Air Force begins two-game road swing at New Mexico
1/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television:............ ROOT (Marc Stout, Dave Bollwinkel)
Radio:.................... KVOR AM 740 (Jim Arthur, Matt Pauley)
THE BREAKDOWN
Quick Facts Air Force New Mexico
Record:............. 10-10.................................... 11-8
Conf. Record:.. 1-6......................................... 4-2
Streak:.............. L 6.......................................... W 2
Last Game:....... vs. Fresno State (1/23)........ at San Jose State (1/23)
Lost 55-56 W 83-64
Next Game:.... at San Jose State (1/30)...... at Boise State (1/30)
Conference:.... Mountain West.................... Mountain West
Nickname:....... Falcons.................................. Lobos
Location:.......... Colorado Springs, CO.......... Albuquerque, NM
Website:........... GoAirForceFalcons.com..... GoLobos.com
THE SERIES
Overall:............. New Mexico leads, 56-20
First Meeting:. Dec. 7, 1957 at New Mexico (New Mexico, 68-50)
Last Meeting:.. Mar. 11, 2015 at MW Tournament (Air Force 68-61)
Streaks............. Air Force W 2
THE SERIES
Air Force and New Mexico are meeting for the 78th time overall. The Lobos hold a 56-21 overall lead in the series, including a 33-4 mark in Albuquerque. New Mexico is 20-15 at the Academy and 3-2 in neutral site games. Air Force won two of the three meetings last season. After splitting regular season games with each team winning at home, the Falcons defeated New Mexico, 68-61, in the opening round of the Mountain West Tournament.
Air Force has lost eight straight in Albuquerque dating back to a 60-51 win on Feb. 10, 2007. The teams first played Dec. 7, 1957 in Albuquerque. The Falcons won the game, 68-50.
THE LAST MEETING VS. NEW MEXICO
March 11, 2015 - Las Vegas, NV
Zach Kocur scored 20 points with four 3-pointers and No. 9 seed Air Force beat eighth-seeded New Mexico 68-61 in opening game of the Mountain West tournament on Wednesday.
New Mexico allowed the Falcons (14-16) to wind down the shot clock with a five-point lead in the final minute and Trevor Lyons' 18-foot jumper with 38 seconds left gave Air Force a 66-59 lead. The Academy held on from there to advance to a quarterfinals matchup with top-seeded Boise State on Thursday.
Air Force took control late with a 9-0 run to lead 58-53 on Kocur's 3-pointer with 3:55 left. Lyons finished with 10 points, five assists and five steals.
The Lobos (15-16) led for most of the first half and had a 52-47 advantage on Sam Logwood's 3-pointer with 7:39 left.
Hugh Greenwood had 16 points and Longwood added 14 for New Mexico.
LAST MEETING AT NEW MEXICO
Jan. 14, 2015 - Albuquerque, NM
Sam Logwood scored a career-high 17 points and hit a crucial 3-pointer for New Mexico to defeat Air Force, 60-48 Wednesday night.
Zach Kocur scored 12 points for the Falcons (8-8, 1-4 Mountain West), but no teammate reached double digits.
Although the Lobos (12-5, 4-1) never trailed in the second half, they could not extend the lead beyond five points until inside five minutes. A 7-0 run that began with five foul shots pushed New Mexico's lead to 49-40. But the streak ended when the Lobos' Devon Williams was called for a flagrant foul, which turned into a four-point Air Force possession, cutting the lead to 49-44 with 2:20 left.
On the ensuing possession, Logwood buried a baseline 3-pointer just before the shot clock ran out and the Falcons did not threaten thereafter.
Hugh Greenwood had 11 points and six assists for New Mexico.
AIR FORCE'S LAST GAME
Torren Jones hit a put back with 6.1 seconds left to lead Fresno State to a 56-55 win Saturday afternoon in a Mountain West game in Clune Arena. Air Force's last chance ended when Trevor Lyons drove the length of the floor and missed a heavily contested shot and Hayden Graham's desperation put back missed as time ran out.
Jones and Marvelle Harris scored 14 points each for Fresno State, while Cezar Guerrero added 10 points and six assists. Fresno State hit just 34.5 percent from the field, but out-rebounded Air Force, 40-32, and scored 28 points off 17 Air Force turnovers. The Falcons entered the game averaging just nine turnovers the last three games.
Air Force was led by Lyons, who scored 12 points. Zach Moer and Frank Toohey added nine points each while Graham chipped in with eight. Freshman Pervis Louder, who started for the first time in his career, added nine points and a career-high seven rebounds. Zach Kocur added five points and eight rebounds and hit a 3-pointer with 21 seconds remaining to put the Falcons in front, 55-54.
Air Force hit just 41.3 percent from the field, including 7-18 from 3-point territory. The Falcons started the game hitting five of their first six threes. Air Force hit just 58.8 percent from the free throw line.
Post-Game Notes
Team Notes
Team Notes
- The lineup of Trevor Lyons (G), Zach Kocur (G), Pervis Louder (G), Hayden Graham (F) and Zach Moer (C) started for the first time this season. The lineup is the ninth different for the Falcons this season.
Individual Notes
- Freshman Pervis Louder started for th::e first time in his career. Louder is the first freshman to start for Air Force this season and first to do it since teammate Trevor Lyons last season. Louder scored nine points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds. Louder's previous high in rebounds was five vs. Western State (12-29-15).
- Senior Zach Moer blocked two shots and has now blocked at least one shot in five straight games and 10 of the last 11.
- Sophomore Trevor Lyons scored 12 points to mark his 15th game in double figures this season. The double-figure scoring game is his first since the Nevada game Jan 9, snapping a three-game streak of single-digit scoring.
- Sophomore Frank Toohey scored nine points which is the second-most in his career and most vs. a Division I team. His career high is 10 points vs. Johnson & Wales earlier this season (12-22-15).
- Junior Zach Kocur grabbed eight rebounds to mark 10th time in the 11 games he's had four or more rebounds.
AIR FORCE IS.....
- 6-1 when leading at the half
- 8-1 when leading with 10:00 left
- 6-1 when out-rebounding opponent
- 6-4 when out-shooting opponent
- 8-2 when holding opponents under 70 points
6-3 IN CLOSE GAMES
Air Force is 6-3 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. Fresno State defeated the Falcons, 56-55, Jan. 23 to hand the team back-to-back close losses. Air Force'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 35.7 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 67.2 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.
Air Force hit just 58.8 percent (10-17) percent vs. Fresno State in its last game.
3-BALL GOING DOWN
Air Force has averaged 7.0 made 3-pointers the last four games. The Falcons hit eight at Utah State, four at UNLV, a team conference-best nine vs. Colorado State and seven vs. Fresno State. Air Force ranks eighth in the MW with 5.7 made per game overall, the best ranking and number made per game of the season.
FIELD GOAL SHOOTING
Air Force is shooting 43.1 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
THE TURNOVER STORY
Air Force had 17 turnovers vs. Fresno State last Saturday and the Bulldogs scored 28 points off those turnovers in a 56-55 win. The Falcons had averaged just nine turnovers the last three games. The Falcons turned it over 10 times at Utah State, nine at UNLV and eight against Colorado State which is the second-fewest in a game this season and fewest against a conference opponent.
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).
Team Record
Southern Illinois 12-2
Colorado 11-2
Ohio State 8-5
Army 9-3
Totals 40-12 (.769)
NINE LINEUPS
Air Force has used nine different starting lineups this season. Five Falcons have made the first start of their careers this season: Zach Moer, Joe Tuss, Kyle Broekhuis, Jacob Van and Pervis Louder. Two other Falcons have started every game this season: Zach Kocur and Trevor Lyons. Moer and Hayden Graham have started all 19 games they have played this season, but each missed one game due to injury.
FALCONS DEFENSE IMPROVED
Air Force has held 14 of the last 15 opponents to under 50 percent shooting. The Falcons had a streak of 12 consecutive games not allowing an opponent to shoot 50 percent or better snapped at UNLV as the Rebels hit 50.0 percent.
Air Force has allowed only four opponents (Colorado, Army, UNLV, Colorado State) to shoot 40 percent or better from 3-point range this season.
LYONS LEADS TEAM
Sophomore guard Trevor Lyons leads the team in assists (3.1) and steals (1.5) and is second in scoring (13.6). Lyons is 12th in the Mountain West in scoring, 10th in assists, fifth in steals, seventh in assists/turnover ratio (1.5) and sixth in minutes played (32.7).
Lyons matched his career high with 22 points and hit a career-best 11 free throws (12 attempts) vs. San Jose State. He also matched his career high with three 3-pointers and grabbed six rebounds and had three assists.
Lyons has hit the game-winner twice this season. Lyons scored 19 points against Mississippi Valley State, including a driving layup with one second left to win the game. Lyons did it at both ends against New Mexico State. He hit the game-winning layup with eight seconds left, then forced a charge on New Mexico's State's next possession with 2.5 seconds left and Air Force leading 65-64. The Aggies fouled Lyons on the inbounds pass and he hit one of two free throws with 1.3 seconds to seal the win.
GRAHAM AMONG MW LEADERS
Junior Hayden Graham is eighth in the MW in scoring (14.9) and ninth in rebounding (6.6). He is also second in field goal percentage (52.8) and second in minutes played (35.6).
Graham has hit 56.7 percent (17-30) of his 3-pointers, including a career-best five-of-five vs. Western State, the last nine games. His effort is the best in terms of percentage in the conference this season.
Graham scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds and had three assists in 40 minutes against Colorado State Jan. 20. He hit 9-13 from the field, including 4-6 from 3-point range. His 25 points are the most by a Falcon this season. He had eight points, three rebounds and a team-best three assists vs. Fresno State last Saturday.
THREE GO FOR 500
Juniors Hayden Graham and Zach Kocur and sophomore Trevor Lyons have all reached the 500-point mark for thier careers this season. Reaching the 500-point mark places them among the top 75 scorers in school history. Graham has 566 points, Kocur 516 and Lyons 517.
LOUDER STEPS UP
Freshman Pervis Louder has stepped up recently. Louder is averaging 10.8 points and 23.5 minutes the last four games. He has hit 46.4 percent (13-28) from the field and 62.5 percent
(5-8) from 3-point range. Louder started for the first time in his career against Fresno State last Saturday. He responded with nine points and career highs of seven rebounds, three assists and 34 minutes. Louder scored 11 points and had four rebounds against Colorado State. He scored a career-high 13 points at UNLV. He had 10 points in 14 minutes and hit 2-2 threes at Utah State.
TEAM'S 3-POINT STREAK HITS 200
Air Force's consecutive games streak of hitting at least one 3-pointer hit the 200-game mark at UNLV last Saturday, Jan. 16. Air Force has hit at least one 3-pointer in 202 straight games dating back to Nov. 21, 2009 vs. Northern Colorado .
