Falcons Look For Wyoming Sweep in Laramie
2/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2011
Game #26
Air Force Falcons (13-12, 4-8 MWC) vs. Wyoming Cowboys (9-17, 2-10 MWC)
Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011
8 p.m. at Laramie, Wyo.
SITE
Location Laramie, Wyo.
Arena Arena Auditorium
Capacity 15,000
RADIO
Network Air Force Basketball Network
Station 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 49-68, Fourth Season
Overall 130-102, Eighth Season
Fred Langley (Fresno State, 1987)
Wyoming 1-2, First Season
Overall Same
ALL-TIME SERIES
Overall Wyoming leads 71-30
At Laramie Wyoming leads 36-11
First Game Jan. 25, 1958
Result Air Force won 78-73
Last Game Jan. 22, 2011
Result Air Force won 72-51
Current Streak Air Force - 2
Falcons Look For Wyoming Sweep in Laramie
The Air Force Falcons (13-12, 4-8 MWC) look to snap a three-game losing streak and capture their second MWC sweep of the season on Wednesday, Feb. 23 against the Wyoming Cowboys (9-17, 2-10 MWC) in Laramie, Wyo., beginning at 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast locally on AM 740 KVOR and televised nationally on The Mtn. The Falcons are coming off a 70-58 loss to #6 San Diego State at Clune Arena on Saturday, while the Cowboys lost to Utah, 80-70, in Salt Lake City on Feb. 16. The Falcons defeated Wyoming, 72-51, on Jan. 22 at Clune Arena.
Air Force Falls to Sixth-Ranked SDSU at Clune
Malcolm Thomas posted his seventh double-double of the season with 20 points and 13 rebounds and Kawhi Leonard posted his 19th double-double with 18 points and 15 boards as the San Diego State Aztecs downed Air Force, 70-58, for the seventh straight time. The Aztecs also set a school record with its 27th win.
Air Force, which was led by Michael Lyons' 18 points, was beaten on the glass 50-27 and allowed 21 offensive rebounds. Derek Brooks added 15 points and Tom Fow scored 12 for the Falcons, who shot just 38 percent from the field and 21.1 percent from three-point range.
Although Air Force surprisingly outscored the athletic Aztecs 10-0 on the fastbreak, they were outscored 19-2 by San Diego State on second-chance points.
Falcons Still Looking For Win Against Top Ten
With their loss to SDSU on Saturday, the Falcons fell to 0-30 all-time against teams ranked in the top 10. Air Force also fell to 1-71 all-time against ranked teams. The only victory was a 75-72 victory over 21st-ranked UTEP on Feb. 15, 1992 at Clune Arena. San Diego State was the 11th Top 10 team to play at the Academy in program history.
Up Next
The Falcons return home to face the Colorado State Rams on Saturday, Feb. 26 at Clune Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on The Mtn.
Most Wins Since 2007-08
With 13 overall and four MWC wins this season, Air Force has the most victories in one season since the 2007-08 campaign. The Falcons went 10-21 overall and 0-16 in league play in '08-09 and 10-21 and 1-15 last season. AFA was 16-14 overall and 8-8 in the MWC in '07-08.
All 12 Losses to Winning Teams
The nine teams that have beaten the Falcons this season have a combined record of 175-67 (.723 winning percentage) this season, all nine currently have a winning record and four of the teams have already won 20 games this season.
Falcons Top 60 in Country in Four Stats
The Falcons are ranked No. 40 in the country in field-goal percentage and 51st in three-point percentage. In addition, Air Force is in the top 60 in the country in four other categories (Feb. 21).
70 Points Seems to be the Key
Air Force is 8-0 this season when it scores 70 points or more and 5-12 when scoring less than 70. The five wins were against UCCS (66-53), Evansville (57-56), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (63-52), at TCU (66-65 in ot) and at Utah (54-49).
Defensively speaking, the Falcons are 12-5 when allowing less than 70 points and 1-7 when allowing 70 or more. The only win was an 87-72 victory over Tennessee State.
Injuries Were Here Again
After enduring a season full of injuries in 2009-10, the Falcons were hoping for a healthy '10-11 campaign. Unfortunately, it did not start 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 returned vs. Sam Houston State on Dec. 28. Sophomore Taylor Broekhuis missed the team's two games at the Sun Bowl Invitational with a concussion.
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 eight of the nine games this season:
First Back-to-Back Road Wins Since 2007
With its 54-49 victory at Utah on Feb. 5, Air Force won consecutive road games for the first time since the 2006-07 season, when the Falcons won at Colorado State (Jan. 3) and Wyoming (Jan. 13). Air Force defeated TCU, 66-65 in overtime, on Jan. 29.
Super Sophs Solid So Far
Sophomores Michael Lyons, Taylor Broekhuis and Todd Fletcher have produced some impressive numbers this season. Lyons continues to lead the team in scoring (12.8 ppg) and scored a career-high 26 points on Jan. 5 vs. Utah. He has scored in double figures 16 times this season and reached the 20-point mark three times.
Broekhuis, meanwhile, scored a career-high 19 points on Dec. 5 against Evansville and shot
5-for-10 from three-point range. He had made just two career 3-pointers entering the game. Broekhuis is shooting 51.1 percent from the field and is fourth on the team in scoring at 8.0 ppg. 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. Unfortunately, Broekhuis missed both games at the Sun Bowl Invitational due to injury, but returned to the lineup and scored 15 points against Florida A&M.
Fletcher has been just as solid at point guard, dishing out 2.6 assists per game and sporting a 2.17 assist-to-turnover ratio. He scored a career-high 15 points against CSU Northridge, is second on the team with 65 assists and has committed just 15 turnovers in his last 18 games.
Fitzgerald Getting Marriott Points
Sophomore Mike Fitzgerald tied his career-high with 13 points on Jan. 8 against BYU at the Marriott Center in Provo. He set his career-high last season with 13 points at BYU. In fact, two of his six career double-figure games have come at the Marriott Center. Fitzgerald, who also scored 13 points against New Mexico, has made 12 of his last 19 three-point attempts.
Fow Leads the MWC in 3-Point Pct.
Senior Tom Fow is ranked No. 1 in the Mountain West Conference in 3-point field-goal percentage at 48.4 percent. He is also shooting a league-leading 53.3 percent (32-for-60) from three-point range in conference games only. Fow, who is second on the team in scoring (12.2 ppg), has hit double figures in 12 of his last 15 games.
Evan Washington Top Ten in Dimes
With his career-high 11 assists against Utah on Jan. 5, senior Evan Washington moved into the top 10 on Air Force's career assist list. He is currently No. 5 on the list with 300. Washington's 11 assists against the Utes were the most in one game by a Falcon since A.J. Kuhle had 11 against San Diego State on March 1, 2004.
Stucky Finally Gets His Shot
Junior guard Scott Stucky appeared in his first career game Dec. 8 at Wright State. Stucky, playing just 30 minutes from his hometown of Dublin, Ohio, did not play in either of his first two years after suffering a torn ACL prior to each season. He scored four points at WSU.
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.
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.
Still a Great Record at Clune
Including a 9-5 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 92 of its 122 home games, good for a .754 winning percentage.
In addition, the Falcons have won 38 of their 62 Mountain West Conference games at Clune during that same stretch (.613 winning percentage).
Washington in Search of 1,000
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 has 923 career points and is currently 31st on the school's career scoring list.
Falcons Near Top of League in Shooting Pcts.
Air Force leads the Mountain West Conference in three-point percentage (37.6%) and is third in field-goal percentage (46.8%) for all games played. In MWC games only, the Falcons are second in three-point shooting at 40.0 percent and No. 3 in FG% at 45.5 percent.
Tom Fow Named All-Tourney at Sun Bowl Invite
Senior Tom Fow was named to the all-tournament team at the Sun Bowl Invitational in El Paso, Texas on Dec. 28-29 after averaging 14 points and four rebounds in AFA's two games. The Falcons defeated Sam Houston State, 76-65, and fell to UTEP, 71-54, at the tournament.
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 57.2 percent. Air Force is one of only five teams in the conference to have a winning record in at least five of the last seven seasons (UNLV (7); BYU, New Mexico (6), San Diego State (5), Air Force (5)).
Washington Tied for No. 2 in Career Starts
Evan Washington started the 105th game of his career on Saturday against San Diego State. That places him in a tie for No. 2 on AFA's career list, even with Joel Gerlach (2000-04) and just one behind all-time leader Otis Jones (1991-95).
Seniors Find Out First Air Force Assignments
Air Force's three seniors, Evan Washington, Tom Fow and Derek Brooks, found out their first Air Force assignments on Wednesday, Feb. 16 during the "100s Night" ceremony. Here is where each of them will be stationed next year as 2nd Lieutenants:
Evan Washington - Assistant Basketball Coach, USAFA Prep School, USAFA, Colo.
Tom Fow - Space Officer, Schriever AFB, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Derek Brooks - Finance Officer, Hanscom AFB, Boston, Mass.
