Falcons travel to Savannah Invitational Nov. 25-26
11/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television:.... None
Radio:............ KVOR AM 740 (Dan Acheson, play-by-play)
THE BREAKDOWN
Quick Facts Air Force Akron
Record:................. 5-0..................................... 3-1
Streak:.................. W 5................................... W 3
Last Game:........... W 85-72 vs. Stetson....... vs. Georgia Southern
Conference:......... Mountain West .............. Mid-American
Nickname:............ Falcons............................. Zips
Location:............... Colorado Springs, CO..... Akron, OH
Website:............... GoAirForceFalcons.com gozips.com
Quick Facts Mercer East Carolina
Record:................. 3-1..................................... 4-1
Streak:.................. W 2................................... W 2
Last Game:........... vs. Radford....................... vs. Florida A&M
Conference:......... Southern ......................... American Athletic
Nickname:............ Bears................................. Pirates
Location:............... Macon, GA....................... Greenville, NC
Website:............... mercerbears.com........... ecuathletics.com
THE COACHES
Air Force Akron
Head Coach.......... Dave Pilipovich...................... Keith Dambrot
Alma Mater.......... Thiel College, 1986............... Akron, 1982
School Record...... 65-73 (5th season)................ 281-131 (12th season)
Career Record..... Same........................................ 389-201 (18th season)
Mercer East Carolina
Head Coach.......... Bob Hoffman.......................... Jeff Lebo
Alma Mater.......... Oklahoma Baptist, 1979....... North Carolina, 1989
School Record...... 167-114 (9th season)........... 103-101 (7th season)
Career Record..... 479-268 (23rd season)......... 314-257 (18th season)
THE SERIES
Air Force vs. Akron Mercer East Carolina
Overall First Meeting First Meeting First Meeting
SAVANNAH INVITATIONAL
Tourney Website: http://www.savannahinvitational.com/
Live Stats: Akron vs. AF - http://statb.us/b/154721
Live Stats: Consolation - http://statb.us/b/154724
Live Stats: Championship - http://statb.us/b/154725
SAVANNAH INVITATIONAL
Air Force is 1-0 in the Savannah Invitational after an 87-62 win over Florida A&M Sunday, Nov. 20. The Stetson game is the second of four games in the event for the Falcons.
Air Force travels to Savannah, Ga., for the final two games. The Falcons will play Akron on Friday, Nov. 25, at 7:30 p.m. The other game that night is Mercer vs. East Carolina. The winners and losers will play each other the next night at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.
Savannah Invitational
11-20 vs. Florida A&M W 87-62
11-22 vs. Stetson W 85-72
11-25 vs. Akron*
11-26 Mercer/East Carolina*
*-Games in Savannah, GA
EARLIER THIS WEEK
Junior Frank Toohey recorded career highs of 22 points and 13 rebounds and senior Hayden Graham added 14 points and matched his career high with 12 recorded to lead Air Force past Stetson, 85-72, Tuesday night in a non-conference game in Clune Arena.
The Falcons out-scored Stetson, 15-5, in the final 4:02 while holding the Hatters to just one field goal over that stretch. Senior Zach Kocur scored five points, Graham four and Toohey three to key the run. Air Force's 13-point victory margin was its largest lead of the game.
Air Force shot a season-low 44.3 percent from the field, including a 38.1 mark from 3-point range, and hit a season-low 57.7 percent from the free throw line. The Falcons out-rebounded its fourth opponent in five games with a 51-38 edge while committing just seven turnovers. The 51 rebounds is a season high.
Ryan Manning added 16 points off the bench while Kocur chipped in with a season-best 14 points and six rebounds. Jacob Van added eight points.
Stetson was led by Derick Newton, who scored 22 points. Divine Myles added 20 points and Luke Doyle had 12 points and a team-best six rebounds. Stetson shot 41.9 percent from the field and just 44.4 percent from the free throw line on eight-of-18 shooting.
The Falcons used a 7-0 run in the first half to take 23-15 lead with 8:07 to play. The Hatters countered with a 9-2 run over the next 1:52 to take a 26-25 lead. CJ Siples then hit a driving layup to put the Falcons back in front for good, 27-26, on their way to a 38-33 halftime lead. The first half featured two ties and eight lead changes. Air Force opened the second half with a 9-4 spurt to take a 10-point lead, 47-37, with 15:28 left. The closest the Hatters got after that was four points, 70-66, with 4:30 left before Air Force closed the game with the final run.
FALCONS IN THE MW
Air Force leads the conference in six categories and ranks among the top three in 13 overall. The Falcons lead the Mountain West in scoring (90.2), scoring margin (23.2), 3-point field goal percentage (42.2), rebounding margin (10.2), assists (19.8) and assists to turnover ratio (2.2).
SECOND BEST START EVER
Air Force's 5-0 start is the second-best ever at the Academy and best since opening 6-0 in 1982-83. This is the second time the Falcons have opened 5-0 under head coach Dave Pilipovich. The Falcons opened 2012-13 5-0 in Pilipovich's first full season.
THIS AND THAT
- Air Force defeated McPherson, 88-71, to open the season and improved to 29-32 all-time in season openers.
- Air Force won its 10th straight season opener at home dating back to a 73-68 loss to Valparaiso Nov. 23 to open 1991-92.
- Air Force head coach Dave Pilipovich improved to 3-2 in season openers.
- Air Force defeated Johnson & Wales, 105-62, Nov. 15 to record its first 100-plus outing since last season's Mountain West Tournament loss to UNLV, 108-102, March 9, 2016. The 105 points are the most since scoring 111 vs. Denver Feb. 16, 1999.
- Air Force scored 53 points in the first half, its highest scoring half of the season. Air Force's 53 points is the most in a half since scoring 59 vs. Colorado State on Jan. 10, 2015. The Falcons added its second-highest scoring half of the season in the second half with 52 points.
SCORING NOTES
- Air Force has had at least three players score in double figures in each game this season. The Falcons have had four in double figures twice, vs. Jacksonville and Stetson.
- Air Force has had four different leading scorers in five games this season. Hayden Graham led the team with 16 points vs. McPherson while Jacob Van led the Falcons with 23 points vs. Jacksonville. Ryan Manning scored a career-best 21 points to lead Air Force past Johnson & Wales. Van scored 17 points to lead Air Force past Florida A&M to become the first player to lead the team twice. Frank Toohey scored a career-high 22 points vs. Stetson to lead the team.
- Air Force has five players averaging in double figures this season. Frank Toohey leads the team at 12.8 and if followed by Hayden Graham (12.4), Jacob Van (12.2), Zach Kocur (11.0) and Ryan Manning (10.8).
TRENDS AND STUFF
- Air Force has a 10.2 rebounding margin this season. The Falcons have out-rebounded four of five opponents this season and tied in the other game.
- Air Force has led at the half in all five games this season.
- The Falcons have scored 85 or more points in all five games.
- Air Force has won six consecutive in-season tournament games dating back to last season. The Falcons are 2-0 in the Savannah Invitational this season and were 4-0 in the Falcon Classic last season to win the title.
DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Frank Toohey and Hayden Graham each had double-doubles against Stetson Nov. 22. Toohey had career highs of 22 points and 13 rebounds while Graham added 14 points and a career-high 12 boards. They are the first teammates with double-doubles in the same game since Tom Bellairs and Tyron Wright vs. BYU Jan. 24, 2000. Bellairs had 13 points and 12 boards while Wright had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
AIR FORCE'S 3-POINT STREAK
Air Force has hit at least one 3-pointer in 219 straight games dating back to Nov. 21, 2009 vs. Northern Colorado. Air Force's consecutive games streak of hitting at least one 3-pointer hit the 200-game mark at UNLV Jan. 16 last season.
