Falcons travel to Las Vegas to take on UNLV
1/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television:.................... ESPN3: Ari Wolfe (play-by-play), Bill Herenda (analyst)
Radio:............................... KVOR AM 740: Jim Arthur (play-by-play), Matt Pauley (analyst)
THE BREAKDOWN
Quick Facts Air Force UNLV
Record:..................... 10-7............................................................ 10-7
Conf. Record:...... 1-3............................................................... 1-3
Streak:........................ L 3................................................................ W 1
Last Game:............. at Utah State (1/12)...................... vs. New Mexico (1/12)
L 60-79 W 86-74
Next Game:........... vs. Colorado State (1/20)........... at Utah State (1/19)
Conference:.......... Mountain West................................. Mountain West
Nickname:............. Falcons..................................................... Runnin' Rebels
Location:................. Colorado Springs, CO.................. Las Vegas, NV
Website:................... GoAirForceFalcons.com.............. UNLVRebels.com
THE COACHES
Head Coach:......... Dave Pilipovich................................. Todd Simon
Alma Mater:......... Thiel College, 1986........................ Central Michigan, 2003
School Record:... 56-62 (4th season).......................... 1-0 (1st season)
Career Record:.... Same......................................................... Same
THE SERIES
Overall:..................... UNLV leads, 32-11
First Meeting:..... Jan. 10, 1981 at USAFA (Air Force, 51-50)
Last Meeting:...... Feb. 14, 2015 at USAFA (Air Force, 76-75)
Streaks...................... Air Force W 1
Air Force and UNLV are meeting for the 44th time. The Rebels lead the overall series, 32-11, including a 30-10 mark in conference games. Air Force is 2-21 all-time in Las Vegas and 9-11 at home. The teams split last season's series, each winning at home. UNLV defeated Air Force, 74-63, Jan. 31, while the Falcons won 76-75 in Clune Arena Feb. 14. The teams first played Jan. 10, 1981 at the Academy resulting in a 51-50 Air Force win.
LAST SEASON VS. UNLV
Jan. 31, 2015 in Las Vegas
Christian Wood scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead five Rebels in double figures as UNLV defeated Air Force, 74-63.
The Rebels hit 54.2 percent from the field in the second half and had just five turnovers in the game to hold on. UNLV finished the game hitting 46.2 percent overall and hit 17-of-24 from the free throw line to secure the win. Jelan Kendrick added 15 points, five rebounds and five assists for UNLV while Rashad Vaughn, Patrick McCaw and Cody Doolin each added 11 points.
Justin Hammonds led three Falcons in double figures with 15 points and six rebounds. Marek Olesinski added 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds and Matt Mooney chipped in with 10 points and a team-best three assists.
Air Force hit 44.2 percent from the field, including 15-of-30 in the second half, and hit 45.5 percent from three-point territory. The Falcons out-rebounded UNLV, 32-29, but had 15 turnovers in the game.
Feb. 14, 2015 at USAFA
Marek Olesinski scored 19 points, including two free throws with 10 seconds remaining, and Matt Mooney added 12 points and two free throws with four seconds remaining to lead Air Force past UNLV, 76-75, in Clune Arena.
The Falcons hit five of six free throws in the final 17 seconds to hold off the Rebels and win for the third straight time at home and fourth time in the last six games overall. Freshman Trevor Lyons tied the score at 60-all with a pair of free throws with 5:05 remaining in the game, then gave the team a two point advantage with a driving layup with 4:44 left. Following a basket by Christian Wood to tie the game at 62-all, Zach Kocur hit a 3-pointer with 3:34 left to give the Falcons the lead for good, 65-62. Kocur two more threes, one to put Air Force up 68-64 with 2:05 left and another to push the lead to 71-66 with 44 seconds to play. Mooney responded from a pair of missed free throws with 26 second left to hit the game-clinchers in the final seconds to give Air Force a 76-72 lead. Wood hit a 3-pointer as the horn sounded to make up the final margin.
Kocur scored 18 points and hit a career-high six 3-pointers. Lyons finished with 10 points and a career-best-tying five rebounds. Hayden Graham added eight points and a team-best six rebounds while Mooney added five rebounds and five assists.
AIR FORCE'S LAST GAME
Jalen Moore scored 20 points to lead four players in double figures as Utah State defeated Air Force, 79-60, Tuesday in Logan, Utah. Moore added six rebounds and six assists while Chris Smith chipped in with 19 points, Shane Rector 13 and Julion Pearre 12 for the Aggies.
Air Force used a 8-2 spurt to take a 24-19 lead with 7:02 left in the first half. Utah State answered with a 13-0 run to take a 32-24 lead with 3:40 left in the half. The Aggies took a 36-28 halftime lead and opened the second half with an 8-1 spurt to take a 44-29 lead with just over 18 minutes left. The Falcons never got it closer than 12 points the rest of the way.
Utah State hit 46.4 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Falcons, 41-32. Air Force hit just 36.8 percent from the field and 58.8 from the free throw line. Zach Moer led the Falcons with 12 points while Zach Kocur chipped in with 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Freshman Pervis Louder added a career-high 10 points.
Post-Game Notes
Team Notes
- Air Force's starting lineup of Trevor Lyons (G), Zach Kocur (G), Kyle Broekhuis (F), Hayden Graham (F) and Zach Moer (C) started for the ninth time this season, the most of any lineup this season.
- Air Force trailed 36-28 at the half. The Falcons are 4-6 this season when trailing at the half.
Individual Notes
- Junior Zach Kocur scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds before fouling out. Kocur has scored in double figures in two of the last three games and had grabbed eight or more rebounds in three straight games. He has averaged 10.0 points and 8.7 rebounds the last three games.
- Senior Zach Moer scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds to mark his first double-figure scoring game in conference play. Moer has scored in double figures nine times this season.
- Freshman Pervis Louder scored a career-high 10 points to mark his first-career game in double figures. His previous scoring high was six earlier this season vs. Western State (12-29-15). Louder scored four points in Air Force's last game vs. Nevada.
FALCONS 8-2 AT HOME
Air Force is 8-2 at home this season. The last time Air Force opened better than 8-2 was 2011-12 when the team opened 9-1 at home.
Air Force's eight home wins is tied for third in the Mountain West with New Mexico. Boise State (9-0) and Fresno State (9-2) lead the conference with nine home wins.
AIR FORCE IS.....
- 6-1 when leading at the half
- 8-1 when leading with 10:00 left
- 6-0 when out-rebounding opponent
- 6-2 when out-shooting opponent
- 8-1 when holding opponents under 70 points
6-1 IN CLOSE GAMES
Air Force is 6-1 overall and has won six straight games decided by seven points or less. The team's loss came in the season opener at Southern Illinois, 77-75.
HITTING THE BOARDS
Air Force is 6-0 this season when out-rebounding an opponent. The Falcons have out-rebounded five of their last 11 opponents. Air Force is averaging 36.7 rebounds per game this season.
FREE THROW SHOOTING UP AND DOWN
Air Force is shooting 67.3 percent from the free throw line this season.
The Falcons have hit over 80 percent five times while shooting under a 60 percent six times.
Air Force's season high is 84.6 percent vs. Robert Morris while the season low is 44.4 percent at Colorado. The Falcons have hit just 58.1 percent (36-62) the last three games. In the three games prior, Air Force hit 81.0 percent (68-84), including an 83.3 clip (25-30) vs. San Jose State.
SEVEN LINEUPS
Air Force has used seven different starting lineups this season. The current lineup of Trevor Lyons (G), Zach Kocur (G), Hayden Graham (F), Kyle Broekhuis (F) and Zach Moer (C) has started nine times, the most of any lineup and posted a 5-4 record.
Three Falcons have made the first start of their careers this season: Zach Moer, Joe Tuss and Kyle Broekhuis. Two other Falcons have started every game this season: Zach Kocur and Trevor Lyons. Moer and Graham have started all 16 games they have played this season, but each missed one game due to injury.
FIELD GOAL SHOOTING
Air Force is shooting 42.7 percent from the field this season. The Falcons have out-shot eight opponents and are 6-2 when doing so. The team has hit over 50 percent four times, winning each game.
The Falcons shot a season-high 59.2 percent effort vs. Tennessee Tech and hit 55.2 percent against Citadel. Air Force hit 50 percent against UC Davis which is the best in a road game this season. The Falcons hit 53.8 percent vs. Western State.
50 percent games
Opponent FG Pct.
Tennessee Tech (W) 59.2
Citadel (W) 55.2
UC Davis (W) 50.0
Western State (W) 53.8
NON-CONFERENCE RECAP
- Air Force finished the non-conference season with a 9-4 record.
- The team's nine wins are the most in the Dave Pilipovich area and most since 2011-12 when the team won 10.
- Air Force finished the non-conference slate with an RPI of 107, the fourth-best in the conference.
- The Falcons were one of three MW teams to win two non-conference road games.
- Air Force's four non-conference losses came to teams with a combined 40-12 record (.769). A breakdown follows:
Team Record
Southern Illinois 12-2
Colorado 11-2
Ohio State 8-5
Army 9-3
Totals 40-12 (.769)
APPROACHING MILESTONE
Sophomore Trevor Lyons is approaching the 500-point milestone for their careers. Lyons has 489 career points. Reaching the 500-point mark would place them among the top 75 scorers in school history.
Juniors Hayden Graham and Zach Kocur recently reached the 500-point mark with 515 and 500 points, respectively. Graham is also a member the 250-rebound (263) club.
Name Points
Trevor Lyons 489 -- 11 for 500
