Falcons Host Tennessee State on Saturday Night
11/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 19, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Game #3
Air Force Falcons (1-1) vs. Tennessee State Tigers (1-2)
Saturday, Nov. 20, 2010
7 p.m. at 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
Analyst Matt Pauley
TELEVISION
None
INTERNET
Gametracker GoAirForceFalcons.com
COACHES
Jeff Reynolds (UNC-Greensboro, 1978)
Air Force 37-57, Fourth Season
Overall 119-91, Eighth Season
John Cooper (Wichita State, 1991)
Tennessee State 10-25, Second Season
Overall Same
ALL-TIME SERIES
Overall First Meeting
Getting Started
This season marks the 55th year of varsity basketball for Air Force. This is Air Force's 12th season in the Mountain West Conference. AFA was a member of the Western Athletic Conference for 19 years before joining the MWC in 1999.
Falcons Win Eighth Straight Season Opener
With its 66-53 victory over UCCS at Clune Arena last Sunday, Air Force is now 25-30 all-time in season openers. The Falcons are 19-8 at home and 6-22 on the road (including neutral games). Air Force has won its last eight season openers and 10 home openers.
Falcons Picked 9th in MWC
Air Force was picked ninth in the 2010-11 preseason media poll released at the Mountain West Conference media day in Denver, Colo., on Oct. 12.
School (First Place Votes) Pts.
1. San Diego State (21) 261
2. BYU (5) 220
3. New Mexico (3) 214
4. UNLV (1) 203
5. Colorado State 132
6. Utah 105
7. TCU 92
8. Wyoming 88
9. Air Force 35
Up Next
The Falcons will travel to Spartanburg, S.C., for their first road game against Wofford on Wednesday, Nov. 24. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. (ET).
Lyons Shines in Season Opener
Sophomore guard Michael Lyons scored a game-high 17 points and led five Air Force players in double figures last Sunday as the Falcons defeated UCCS, 66-53, in the 2010-11 season opener. Lyons made five of his 11 field-goal attempts, including a 2-of-4 performance from three-point range. His 17 points were the second-most in one game in his career, eight shy of his career-high 25 against Washington State last season.
Balanced Attack vs. UCCS
Five Falcons scored in double figures Sunday against UCCS. Following Lyons was senior Tom Fow with 14, senior Derek Brooks with 12, sophomore Taylor Broekhuis with 11 (just one shy of his career high) and senior Evan Washington with 10. Washington and Brooks each posted a career-high in rebounds with nine and six, respectively..
Injuries Are Here Again
After enduring a season full of injuries, the Falcons were hoping for a healthy 2010-11 campaign. Unfortunately, it has not started out that way. Freshman Ethan Michael tore his ACL during Basic Cadet Training, then sophomore forward Zach Bohannon tore a ligament in his right hand and underwent surgery on Oct. 28. Michael is out for the year while Bohannon will miss most, if not all, of the non-conference portion of the schedule.
Best FT% in Over Three Years
Air Force shot 94.1 percent (16-of-17) from the free throw line against Colorado College on Wednesday, the best single-game percentage since going 16-for-17 against Georgia on March 19, 2007. The previous high under Jeff Reynolds was 93.8 percent (15-of-16) against Washington State on Nov. 25, 2007.
Mountain West / Missouri Valley Challenge
The 2010-11 edition of the MWC/MVC Challenge is the second in a four-year agreement between the Mountain West and Missouri Valley Conferences. Nine Challenge games will be played each year, and each conference will host a total of 18 games in the four-year period. Missouri State will be the Valley team that does not participate in the 2010 Challenge Series. Below is a listing of the 2010-11 MWC/MVC Challenge contests:
Date -- Game
Wednesday, Dec. 1 -- Drake at Colorado State
Wednesday, Dec. 1 -- BYU at Creighton
Wednesday, Dec. 1 -- New Mexico at Southern Illinois
Wednesday, Dec. 1 -- UNLV at Illinois State
Saturday, Dec. 4 -- Northern Iowa at TCU
Saturday, Dec. 4 -- Indiana State at Wyoming
Saturday, Dec. 4 -- Utah at Bradley
Saturday, Dec. 4 -- Wichita State at San Diego State
Sunday, Dec. 5 -- Evansville at Air Force
Air Force Almost 60 Percent Last 7
Air Force is currently ranked sixth among Mountain West Conference teams for the best overall winning percentage since the beginning of the 2003-04 season. AFA's winning percentage is 57.7 percent. Air Force is one of only five teams in the conference to have a winning record in at least four of the last seven seasons (UNLV (7); BYU, New Mexico (6), San Diego State (5), Air Force (4)).
Evan Washington in Search of 1,000
Senior Evan Washington entered the 2010-11 campaign within striking distance of becoming the 23rd player in Air Force history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Washington, the only Falcon to start all 31 games last season, has 758 career points and is currently tied for 43rd on the school's career scoring list with Tom Blase. The last Falcon to join the 1,000-point club was Matt McCraw in 2007.
Broekhuis Putting Up Good Numbers
Sophomore Taylor Broekhuis has produced some impressive stats in the Falcons' first two games. Broekhuis is averaging 10.5 points and seven rebounds per game, including a career-high nine boards on Wednesday against CC. He also played a career-high 41 minutes against CC and blocked a personal-best three shots, the most by a Falcon in one game since Matt Holland swatted four against Wyoming on Feb. 28, 2009. Broekhuis is tied for the lead in the MWC for free-throw percentage after a perfect 6-for-6 performance against Colorado College.
Fow Lighting It Up
Senior Tom Fow, who is leading the team in scoring (15.5 ppg) after two games, is shooting 52.4 percent from the field and 62.5 percent from three-point range. Fow led the Falcons with 17 points against Colorado College on Wednesday, going 6-for-10 from the field and 2-for-3 from long range. He also tied his career-high with eight rebounds against the Tigers.
Still a Great Record at Clune
Despite an 8-9 record at home last season, the Falcons have been hard to beat at Clune Arena the last seven seasons. Since the beginning of the 2003-04 season, Air Force has won 84 of its 110 home games, good for a .764 winning percentage.
In addition, the Falcons have won 36 of their 56 Mountain West Conference games at Clune Arena during that stretch.
Falcons Haven't Been 1-1 in Awhile
This season marks the first time since the 2002-03 season that Air Force has not started a season 2-0. The Falcons sstarted 1-1 that campaign after a season-opening loss to Louisville and a victory over Stetson.
