Air Force hosts service academy rival Army
12/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
THE SERIES
Air Force leads the series 4-3 overall. The Falcons are 1-0 at home 0-2 on the road and 3-1 in neutral sites games. Army defeated Air Force, 84-78, in last season's opener for both schools. Air Force had won three straight in the series. Air Force and Army played the last four times as part of the All-Military Classic. The Falcons won three of the four meetings.
All-Time Series Results
11-14-14 Army 84-78 (A)
11-8-13 Air Force 79-68 (N)
11-10-12 Air Force 76-65 (N)
11-11-11 Air Force 87-71 (H)
11-28-87 Army 79-70 (N)
12-22-85 Air Force 56-50 (N)
1-29-77 Army 68-49 (A)
(Site) is for Air Force
LAST SEASON VS. ARMY
Kyle Wilson scored 25 points and Tanner Plomb added 22 to lead Army to an 84-78 in the opening round of the All-Military Classic in West Point, N.Y. The Black Knights snapped a three-game losing streak to Air Force with the win and advanced to the championship of the tournament for the first time.
Army used a 15-4 run midway through the second half to take its biggest lead of the game, 71-47, with 11:08 left in the game. The Falcons countered with an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 13 points, 71-58, with 6:56 remaining. Army pushed the lead back to 16 points, 77-61, before Air Force used a 13-2 run to cut it to 79-74 with 43 seconds left. Yon capped the run with a three-pointer in the corner. The Falcons were never able to get closer than five points the rest of the way.
The Black Knight shot 49.2 percent from the field, including 52 percent from three-point range. Army hit 13 of 25 three-pointers and was hot from the distance the entire game, hitting eight of 16 in the first half and five of nine in the second. Army also out-rebounded Air Force 37-32 while forcing 18 turnovers.
Air Force finished the game hitting 50 percent from the field on 31-of-62 shooting, but struggled from three-point range with a six-of-19 effort (31.6 percent). Air Force had 14 assists and six blocked shots.
Senior Max Yon led the way for Air Force with 23 points, just one off his career high. Sophomore Hayden Graham added a career-high 18 points and four rebounds and Kamryn Williams chipped in with 10 points and team-bests of seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
The Falcons played four freshmen in the game, including Matt Mooney who started the game. He finished with two points, three rebounds and a team-best seven assists. Other rookies to see action included C.J. Siples, Trevor Lyons and Ryan Manning. Lyons added nine points and three steals.
AIR FORCE VS. SERVICE ACADEMIES
Air Force is 18-14 all-time vs. Army and Navy. The Falcons are 4-3 vs. Army and 14-11 vs. Navy.
FALCONS PERFECT AT HOME
Air Force is 5-0 at home this season. Air Force has opened 5-0 at home for the second time under head coach Dave Pilipovich. Air Force also opened 5-0 at home in 2014-15.
Air Force has won close games with the average margin of victory of 5.8 points per game. The Falcons have had an average margin of victory of 3.0 the last two games, beating New Mexico State, 66-64, in overtime and Citadel, 97-93.
The last time Air Force opened 6-0 or better at home was 2006-07 when the team opened 13-0 at home.
EARLIER THIS WEEK
at Ohio State
The Air Force Falcons started slowly and never fully recovered as Ohio State defeated them, 74-50, Tuesday night. Marc Loving recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Buckeyes (4-4).
Ohio State never trailed while picking up its second consecutive win. Trevor Lyons led Air Force (6-3) with 13 points. JaQuan Lyle scored 12 points and Jae'Sean Tate added 11 for Ohio State.
Ohio State outscored the Falcons 24-5 over the last 13:19 of the first half, including a scoreless stretch of 6:44 until CJ Siples' put-back with 3.1 seconds left. The Falcons hit just one of 16 field goals over the stretch until the make by Siples and closed the first stanza hitting just 21.7 percent from the field. Ohio State hit 47.1 percent and forced 11 Air Force turnovers.
To show what kind of first half it was for Air Force, Loving answered with a running 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer, giving the Buckeyes a 37-16 halftime lead.
Air Force scored the first four points of the second half, but the Falcons did not get closer than 17 points the rest of the way.
AIR FORCE LAST WEEK
Air Force was 2-0 last week. The Falcons defeated Citadel, 97-93, on Wednesday at home. The Falcons won their first road game of the season with a 61-59 win at Denver on Saturday.
NINE GAMES, FIVE LINEUPS
Air Force has used five different starting lineups in nine games this season. The current lineup of Trevor Lyons (G), Zach Kocur (G), Hayden Graham (F), Kyle Broekhuis (F) and Zach Moer (C) has started the most at three games, including two straight.
Three Falcons have made the first start of their careers this season, Zach Moer, Joe Tuss and Kyle Broekhuis. Hayden Graham, Zach Kocur and Trevor Lyons are the only players to start all nine games. Moer has started all eight games he's played this season, but he missed the Mississippi Valley State game due to injury.
