Falcons Open Season With Air Force Classic
11/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 6, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Game #1
Air Force Falcons (0-0) vs. Dartmouth Big Green (0-0)
Friday, Nov. 9, 2007, 8 p.m.
First Round - 2007 Air Force Classic
SITE
Clune Arena, USAFA, Colo.
RADIO
Air Force Basketball Network
Flagship, KVOR AM 740
Jim Arthur, Play-by-play
TELEVISION
None
LIVE STATS
GoAirForceFalcons.com
COACHES
Jeff Reynolds (UNC-Greensboro, 1978)
Air Force, 0-0, First Season
Overall, 82-34, Fifth Season
Terry Dunn (Northern Colorado, 1977)
Dartmouth, 26-55, Fourth Season
Overall, Same
ALL-TIME SERIES
Air Force leads 2-0
Getting Started
This season marks the 52nd year of varsity basketball for Air Force. This is Air Force's ninth season in the Mountain West Conference. AFA was a member of the Western Athletic Conference for 19 years before joining the MWC in 1999.
Season Openers
Air Force is 21-30 all-time in season openers. The Falcons are 15-8 at home and 6-22 on the road (including neutral games). Last season, the Falcons opened the campaign with an 81-45 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Clune Arena. Air Force has won its last six home openers.
2007 Air Force Classic
Air Force is hosting its first-ever regular-season men's tournament this weekend at Clune Arena. Joining the Falcons are teams from Dartmouth College, the Univeristy of Northern Colorado and Virginia Military Insititute.
Here is the Air Force Classic schedule:
Friday, Nov. 9
Northern Colorado vs. VMI, 5:30 p.m.
Air Force vs. Dartmouth, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 10
Third-Place Game, 5:30 p.m.
Championship Game, 8 p.m.
Exhibition Game vs. Brock Univ.
Rohan Steen's three-pointer with one-tenth of a second remaining lifted the Brock University (Canada) men's basketball team to a 66-63 victory over Air Force Holloween night in an exhibition game at Clune Arena.
Steen took a pass from Brad Rootes in the left corner after Rootes drove the lane but was forced to pass by the Falcon defense. Steen nailed the three-pointer, Brock's 17th of the game, and Air Force could not get a shot off after taking a time out. Brock shot 54.8 percent (17-31) from three-point range.
The Falcons held a 61-56 lead with five minutes left after a three-pointer by Tim Anderson, who led Air Force with 25 points and made six of seven shots from long range. Rootes cut the lead to three with a pair of free throws and the Badgers tied the game at 61-all on a three-pointer by Scott Murray at the 2:41 mark.
Anderson made a layup with two minutes left, then Mike Kemp, who led the Badgers with 25 points, hit two free throws with 1:43 left to tie the game. Each team had a couple of shots down the stretch, including a short jumper by Anderson that rimmed out and set up Brock's final possession.
Murray added 20 points and Rootes dished out 10 assists for the Badgers, while Eric Kenzik had 11 points and Keith Maren pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for Air Force.
Falcons Picked Eighth in MWC Poll
Air Force was picked eighth in the 2007-08 preseason media poll released at the Mountain West Conference media day in Denver, Colo., on Oct. 17. The Falcons received three first-place votes, the second-most in the conference.
School (First Place Votes), Pts
1. BYU (15), 181
2. UNLV (2), 146
3. Utah (2), 142
4. New Mexico (2), 128
4. San Diego State (1), 128
6. Wyoming, 120
7. TCU, 58
8. Air Force, 54
9. Colorado State, 33
2007 NIT Semifinalist
Air Force made its first appearance ever in the postseason National Invitation Tournament (NIT) last season. The Falcons, seeded first in the West Region, won three consecutive games at Clune Arena, including routs of Austin Peay and Georgia and a thrilling 52-51 victory over DePaul in the quarterfinals. That win sent the Falcons to New York City for the semifinals at Madison Square Garden. Air Force lost the semifinal game to Clemson, 68-67.
First Postseason Win in 17 Years
Air Force's 75-51 victory over Austin Peay in the first round of the NIT was the Falcons' first postseason win since defeating Colorado State in the WAC semifinals on Mar 8, 1990. Air Force had lost 17 consecutive postseason games, including 15 conference tournament games and two NCAA Tournament games.
26 Wins Sets New School Record
Air Force finished the 2006-07 campaign with a 26-7 record. The 26 victories are the most wins in one season in the history of the program. The previous mark was 24 set by the 2005-06 team.
No. 2 Nationally in Scoring Defense
For the first time in five years, the Falcons did not lead the nation in scoring defense. They did finish No. 2, however, allowing 56.0 points per game, just under three points per game more than national leader Princeton, which gave up 53.3 points per game. Air Force also ranked No. 2 in the country for fewest turnovers per game with 10.3 in the final NCAA Division I statistics. Air Force was the only team in the country in the top 15 in field-goal percentage (11th), free-throw percentage (12th) and three-point percentage (15th) in `06-07.
Non-Conference Home Streak at 34
Air Force enters the 2007-08 campaign with a 34-game winning streak at home against non-conference opponents. The last loss at home to a non-Mountain West team at Clune Arena was against Tennessee Tech on Dec. 29, 2001 (64-44).
35 Games Breaks Record
The Falcons set a new school record for most games played in one season with 35. The 1989-90 team played 32 (12-20), while the 2005-06 team played 31 (24-7).
Up Next
Following the Air Force Classic, the Falcons host Western State on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.
Christian Returns to Academy
Dean Christian returns to AFA this weekend as an assistant coach at Dartmouth. Christian was an assistant coach at Air Force from 1992-2000. and a three-year letterwinner at the Academy, graduating in 1982.
Three-Point Streak
Air Force has made a three-point shot in 450 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.
AFA Sets New FG% Record, Barely
Air Force barely broke the school record for field-goal percentage and came up just short in three-point percentage last season. The Falcons finished the season shooting 49.03 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from three-point range. The school record was 49.01 percent (1969-70) for field-goal percentage and remains 40.5 percent (1988-89) for three-point percentage.
In addition, the Falcons' free-throw percentage of 75.5 percent fell short of the school record of 77.0 percent set in the 1990-91 season.
Season Preview
The Air Force men's basketball program is getting accustomed to entering a season with a new head coach. The Falcons, however, are not used to beginning a season after losing six seniors, including four starters. When the 2007-08 campaign opens on Nov. 9, first-year head coach Jeff Reynolds will have just one player on the roster that has ever started a game for Air Force.
Reynolds, who served as an assistant coach at the Academy the past two years, is the seventh head coach, and the fourth in the last five years, in the history of the program. He takes over one of just 17 Division I programs that won at least 50 games the last two seasons. He also takes over a program that set a school record for wins (26), advanced to the NIT semifinals in New York City and graduated its most successful class in history.
The '07-08 team got to know each other earlier than usual this season as it took a trip to Vancouver, Canada for five games over Labor Day weekend. The Falcons, per NCAA rules, were able to practice for 10 days prior to the trip, then went 4-1 against mostly Canadian colleges. "It was a great experience for our players and we were able to get an early jump on the season," said Reynolds.
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.
Half of the sophomore class saw action last season as freshmen. Avery Merriex, a 6-2 guard, and Grant Parker, a 6-7 forward/center, each played nine games in '06-07. Merriex averaged one point per game and scored a career-high five against CC, while Parker scored at a 1.7 per-game clip and had nine points on 3-for-5 shooting, including 2-for-3 from three-point range, against the Tigers.
Rounding out the sophomore class are 6-2 guard Saj El-Amin and 6-8 center Mike McLain. El-Amin played in one game last season, while McLain did not see any action.
Reynolds welcomes six freshmen to the team this season. Derek Brooks, a 6-5 forward from Nathalie, Va., averaged 12.5 points per game and blocked a team-high 23 shots last season at the USAFA Prep School. He was the team MVP and a first-team all-district selection as a senior at Halifax County High School.
Phillip Brown comes to the Academy from Eagles Landing Christian Academy in Atlanta, Ga., where he was a three-time all-region selection and named county player of the year by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The 6-7 center from Jonesboro, Ga., averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds per game last year as a senior.
Tyler Burke joins the team after a stellar career at Warsaw (Mo.) High School. The 6-2 point guard was named conference co-MVP and unanimous first-team all-conference as a senior, when he averaged 20.3 points and 5.3 assists per game. He was a finalist for Missouri's Mr. Basketball and holds his high school's career records for scoring average and assists.
Tom Fow, meanwhile, was the 4A state player of the year in Arizona as a senior, leading Notre Dame Prep to a 27-5 record and the 4A state championship. The Scottsdale, Ariz., product was also named conference player of the year and won the Wells Fargo Region three-point shooting contest championship.
Mark Summerfield, a 6-2 guard from Moatville, W.V., averaged 9.3 points and 2.3 assists per game last season for the USAFA Prep School. He also led the team with 10 charges taken and shot 51.6 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from 3-point range. In high school, he was the conference player of the year as a junior and senior at Philip Barbour High School.
Completing the roster is Evan Washington, a 6-4 guard from Columbus, Ohio. Washington led the USAFA Prep School in scoring last season, averaging 14.1 points per game and was second on the team with 94 assists. He led Reynoldsburg High School to its first-ever district title by averaging 17.2 points per contest his senior campaign, when he was named first-team all-conference and third-team all-district.
