Falcons Play at UC Davis on Saturday
12/19/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2013
GAME #11
Air Force Falcons vs. UC Davis Aggies
Saturday, Dec. 21, 2013
2:30 p.m. (PT) at Davis, Calif.
SITE
Location | Davis, Calif.
Arena | The Pavilion
Capacity | 5,670
RADIO
Network | Air Force / IMG Radio Network
Station | AM 740 KVOR, Colo. Spgs.
Play-by-Play | Jim Arthur
Analyst | Matt Pauley
TELEVISION
Live Video | goairforcefalcons.com
LIVE STATS
Gametracker | goairforcefalcons.com
COACHES
Dave Pilipovich (Thiel College, 1986)
Air Force | 26-24, Second Full Season
Overall | Same
Jim Les (Bradley `86)
UC Davis | 22-52, Third Season
Overall | 176-194, 12th Season
ALL-TIME SERIES
Overall | Air Force leads 1-0
at Davis | First Meeting
First Game | Dec. 22, 2009
Result | Air Force won 69-57
Falcons Play at UC Davis on Saturday
The Air Force men's basketball team wraps up its non-conference schedule on Saturday, Dec. 21 against the UC Davis Aggies in Davis, Calif. Tip-off at The Pavilion is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. (PT). Air Force improved to 6-4 after winning its third straight game, defeating UC Riverside 62-52 last Saturday at Clune Arena. The Aggies, meanwhile, are 3-9 after losing at San Jose State, 89-85 in triple overtime, on Wednesday.
Second Meeting Ever Against UC Davis
This will be the second meeting between the two teams. The Falcons won the first meeting, 69-57, on Dec. 22, 2009 at Clune Arena.
Getting Started
This season marks the 58th year of varsity basketball for Air Force. This is Air Force's 15th season in the Mountain West. AFA was a member of the Western Athletic Conference for 19 years before joining the MW in 1999.
Big Personnel Losses
Air Force entered the 2013-14 campaign without its top seven scorers (five players graduated, one left the program and junior DeLovell Earls is injured) and its top five rebounders (including Earls) from last season. Only 22.4 percent of the team's scoring and 40 percent of the rebounding returned this season. Air Force's starting lineup in the season opener vs. Army started zero games and averaged 12.7 points per game last season. In fact, the current Air Force roster entered this season with just 39 career starts (DeLovell Earls 22, Kamryn Williams 14, Justin Hammonds 3).
Coggins Scores Most Points by a Sophomore Since `57
Tre' Coggins' career-high 35 points on Nov. 14 against Jackson State were the fourth-most in one game by an Air Force sophomore in school history. The top three marks were set by Bob Beckel during the program's first season in 1956-57. Beckel had games of 48, 47 and 46 that season.
Coggins' 35 points tied for No. 18 on Air Force's single-game scoring list, equalling point-totals by Otis Jones vs. Doane on Dec. 3, 1994 and Raymond Dudley vs. San Diego State on Feb. 4, 1989.
Up Next
The Falcons will open Mountain West play on Wednesday, Jan. 1 against Utah State at Clune Arena. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 6 p.m.
Falcons Split Pair of Games at All-Military Classic
The Air Force men's basketball team opened its 2013-14 season with a 1-1 record at the the third annual All-Military Classic last weekend at VMI in Lexington, Va. The Falcons rallied for a 79-68 victory over Army in the first round, then suffered their first-ever loss in the tournament to VMI, 71-63, in the championship game.
Air Force sophomore Tre' Coggins was named to the all-tournament team after scoring 34 points in the two games, including a career-high 20 vs. Army. Junior co-captain Kamryn Williams posted the third double-double of his career with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Army, while fellow junior Marek Olesinski notched career highs of 23 points and nine rebounds against VMI.
This is the third of the four-year deal for the tournament, with each school hosting once. Air Force hosted the first tournament in 2011 and The Citadel hosted last season. Army will host next year. The tournament is played each year during Veteran's Day weekend.
All-Military Classic Results
Friday, Nov. 8
Air Force 79, Army 68
VMI 82, Citadel 71
Saturday, Nov. 9
Army 84, The Citadel 69 (Third-Place Game)
VMI 71, Air Force 63 (Championship Game)
Yon Nets Career-High 24 vs. South Dakota
Junior Max Yon scored a career-high 24 points against South Dakota on Dec. 5. He was 8-of-18 from the field and 6-of-9 from the free-throw line against the Coyotes. It was Yon's second 20-point effort this season as he notched 22, all in the second half, against Jackson State on Nov. 14. He made a career-best six 3-pointers against JSU.
Hammonds Posts First Double-Double vs. Western State
Junior forward Justin Hammonds posted the first double-double of his career on Monday with 14 points and a career-high 10 rebounds vs. Western State. Hammonds, who made his season debut on Nov. 14 against Jackson State after leaving the team over the summer to concentrate on academics, also tied his career high with four assists against the Mountaineers. Hammonds returned to the team on Nov. 12 and played 19 minutes vs. Jackson State. He then started the following game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 17.
Most Points in a Half Since `99
Air Force's 62 points in the second half against South Dakota on Dec. 5 were the most in a half by a Falcon team since scoring 65 in the second half vs. Denver on Feb. 16, 1999.
Tale of Two Halves
Including the 62-point effort in the second half against South Dakota on Dec. 5, Air Force has scored 150 more points in the second half than the first half this season. The Falcons, who have trailed at halftime in seven of their 10 games this season, have scored 293 points in the first half and 443 in the second half so far this year.
Darrius Parker Makes First Career Start Count
Freshman Darrius Parker made his first career start on Nov. 20 against Colorado Christian and scored a career-high 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting. He also pulled down five rebounds and dished out two
assists against the Cougars
70 Points Seems to be the Key
Air Force is 4-1 this season when it scored 70 points or more and 2-3 when scoring less than 70. Defensively speaking, the Falcons are 5-0 when allowing 70 points or less and 1-4 when allowing more than 70. The only victory when giving up more than 70 was against South Dakota (94-86).
Lots of Free Shots vs. South Dakota
The Falcons went 31-of-39 from the free-throw line on Dec. 5 against South Dakota, the most makes and attempts by an Air Force team since going 41-of-56 from the line against Navy on Nov. 28, 1998.
5 in Double Figures for First Time in Three Years
Five Falcons scored in double figures against South Dakota, the first time that has happened since Nov. 20, 2010 against Tennessee State. It also happened on Monday against Western State, marking the first time AFA had five players in double figures in consecutive games since the first two games of the `98-99 season.
Several Career Highs vs. Western State
Freshmen Zach Kocur (15) and Hayden Graham (13) and junior Ethan Michael (5) each posted a career high for points last Monday against Western State. Additionally, juniors Justin Hammonds (10), Max Yon (9), Kocur (4), sophomore Zach Moer (3) and junior Scott Adler (2) had career-high rebound totals.
