Falcons Host Wyoming in MW Home Opener on Wednesday
1/17/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2012
GAME #16Air Force Falcons vs. Wyoming CowboysWednesday, Jan. 18, 20126 p.m. at Clune Arena (The Mtn.)SITELocation USAFA, Colo.Arena Clune ArenaCapacity 5,858 RADIONetwork Air Force / IMG Sports NetworkStation AM 1300 KCSF, Colo. Spgs.Play-by-Play Jim ArthurAnalyst Matt Pauley TELEVISIONNetwork The Mtn.Play-by-Play Bill DolemanAnalyst Dave Bollwinkel INTERNETGametracker goairforcefalcons.com COACHESJeff Reynolds (UNC-Greensboro, 1978)Air Force 63-76, Fifth SeasonOverall 145-110, Ninth Season Larry Shyatt (College of Wooster, 1973)Wyoming 33-12, Second SeasonOverall 103-96, Seventh Season ALL-TIME SERIESOverall Wyoming leads 72-30At USAFA Wyoming leads 30-18First Game Feb. 25, 1958Result Air Force won 78-73Last Game Feb. 23, 2011Result Wyoming won 63-61Current Streak Wyoming - 1 Falcons Host Wyoming in MW Home Opener on WednesdayThe Air Force Falcons play their Mountain West home opener on Wednesday, Jan. 18 against the Wyoming Cowboys at Clune Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast locally on AM 1300 The Sports Animal and televised nationally on The Mtn. The Falcons are 11-4 and 1-0 in league play after defeating Boise State, 74-59, in Boise on Saturday, while Wyoming is 14-3 and 0-1 after dropping a 72-62 decision at home to New Mexico on Saturday. Conference OpenersWith their 74-59 victory at Boise State on Saturday, the Falcons are now 8-24 all-time in conference openers. They were 2-17 in conference openers in their 19 years in the Western Athletic Conference, with the two victories coming against San Diego State (86-75) in 1986-87 and Colorado State (69-58) in 1992-93. Air Force is 6-7 in conference openers since the Mountain West began play in 1999. The Falcons snapped a three-game conference opener losing streak last season with a 77-69 victory over Utah at Clune Arena. Up NextThe Falcons travel to San Diego, Calif., to take on the 22nd-ranked San Diego State Aztecs on Saturday, Jan. 21 beginning at 7 p.m. (PT). Air Force Wins Fifth Straight With 15-Point Win at BoiseMike Fitzgerald scored 16 points and Taylor Broekhuis posted his second career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to help Air Force to a 74-59 victory over Boise State on Saturday in the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams. Todd Fletcher scored 13 points and Taylor Stewart added 12 for the Falcons, who won their fifth consecutive contest, the team's longest winning streak since the 2008-09 season and tying the longest such streak during Jeff Reynolds' tenure as head coach. Largest Margin of Victory in MW Road Game Since `06Air Force's 15-point victory over Boise State on Saturday was the largest in a conference road game during the Jeff Reynolds era, surpassing a 10-point win (56-46) at TCU during Reynolds' first season in 2007-08. Saturday's victory was also the largest by the Falcons since defeating the Horned Frogs, 63-45, in Fort Worth on Feb. 15, 2006 and just the sixth conference road win in Reynolds' five seasons at AirForce. He won three his first season (2007-08) and two last season. 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-Miltary 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. Air Force Captures Third Place at Cable Car ClassicAir Force defeated Eastern Michigan, 42-37, in the consolation game of the Cable Car Classic. Todd Fletcher scored a career-high 18 points and freshman Colt Barnhill posted career-highs of five points and five rebounds. Freshman Kamryn Williams also pulled down a career-best five boards. The Falcons used a 17-5 run to open the second half to build a 35-25 lead with 7:52 remaining and never led by less than three points the rest of the way. Air Force held EMU to just 1-of-14 shooting from three-point range. Fletcher was named to the all-tournament team. Third-Fewest Points Ever in a VictoryAir Force's 42 points against Eastern Michigan on Dec. 30 were the third-fewest in a victory in school history and the fewest since a 39-36 win over Cornell on Dec. 29, 1981. The school record for fewest points in a victory is a 30-19 win over Regis on Dec. 12, 1978. Still a Great Record at CluneIncluding their 9-1 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 104 of its 135 home games, good for a .770 winning percentage. In addition, the Falcons have won 40 of their 64 Mountain West games at Clune during that same stretch (.625 pct). 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 Broekhuis, Williams Each Pick 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. Broekhuis collected his second career double-double on Saturday at Boise State with 15 points and 10 boards.Kamryn Williams posted his first career double-double on Jan. 9 against Texas-Pan American with 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. His seven offensive rebounds were the most by a Falcon in one game since Burtschi had seven vs. IPFW on Dec. 31, 2005. 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.Individually, junior Todd Fletcher had a career-high seven assists in each of his first two games and is tied for No. 8 in the Mountain West with teammate Taylor Stewart at 3.13 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. Fletcher 22nd Player to Reach 200 AssistsWith his two assists against Texas-Pan American on Jan. 9, junior Todd Fletcher became the 22nd player in school history to dish out 200 career assists. The school began keeping assists as a season total in 1972. He needs 11 assists to move past Jacob Burtschi (211) into the top 20.Fletcher has been outstanding in his past four games, with 44 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, six steals and just four turnovers. He has also shot 45 percent (9-of-20) from 3-point range in the four games. Falcons Playing Solid "D" This SeasonAir Force's defense has been very strong lately. After allowing an average of 62.2 points per game their first five games, the Falcons have allowed just 54 points per game their last 10. Opponents are shooting just 37.5 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from 3-point range this season and only two opponents (Colorado and Gonzaga) have shot better than 45 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point land. Fitzgerald No. 5 on AFA's Career 3-Point Percentage ListJunior Mike Fitzgerald attempted his 150th career 3-pointer against Johnson & Wales, making him eligible for Air Force's career list for three-point percentage. Fitzgerald is shooting 41.7 percent (68-for-163) for his career, placing him No. 5 on the list behind Matt McCraw (46.5%), Dan Nwaelele (45.1%), Andrew Henke (42.0%) and Tom Fow (41.8%). No. 3 in the Country in Assist - FGM PercentageThe Falcons have 229 assists on 340 baskets, meaning Air Force is drawing an assist on 67.4 percent of their field goals, and that percentage ranks third in the nation. Denver leads the nation at 70.6%, and New Mexico is second at 67.5%. Top 50 Nationally in Six CategoriesAir Force is ranked in the top 50 nationally (338 teams ranked) in six categories according to the national Division I statistical summary released by the NCAA on Monday, Jan. 16:Category -- Stat -- Nat. Rank -- Nat. LeaderScoring Defense -- 56.7 ppg -- 13th -- Wisconsin (48.5)Field-Goal Percentage Defense -- 37.5% -- 13th -- Wisconsin (35.1)Assist - Turnover Ratio -- 1.21 -- 33rd -- Missouri (1.67)Assists Per Game -- 15.3 -- 36th -- Iona (20.0)Turnover Margin -- 2.9 -- 43rd -- Syracuse (7.4)Three-Point Field-Goal Defense -- 30.4% -- 45th -- Milwaukee (23.5) 11-4 Ties Fourth-Best StartAir Force's 11-4 record ties the fourth-best start ever in program history after 15 games. The Falcons have been 14-1 twice in the past (2005-06 and `06-07), 13-2 once (`03-04), 12-3 twice (`57-58 and `61-62) and this is the second time at 11-4, the other time was the 1972-73 season.
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