Air Force hosts Fresno State in MW showdown
1/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television:.................... ROOT (Drew Goodman, Sed Bonner)
Radio:............................... KVOR AM 740 (Jim Arthur, Matt Pauley)
THE BREAKDOWN
Quick Facts Air Force Fresno State
Record:..................... 10-9............................................................ 12-7
Conf. Record:...... 1-5............................................................... 3-3
Streak:........................ L 5................................................................ L 1
Last Game:............. vs. Colorado State (1/20)........... at San Diego State (1/19)
Lost 79-83 Lost 67-73 OT
Next Game:........... at New Mexico (1/27)................... vs. Wyoming (1/26)
Conference:.......... Mountain West................................. Mountain West
Nickname:............. Falcons..................................................... Bulldogs
Location:................. Colorado Springs, CO.................. Fresno, CA
Website:................... GoAirForceFalcons.com.............. GoBulldogs.com
THE COACHES
Head Coach:......... Dave Pilipovich................................. Rodney Terry
Alma Mater:......... Thiel College, 1986........................ St. Edwards, 1990
School Record:... 56-64 (4th season).......................... 74-81 (5th season)
Career Record:.... Same......................................................... Same
THE SERIES
Overall:..................... Fresno State leads 13-5
First Meeting:..... Nov. 28, 1980 at Fresno State (Fresno State, 55-40)
Last Meeting:...... March 4, 2015 at Fresno State (Fresno State, 68-66)
Streaks...................... Fresno State W 5
THE SERIES
Air Force and Fresno State are meeting for the 20th time. The Bulldogs lead the series 14-5. Fresno State has won five straight overall. Air Force's last win came Jan. 30, 2013 at the Academy, 62-50. Fresno State defeated Air Force, 68-66, March 4, 2015 in the last meeting. The teams first played Nov. 28, 1980 in Fresno, Calif. The Bulldogs won, 55-40.
LAST SEASON VS. FRESNO STATE
March 4, 2015 at Fresno State
Cezar Guerrero scored 18 points to lead four players in double figures as Fresno State held on to beat Air Force, 68-66, at the Save Mart Center.
Air Force overcame a 15-point second half deficit to cut the lead to one point, 67-66, with 58 seconds left. Following a pair of missed shots, Fresno State rebounded and Marvelle Harris hit one of two free throws with 5.7 seconds left to make up the final margin.
Air Force's Trevor Lyons drove the ball the length of the floor after the missed free throw, but his contested layup bounced off as time ran out.
Julien Lewis added 17 points, and Harris and Paul Watson chipped in with 10 each for the Bulldogs, who finished 11-3 at home. Fresno State hit 44.4 percent from the field and 11 of 16 free throws.
Air Force was led by Lyons, who scored 15 points and hit a career-best three 3-pointers. Hayden Graham added 14 points, Max Yon 13 and Marek Olesinski 12. The Falcons hit 45.9 percent from the field, including 50 percent in the second half where they out-scored Fresno State by seven. The Falcons had just eight turnovers and collected three steals.
AIR FORCE'S LAST GAME
Antwan Scott scored 27 points to lead five players in double figures as Colorado State defeated Air Force, 83-79, Wednesday night at the Air Force Academy.
Colorado State led 41-31 at halftime and opened the second half with a 12-5 spurt to take a 17 point advantage, 53-36, with 16:53 remaining. The Falcons chipped away at the lead and used a 13-1 spurt to take its first lead of the game, 64-63, with 8:30 remaining. Zach Moer scored six points to key the run while Trevor Lyons added five.
The Rams answered with five straight points to take the lead back, 68-64, with 5:52 left to play. Colorado State sealed the win by hitting nine of 10 free throws, including eight straight, in the final 3:29.
Colorado State hit 46.3 percent from the field, including 40 percent from 3-point territory, but were held to just four-of-16 from beyond the arc in the second half. Tiel Daniels added 19 points and seven rebounds while Joe De Ciman added 13, J.D. Paige 11 and John Gillon 10 for the Rams, who defeated Air Force for the ninth straight time.
Air Force was led by Hayden Graham, who scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed a team-best seven rebounds. Moer chipped in with a career-high 18 points and six rebounds while freshman Pervis Louder added 11 points off the bench to mark his third straight double-figure scoring game.
Air Force hit 51.9 percent from the field, including 57.7 in the second half. The Falcons hit 45 percent from 3-point territory, hitting a conference season-high nine. Air Force out-rebounded Colorado State, 37-28, and had 18 assists and just eight turnovers.
Post-Game Notes
Team Notes
- The lineup of Trevor Lyons (G), Jacob Van (G), Zach Kocur (G), Hayden Graham (F) and Zach Moer (C) started for the first time. The lineup is the eighth different one for Air Force this season.
- Air Force trailed at the half (41-31) for the fifth straight game.
- Air Force shot 51.9 percent from the field which is a season high for a conference game. The Falcons lost for the first time this season when hitting 50 percent of better, falling to 4-1.
- Air Force took its first lead in a game, 64-63 with 8:30 left, since the 6:42 of the first half at Utah State on Jan. 12.
Individual Notes
- Sophomore Trevor Lyons scored seven points to reach the 500-point mark for his career. Lyons in the third Falcon to hit the 500-point mark in his career this season, joining juniors Hayden Graham and Zach Kocur. Lyons has 505 career points.
- Sophomore Jacob Van started for the first time in his career. After not playing in the first three games of the season, Van has played in every game since.
- Junior Hayden Graham scored a career-high 25 points to mark his fourth-career 20-plus point scoring effort. Graham also hit double figures for the 15th time this season which leads the Falcons. Graham's points are the most by a Falcon this season. He played all 40 minutes in the game.
- Freshman Pervis Louder scored 11 points to mark his third straight game in double figures.
- Senior Zach Moer scored a career-high 18 points. His previous high was 16 points earlier this season vs. Johnson & Wales. Moer also blocked two shots and has a block in nine of the last 10 games.
AIR FORCE IS.....
- 6-1 when leading at the half
- 8-1 when leading with 10:00 left
- 6-1 when out-rebounding opponent
- 6-3 when out-shooting opponent
- 8-1 when holding opponents under 70 points
6-2 IN CLOSE GAMES
Air Force is 6-2 overall in games decided by seven points or less. The Falcons had a six-game winning streak snapped by falling to Colorado State, 83-79, Jan. 20. The team's only other loss came in the season opener at Southern Illinois, 77-75.
HITTING THE BOARDS
Air Force is 6-1 this season when out-rebounding an opponent. The Falcons are averaging 35.8 rebounds per game this season. Air Force's lone loss when out-rebounding an opponent came to Colorado State, 83-79. The Falcons out-rebounded the Rams, 37-28.
FREE THROW SHOOTING UP AND DOWN
Air Force is shooting 67.5 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.
FIELD GOAL SHOOTING
Air Force is shooting 43.2 percent from the field this season. The Falcons have out-shot nine opponents and are 6-3 when doing so. The team has hit over 50 percent five times and are 4-1 when doing so.
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.
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
Colorado State (L) 51.9
TURNOVERS DOWN
Air Force has averaged just nine turnovers the last three games. The Falcons turned it over 10 times at Utah State and nine at UNLV. Air Force had just eight against Colorado State Wednesday which is the second-fewest in a game this season and fewest against a conference opponent. Air Force's season best of seven came against New Mexico State Nov. 28.
