Falcons host Tennessee Tech in men's basketball home opener
11/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
THE SERIES
Air Force and Tennessee Tech are meeting for the fourth time. The Golden Eagles lead the series, 2-1. The teams are meeting for the first time since Dec. 1, 2002, in Cookville, Tenn., which resulted in a 60-47 TTU win. The Golden Eagles are making their first trip to the Academy since Dec. 29, 2001.
Series history
12-1-02................................. TTU 60-47 (A)
12-29-01.............................. TTU, 64-44 (H)
12-28-96.............................. AF, 88-68 (N)*
* - Holiday Stores Classic, Bozeman, MT
AIR FORCE CLASSIC
Air Force and Tennessee Tech kickoff the Air Force Classic, which is an exempt event that also includes Mississippi Valley State, Robert Morris and New Mexico State. The five teams all play each other as part of the classic. Air Force's remaining games in the classic follow.
Air Force in the Air Force Classic
Nov. 16...... vs. Tennessee Tech
Nov. 19...... vs. Mississippi Valley State
Nov. 22...... vs. Robert Morris
Nov. 28...... vs. New Mexico State
LOOKING AT TENNESSEE TECH
Tennessee Tech opened the season with a 110-72 win over Piedmont College on Nov. 14. The Golden Eagles were 12-18 overall last season and finished fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference East Division with a 4-12 mark.
Torrance Rowe is the team's top returning scorer with an average of 11.4 points per game while Josiah Moore is the top returning rebounder with a 4.9 average. Tennessee Tech averaged 70.6 points per game last season while shooting 44.1 percent from the field.
AIR FORCE LAST WEEK
Southern Illinois defeated Air Force, 77-75, in Carbondale, Ill., in the season opener for both schools as part of the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge.
Air Force led 38-30 at halftime and opened the second half with a 9-2 run to take a 47-32 lead with 17:54 remaining in the game. Southern Illinois battled back behind 50 percent shooting in the second half. Mike Rodriguez hit a pair of free throws with nine seconds left to give Southern Illinois a 77-75 lead. The Falcons final possession ended with a turnover by Trevor Lyons when he slipped to the floor driving the basketball to the hoop.
Rodriguez scored 15 points for SIU to lead four players in doubles figures. Tyler Smithpeters added 14 points, Anthony Smithpeters 13 and Armon Fletcher 10. Bola Olaniyan added eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds. SIU finished the game hitting 41.8 percent from the field and had just six turnovers. The Salukis out-rebounded Air Force, 38-36.
Air Force was led by Hayden Graham, who recorded the fourth double-double of his career with a career-high 19 points and 10 rebounds. Lyons tied his career high with 18 points and added a career-high eight rebounds. Zach Moer added a career-high 11 points in his first-career start. The Falcons hit 43.1 percent from the field, but just four of 20 from 3-point range.
FALCONS HIT THE FREE ONES
Air Force hit 27-of-33 free throws in the season opener at Southern Illinois. The team's 81.8 mark from the line is the best in the conference after one game. Air Force hit just 65.9 percent from the line last season.
GRAHAM DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Junior forward Hayden Graham scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to record his fourth-career double-double. It doesn't count in the statistics, but Graham had a double-double in Air Force exhibition game as well. Graham had three double-doubles last season and is active career leader at Air Force.
Graham had back-to-back double-doubles last season vs. Nevada and Utah State. He is the first Falcon to record back-to-back double-doubles since Tom Bellairs in 2000-01. Bellairs had 12 points and 13 rebounds against Texas-Pan American and Wyoming. Graham is the first to do it in back-to-back conference games since Bellairs did it vs. San Diego State (11 pts, 15 rebs) and UNLV (10 pts, 11 rebs).
Graham career double-doubles
Opponent Date Pts-Rebs
2015-16
Southern Illinois 11-13-15 19-10
2014-15
Utah State 2-28-15 16-12
Nevada 2-25-15 12-10
Wyoming 2-7-15 10-11
LYONS GETS CAREER BESTS
Sophomore guard Trevor Lyons posted two career highs last week vs. Southern Illinois. He matched his career high with 18 points and added a career-best eight rebounds.
TWO STEP UP IN NEW ROLES
Junior Kyle Broekhuis and sophomore Dezmond James had solid nights in new roles for the Falcons. Broekhuis had career highs of four points, three rebounds and 13 minutes played at Southern Illinois. James played a career high 24 minutes and scored three points.
WELCOME BACK Joe Tuss
Junior Joe Tuss returned to action against Southern Illinois after missing all of last season due to injury. Tuss played for the first time since March 5, 2014 against New Mexico. He played 14 minutes and scored two points and had two rebounds.
COLORADO WELL REPRESENTED
The Air Force Academy's hometown of Colorado Springs is well represented on the 2015-16 men's basketball roster. Four members of the team played their high school basketball in Colorado Springs, including freshmen Dylan Clark (Sand Creek), David Louthan (Air Academy) and Jason Anderson (Doherty), along with sophomore Kyle Broekhuis (Colorado Springs Christian). Two other Falcons call the state of Colorado home. Junior Zach Kocur is from Denver and attended Arapahoe High School while sophomore Dezmond James is native of Parker and attended Ponderosa High School.
LYONS HONORED
Sophomore Trevor Lyons was named fourth-team pre-season all-Mountain West by CollegeSportsMadness.com. Lyons is the second-leading returning scorer on the team with a 7.9 average. He led the Falcons in assists last season with 68 and steals with 41.
MEET THE CAPTAINS
Senior Zach Moer, along with juniors Zach Kocur and Hayden Graham are this year's team captains. This is the second time in three seasons the team has had underclassmen serve as captains. Last season's captains, seniors Kamryn Williams and DeLovell Earls, served in the roll in 2013-14 as juniors.
FALCONS PICKED 10TH
Air Force was picked to finish 10th in the Mountain West in 2015-16. The preseason poll was conducted by the league's media and announced last month at its annual media day. San Diego State was picked to win the league, followed by Boise State and Fresno State.
PILIPOVICH AMONG THE BEST
Air Force head coach Dave Pilipovich is already setting records as head coach at Air Force. In just his fourth season, Pilipovich has led the Air Force to two of its seven conference home winning records. The coach led the Falcons to a 5-4 mark last season and a 7-1 mark in 2013. Jeff Bzdelik is the only other Air Force head coach to post two home winning records in conference play.
Pilipovich has led the Falcons to six or more conference wins in each of his first three seasons. He is the only coach to do three times. Jeff Bzdelik is the only other Air Force coach to do it more than once (2006, 2007).
The coach guided the Falcons to 14 wins last season which ties as the 12th most in the 58 years of Air Force basketball.
FALCONS ADD TWO TO STAFF
Tyler Jorns and Capt. Evan Washington are the two newest additions to the Air Force basketball staff. Jorns, the team's director of basketball operations comes to the Academy from the NBA's Utah Jazz. Washington, a 2011 Air Force graduate, is the team's military assistant coach.
AIR FORCE NUMBERS GAME
- Air Force is in its 58th varsity season in 2015-16. The Falcons have a 702-885 all-time record. The Falcons picked up their 700th win with a 76-75 victory over UNLV Feb. 14, 2015.
- Air Force is 95-23 in non-conference home games as a member of the Mountain West.
- The Falcons are 94-153 in Mountain West play since joining the league as an inaugural member in 1999-2000. Air Force is 235-248 overall since joining the conference.
AIR FORCE WINS EXHIBITION
Zach Kocur scored 19 points and Trevor Lyons added 18 to lead Air Force past Colorado Christian, 96-83, in a men's basketball exhibition in Clune Arena Friday night.
The Falcons led throughout the game, by as many as 22 early in the second half, and shot 50.8 percent from the field. Air Force out-rebounded the Cougars, 50-27, and had 24 assists on 33 made field goals.
Hayden Graham added 14 points and 11 rebounds while Ryan Manning chipped in with 12 points and eight rebounds. The team had 14 players see action and 11 scored. Joe Tuss, returning from missing all of last season due to injury, added seven points while Dezmond James had seven and four assists. Kocur led the team with six assists while C.J. Siples added five assists and five points.
Colorado Christian was led by Zach McLemore, who scored 27 points. Isaiah Hanson added 14 and Ty McGee and Andre Lane chipped in with 11 each.
Air Force opens the regular season Nov. 13 at Southern Illinois as part of the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 (internet only) beginning at 7 p.m. CT.
