Falcons Host Maryland-Eastern Shore on Saturday
12/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 15, 2011
GAME #8Air Force Falcons vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore HawksSaturday, Dec. 17, 20117 p.m. at Clune ArenaSITELocation USAFA, Colo.Arena Clune ArenaCapacity 5,858 RADIONetwork Air Force / IMG Sports NetworkFlagship AM 740 KVOR, Colo. Spgs.Play-by-Play Jim ArthurAnalyst Matt Pauley TELEVISIONNone INTERNETGametracker goairforcefalcons.com COACHESJeff Reynolds (UNC-Greensboro, 1978)Air Force 57-74, Fifth SeasonOverall 139-108, Ninth Season Frankie Allen (Roanoke College, 1971)Maryland-Eastern Shore 30-74, Fourth SeasonOverall 253-368, 23rd Season ALL-TIME SERIESOverall First Meeting Falcons Host Maryland-Eastern Shore on SaturdayThe Air Force Falcons wrap up their three-game homestand against the Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast in theColorado Springs area on AM 740 KVOR. The Falcons are 5-2 after defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 63-51, last Saturday at Clune Arena, while UMES is 3-8 after beating Mercy, 95-69, at home the same day. Air Force Wins Second StraightAir Force won its second consecutive game last Saturday night, defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff 63-51 at Clune Arena. Michael Lyons scored a game-high 23 points and Mike Fitzgerald added a career-high 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three-point range. The Falcons never trailed in the game and led by as much as 19 in the second half. Taylor Broekhuis pulled down a game-high nine rebounds for the Falcons, who shot season highs from the field (57.1%) and 3-point range (43.5%). Up NextThe Falcons travel to Spokane, Wash., to take on Gonzaga on Thursday, Dec. 22 at 6 p.m. (CT). Fitzgerald No. 3 In The Country From 3Junior Mike Fitzgerald is ranked third on the latest NCAA Division I list for three-point percentage, shooting 56.3 percent (18-32) so far this season. Fitzgerald was 6-of-8 from 3-point range en route to a career-high 19 points last Saturday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and is shooting at a 73.3 percent clip (11-15) from long range in his last three games.Fitzgerald is shooting 44.2 percent (57-129) for his career and should move into the top 5 on AFA's career list for 3-point percentage when he reaches the minimum of 150 attempts later this season. Top 35 Nationally in Four CategoriesAir Force is ranked in the top 35 nationally in four categories according to the national Division Istatistical summary released by the NCAA on Monday, Dec. 12: Category -- Stat -- Nat. Rank -- Nat. LeaderField-Goal Percentage Defense -- 36.3% -- 13th -- Baylor (32.9%)Assists Per Game -- 16.4 -- 20th -- Creighton (20.5)Scoring Defense -- 56.6 -- 22nd -- Wisconsin (44.9)Three-Point FG Defense -- 27.6% -- 31st -- Wyoming (22.5%) Falcons Win Inaugural All-Military ClassicAir Force opened its 2011-12 season Nov. 11-12 with a pair of victories at the First Annual All-Military Classic. The Falcons used a second-half rally to defeat service-academy rival Army, 87-71, in the first round, then downed VMI, 75-65, in the championship game.Junior guard Michael Lyons was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after averaging 22 points and eight rebounds, while fellow junior Todd Fletcher was named to the all-tournament team after dishing out a career-high seven assists in each game.This was the first of a four-year contract for the All-Military Classic, with each school hosting once. Citadel will host in 2012, VMI in `13 and Army in `14. The tournament will be played each year during Veteran's Day weekend. All-Military Classic ResultsFriday, Nov. 11Air Force 87, Army 71VMI 103, Citadel 100 Saturday, Nov. 12Citadel 83, Army 72 (Third Place)Air Force 75, VMI 65 (Championship) Most Valuable PlayerMichael Lyons, Air Force All-Tournament TeamRodney Glasgow, VMIElla Ellis, ArmyTodd Fletcher, Air ForceMike Grosselle, CitadelKeith Gabriel, VMI Mountain West / Missouri Valley ChallengeThe 2011-12 edition of the MWC/MVC Challenge was the third in a four-year agreement between the Mountain West and Missouri Valley Conferences. Eight Challenge games were played this year, with each conference winning four games. Illinois State and Southern Illinois were the two Valley teams that did not participate in the 2011-12 Challenge Series. Below are the 2011-12 MW/MVC Challenge results: Date -- ResultNov. 30 -- Creighton 85, San Diego State 83Dec. 3 -- Drake 62, Air Force 60Dec. 3 -- Boise State 74, Indiana State 65Dec. 3 -- Northern Iowa 83, Colorado State 77Dec. 3 -- New Mexico 76, Missouri State 60Dec. 3 -- TCU 70, Evansville 68 (ot)Dec. 3 -- Wyoming 66, Bradley 49Dec. 4 -- Wichita State 89, UNLV 70 Still a Great Record at CluneIncluding their 5-1 record this season, the Falcons have been hard to beat at Clune Arena the last eight seasons. Since the beginning of the 2003-04 season, Air Force has won 100 of its 131 home games, good for a .763 winning percentage. In addition, the Falcons have won 40 of their 64 Mountain West games at Clune during that same stretch (.625 pct). Falcons Picked 5th in MWCAir Force was picked fifth in the 2011-12 preseason media poll released at the Mountain West media day in Denver, Colo. School (First Place Votes) -- Pts.1. New Mexico (22) -- 2032. UNLV (4) -- 1833. San Diego State -- 1584. Colorado State -- 1195. Air Force -- 786. Wyoming -- 687. TCU -- 648. Boise State -- 63 Broekhuis Picks Up First Career Double-DoubleJunior Taylor Broekhuis played arguably the best game of his career in the championship game of the All-Military Classic on Nov. 12 against VMI. The 6-10 center from Colorado Springs scored 18 points, one shy of his career high, and pulled down a career-best 12 rebounds to post the first double-double of his career. His 12 rebounds were the most by a Falcon in one game since Jacob Burtschi hauled down 12 at Stanford on Nov. 15, 2006. Lyons Leads The Mountain West in ScoringMichael Lyons currently leads the Mountain West in scoring, averaging 19 points per game after netting 23 last Saturday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He scored a career-high 31 points against Colorado on Nov. 23, the most points in one game by a Falcon since Jarvis Croff scored 31 against Utah on March 9, 2000.Lyons scored 24 and 20 points in his first two games of the season, becoming the first Falcon to score at least 20 points in each of the first two games of one season since Jarmica Reese in 1997. For his efforts, Lyons was named the All-Military Classic's MVP and the Mountain West's Co-Player of the Week. He is also the first Falcon to score at least 20 points in four of the team's first seven games since Croff during the 1999-2000 season. Most Assists in Over a DecadeAir Force recorded 25 assists in the season-opener against Army, the most in one game by an AFA team since dishing out 25 against Long Beach State on Nov. 21, 2000. The Falcons added 20 assists the next day against VMI and have an assist on 98 of their 141 field goals this season.Individually, junior Todd Fletcher had a career-high seven assists in each of his first two games and is ranked No. 7 in the Mountain West averaging 4.0 per game, while senior Taylor Stewart is eighth in the conference at 3.5 assists per game. Carter Ties School Record for Steals in First Career GameFive freshmen saw action for Air Force during the opening weekend, but none had a better start than Chris Carter. The 6-3 guard from Port St. Lucie, Fla., had nine points, seven rebounds and seven steals in his first career game against Army. His seven steals tied the school record for one game and were the most by a Falcon since Tim Anderson, the 2007-08 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year, had seven against San Diego State at the Mountain West Tournament on March 13, 2008. Falcons Win Ninth Straight Season OpenerWith its 87-71 victory over Army at Clune Arena on Nov. 11, Air Force is now 26-30 all-timein season openers. The Falcons are 20-8 at home and 6-22 on the road (including neutral games).Air Force has won its last nine season openers and 11 home openers. Lyons in Search of 1,000 PointsJunior Michael Lyons is on track to become the 23rd player in Air Force history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Lyons, who will appear in his 70th career game on Saturday against Maryland-Eastern Shore, has 771 career points and is 44th on the school's career scoring list. The last Falcon to join the 1,000-point club was Matt McCraw in 2007. The last junior to join the club was Otis Jones in 1994.
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