clune Arena the last four seasons. Since the beginning of the 2003-04 season, Air Force has won 60 of its 62 home games for a 96.8 winning percentage. In addition, the Falcons have won 30 of their 32 MWC games at Clune Arena during that stretch.
Up Next
The Falcons play at Northern Illinois on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. (CT).
Anderson Tied For 9th in Steals
With his one steal against Washington State, Tim Anderson moved into a tie for 9th place on Air Force's career list. He currently has 122 steals.
Anderson Named Co-Player of Week
Air Force senior Tim Anderson and San Diego State junior Kyle Spain were named the Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Co-Players of the Week on Nov. 12. This was the second weekly honor of Spain's career and the first for Anderson.
A 6-3 guard from El Paso, Texas, Anderson was named Most Valuable Player after leading the Falcons to a 2-0 record and the tournament title at the 2007 Air Force Classic last week. In the opening game vs. Dartmouth, he scored 13 points while adding three steals, two assists and two rebounds in Air Force's 67-38 win. Anderson followed with a career-high 26 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, including a 6-for-12 effort from three-point land, in a 71-62 win over Northern Colorado. For the week, Anderson averaged 19.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while shooting 57.9 percent from the field (11-for-19), 46.2 percent from three-point range (6-for-13) and 78.6 percent from the charity stripe (11-for-14).
Spain, a Newark, Calif., native received Tournament MVP honors while helping the Aztecs to a 3-0 record and the tournament crown at the World Vision Classic in Fresno, Calif. Against Liberty he scored a team-high 14 points while pulling down four rebounds in SDSU's 62-50 win. The next night he tied his career-high with 22 points and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds in a 78-64 victory over Portland. Spain also had a career-best 10 made free throws vs. the Pilots in 27 minutes of action. He concluded the tournament with 12 points and six rebounds in the Aztecs' 89-72 win over tourney host Fresno State. On the week, Spain averaged 16.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest on 48 percent shooting from the floor (12-for-25) and 82.6 percent free throw shooting (19-for-23).
Tournament Action
Following the Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge last weekend, Air Force has a 39-71 record in regular-season tournament play in program history. The Falcons are 14-5 in tournament play since the beginning of the 2003-04 season, including two victories earlier this season at the Air Force Classic.
Three-Point Streak
Air Force has made a three-point shot in 457 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.
5-2 Ties Fourth-Best Start Ever
Air Force's 5-2 record ties the fourth-best start ever in program history after seven games. This is the 15th time a Falcon team has been 5-2. Three seasons, 1982-83, 2005-06 and `06-07, the Falcons opened with a 6-1 record.
Stingy Defense
The Falcons are allowing just 52.3 points per game this season. Opponents have scored less than 50 points in four of the seven games. Only Northern Colorado (62), Montana (59) and Washington State (71) broke the 50-point barrier against Air Force.
Bzdelik Returns to Clune
Jeff Bzdelik makes his first appearance at Clune Arena since taking the head coaching job at the Univeristy of Colorado in April. Bzdelik coached Air Force for two seasons, posting a 50-16 record and leading the Falcons to an NCAA Tournament appearance and the semifinals of the 2007 postseason NIT.
