Falcons Host Evansville Sunday in MWC / MVC Challenge
12/3/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Game #6
Air Force Falcons (4-1) vs. Evansville Purple Aces (3-2)
Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010
1 p.m. at Clune Arena
SITE
Location USAFA, Colo.
Arena Clune Arena
Capacity 5,858
RADIO
Network Air Force Basketball Network
Flagship AM 740 KVOR, Colo. Spgs.
Play-by-Play Jim Arthur
Analyst Matt Pauley
TELEVISION
Network The Mtn.
Play-by-Play James Bates
Analyst Marty Fletcher
INTERNET
Gametracker GoAirForceFalcons.com
COACHES
Jeff Reynolds (UNC-Greensboro, 1978)
Air Force 40-57, Fourth Season
Overall 122-91, Eighth Season
Marty Simmons (Evansville, 1987)
Evansville 38-58, Fourth Season
Overall 136-131, 10th Season
ALL-TIME SERIES
Overall Evansville leads 1-0
at USAFA First Meeting
First Game Dec. 29, 1976
Result Evansville won, 81-63
Falcons Face Evansville in MWC / MVC Challenge
The Air Force Falcons (4-1) and the Evansville Purple Aces (3-2) play the final game of the 2010 Mountain West / Missouri Valley Challenge on Sunday, Dec. 5 at Clune Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcast in the Colorado Springs area on AM 740 KVOR and televised nationally on The Mtn. - MountainWest Sports Network. The Falcons won their third straight game on Thursday, defeating Cal State Northridge, 72-63, at home. Senior Tom Fow scored a season-high 22 points and sophomore Todd Fletcher added a career-high 15 points. Evansville is coming off a 71-68 overtime victory at 2010 national runner-up Butler on Nov. 27. The Purple Aces have also defeated Oakland City University (82-42) and UT-San Antonio (77-73) this season.
First Road Win in Almost Two Years at Wofford
With their 72-66 victory at Wofford on Nov. 24, the Falcons captured their first true road win in nearly two years. Their last victory on an opponent's court was Dec. 6, 2008, a 71-64 victory over Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo. Air Force, which won four neutral-site games since then, including two last year (Niagara at the Sun Bowl Invitational and Wyoming at the MWC Championships), had lost 18 consecutive true road games before defeating Wofford.
Balanced Attack So Far This Season
Air Force has had five players score in double figures in two of the team's five games this season (UCCS and Tennessee State). Prior to this season, the last time Air Force had five players in double figures in one game was March 14, 2007 against Austin Peay in the postseason NIT. The Falcons had three games that season with five players in double figures. Air Force had four players in double figures Thursday night in the 72-63 victory over CSU Northridge.
Up Next
The Falcons head back out on the road for their second game away from Clune Arena against Wright State on Wednesday, Dec. 8 in Dayton, Ohio. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. (ET).
Solid Defense So Far This Season
The Falcons lead the Mountain West Conference and are ranked No. 7 in the country in field-goal percentage defense. Opponents are shooting just 34.2 percent against Air Force this season. Tennessee State has the best FG% against Air Force this year at 36.8 percent.
Injuries Are Here Again
After enduring a season full of injuries in 2009-10, the Falcons were hoping for a healthy '10-11 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. In addition, freshmen Sean Bowman (knee) and Myles Jerrett (shoulder) underwent surgery recently. Michael and Jerrett are out for the year while Bohannon and Bowman will miss most, if not all, of the non-conference portion of the schedule. The Falcons already started the year shorthanded when junior center Sammy Schafer took an administrative leave for this academic year after suffering continued effects from a concussion.
Best FT% in Over Three Years
Air Force shot 94.1 percent (16-of-17) from the free throw line against Colorado College on Nov. 17, 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. The Mountain West won all four games played on Dec. 1:
Date -- Game / Result
Wednesday, Dec. 1 -- Colorado State 78, Drake 67
Wednesday, Dec. 1 -- BYU 77, Creighton 65
Wednesday, Dec. 1 -- New Mexico 74, Southern Illinois 59
Wednesday, Dec. 1 -- UNLV 82, Illinois State 51
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 58.3 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 794 career points and is currently 42nd on the school's career scoring list. The last Falcon to join the 1,000-point club was Matt McCraw in 2007.
Most Assists in Nearly Four Years
The Falcons dished out 24 assists against Tennessee State on Nov. 20, the most by an Air Force team since it had 24 against Norfolk State on Dec. 13, 2006.
Broekhuis Putting Up Great Numbers
Sophomore Taylor Broekhuis has produced some impressive stats in the Falcons' first five games. Broekhuis, who has started all five games at center, is averaging 10.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in '10-11. He scored a career-high 13 points on Nov. 20 against Tennessee State and pulled down a career-best nine boards on Nov. 17 against Colorado College. 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.
Fow Lighting It Up
Senior Tom Fow, who is leading the team and No. 4 in the MWC in scoring (17.6 ppg) after five games, is shooting 53.7 percent from the field and 55.2 percent from three-point range. Fow, who has led or tied for the team lead in scoring in AFA's last four games, scored a season-high 22 points on Thursday against CSU Northridge. He has scored in double figures in all five games this year. Fow is second in the MWC and eighth in the country in three-point percentage. He also tied his career-high with eight rebounds against Colorado College on Nov. 17.
Stellar Second Half vs. TSU
Air Force scored 58 points and shot 76 percent (19-of-25) from the field in the second half against Tennessee State on Nov. 20. The 58 points were the most in one half since scoring 58 in the second half vs. Utah on Jan. 16, 2007 and it was the best shooting percentage in one half since shooting 76.5 percent (13-of-17) in the first half against Utah on Jan. 19, 2006.
Extra Time a Couple of Times
Two of Air Force's first five games have gone to overtime this season. Prior to this season, AFA's last overtime game was on Jan. 16, 2008, a 64-62 victory at Wyoming. Including this season's 1-1 mark, Air Force's all-time overtime record is 24-31.
Still a Great Record at Clune
Including a 3-1 record at home this 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 86 of its 112 home games, good for a .768 winning percentage.
In addition, the Falcons have won 36 of their 56 Mountain West Conference games at Clune Arena during that stretch.
Falcons Win Eighth Straight Season Opener
With its 66-53 victory over UCCS at Clune Arena on Nov. 14, 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.
