Falcons Travel to Provo to Face 17th-Ranked BYU
2/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Game #24
Air Force Falcons (9-14, 1-9 MWC) vs. #17 BYU Cougars (22-3, 7-2 MWC)
Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010
4 p.m. at Provo, Utah
SITE
Location: Provo, Utah
Arena: Marriott Center
Capacity: 22,700
RADIO
Network: Air Force Basketball Network
Flagship: KVOR AM 740, Colo. Spgs.
Other: AM 1510 KCKK, Denver
Play-by-Play: Jim Arthur
TELEVISION
Network: The Mtn.
Play-by-Play: Ari Wolfe
Analyst: Andrea Lloyd
INTERNET
Live Stats GoAirForceFalcons.com
COACHES
Jeff Reynolds (UNC-Greensboro, 1978)
Air Force: 35-49, Third Season
Overall: 117-83, Seventh Season
Dave Rose (Houston, 1983)
BYU: 119-37, Fifth Season
Overall: Same
ALL-TIME SERIES
Overall: BYU leads 51-12
At Provo: BYU leads 25-4
First Game: Dec. 19, 1961
Result: Air Force won 68-66
Last Game: Jan. 13, 2010
Result: BYU won 67-49
Current Streak: BYU - 9
AFA Snaps 22-Game Conference Drought
The Falcons snapped a Mountain West Conference record 22-game regular-season conference losing streak on Jan. 30 with a 70-63 victory over Wyoming at Clune Arena. Air Force, which lost all 16 MWC regular-season games last season, had dropped its first six this year. Junior Evan Washington scored a career-high 23 points and tied his career-high with seven assists in leading AFA to its first regular-season win over a conference opponent since a 46-43 triumph over San Diego State at Clune Arena on March 8, 2008. Washington scored 15 of his points in the final 8:42 of the game, including six straight free throws in the last 1:20. Freshman Todd Fletcher tied his career-high with five assists in a personal-high 39 minutes, while fellow freshman Michael Lyons had 16 points and four rebounds against the Cowboys.
Up Next
The Falcons take a week off before facing MWC-leading New Mexico on Saturday, Feb. 20 in Albuquerque, N.M. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., and the game will be televised by The Mtn.
Still in Search of a True Road Win This Season
The Falcons have not won a true road game since Dec. 6, 2008, a 71-64 victory over Northern Colorado. Air Force, which has won three neutral-site games since then, has lost 15 consecutive true road games. In MWC play, AFA's last road win was in Fort Collins against Colorado State, a 61-59 triumph on Feb. 23, 2008, a span of 14 games.
The Injury Bug Has Hit ... and Hit Hard
The Falcons have been hit hard by injuries this season. Several starters have missed games recently. Sophomore Sammy Schafer has missed the last 20 games with headaches resulting from a concussion after starting the first three games of the season. Senior Grant Parker, who started the first seven games, missed 10 straight with a stress reaction in his pelvis before returning to the lineup against Utah on Jan. 23. He was averaging team-highs of 17.1 points and 7.1 rebounds when he got injured. Junior Taylor Stewart (seven starts) is still out with a broken wrist suffered against UTEP on Dec. 29, while senior Avery Merriex, who started the first 12 games, returned to the lineup against CSU on Jan. 9 after missing two games as a result of a broken nose and concussion suffered Dec. 28 vs. Niagara. In addition, senior Mike McLain, who started the first 15 games, missed the BYU game on Jan. 13 due to a concussion he suffered against CSU.
Due to the injuries this season, Air Force has used 10 different starting lineups in the team's 23 games this season.
Three-Point Streak Snapped
Air Force did not make a three-pointer (0-for-17) against Northern Colorado on Nov. 21, snapping a streak of 513 consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer made. The last time the Falcons had failed to make a three-pointer was Dec. 4, 1991 in a 57-51 victory over Adams State College. Air Force rebounded nicely in their next game against Charleston Southern, shooting 45 percent (9-of-20). The Falcons shot a season-best 50 percent on Dec. 22 against UC Davis, going 8-of-16.
Most Points in Over a Decade vs. Dickinson State
The Falcons' 95 points against Dickinson State on Nov. 20 were the most by an Air Force team since Feb. 16, 1999, when the Falcons beat Denver, 111-88, in Denver.
Still an Outstanding Record at Clune
Including their 8-6 record this season, the Falcons have been hard to beat at Clune Arena the last six seasons. Since he beginning of the 2003-04 season, Air Force has won 83 of its 105 home games, good for a .790 winning percentage.
In addition, the Falcons have won 36 of their 53 Mountain West Conference games at Clune Arena during that stretch.
60 Points Seems to be the Key
Air Force is 9-1 this season when it scores 60 points or more. The only loss was a 75-68 setback at Washington State. Conversely, the Falcons are 0-13 when scoring less than 60 points. Air Force has not scored more than 54 points in 10 of its last 12 games (2-10 record), including nine of its 10 MWC games.
Freshmen Coming Up Big Early in Their Careers
Several freshmen have had huge games already this season. Michael Lyons scored a career-high 25 points against Washington State on Dec. 12, while Todd Fletcher also put up some impressive numbers against the Cougars, posting career-bests of 13 points and three rebounds. He was 5-of-7 from the field and also collected a steal. Taylor Broekhuis, meanwhile, returned to the lineup against WSU after missing four straight games with an injury and scored three points, had a career-high five rebounds and two steals, while Zach Bohannon had career-highs of eight points and five rebounds on Jan. 13 vs. BYU.
Meanwhile, a freshman has led the Falcons in scoring in three of the team's 10 MWC games (Mike Fitzgerald and Broekhuis (11) at TCU; Fitzgerald (11) at CSU; Lyons (13) at Utah).
