Air Force opens men's basketball season Friday
11/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 8, 2016
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television:........ Mountain West Network (goairforcefalcons.com)
Josh Howe (play-by-play)
Radio:................... KVOR AM 740
Jim Arthur (play-by-play), Dan Acheson (analyst)
THE BREAKDOWN
Quick Facts Air Force McPherson College
Record:............................ 0-0........................................................ 3-0
Conf. Record:............ 0-0........................................................ 0-0
Streak:.............................. NA......................................................... W3
Last Game:................... Season Opener........................... W 78-44 vs. Bacone (11/6)
Next Game:................. vs. Jacksonville (11-14)......... vs. Central Christian (11/9)
Conference:................ Mountain West........................... Kansas Collegiate Athletic
Nickname:.................... Falcons.............................................. Bulldogs
Location:....................... Colorado Springs, CO........... McPherson, KS
Website:......................... GoAirForceFalcons.com........ macbulldogs.com
THE COACHES
Head Coach................ Dave Pilipovich..................................... Tim Swartzendruber
Alma Mater................. Thiel College, 1986............................ Bethel College, 1981
School Record.......... 60-73 (5th season).............................. 131-96 (8th season)
Career Record........... Same............................................................. Same
THE SERIES
Overall....................... First Meeting
First Meeting...... Nov. 11, 2016 at Air Force
SEASON OPENERS
Air Force is 28-32 all-time in season openers. The Falcons are 20-8 at home and 8-24 on the road (including neutral games).
Air Force is opening the season at home for the first time since hosting Army Nov. 11 to open the 2011-12 season.
Air Force has won nine straight season openers at home dating back to a 73-68 loss to Valparaiso Nov. 23 to open the 1991-92 season.
PILIPOVICH IN SEASON OPENERS
Air Force head coach Dave Pilipovich is 2-2 in season openers. The Falcons are 2-0 in neutral site games and an 0-2 in road games. Three games have come against Army as part of the All-Military Classic.
Pilipovich in season openers
Year Opponent Result
11-13-15 at Southern Illinois L 75-77
11-14-14 at Army L 78-84
11-8-13 Army# W 79-68
11-10-12 Army* W 76-65
* Charleston, SC; # Lexington, VA
FALCONS LOADED WITH RETURNEES
Air Force returns 13 lettermen from last season's squad, including all five starters. The Falcons really return seven starters based on how the season ended and on the number of starts.
Air Force returns junior guards C.J. Siples and Trevor Lyons, along with senior forwards Zach Kocur and Hayden Graham. Junior center Frank Toohey also returns. Junior Jacob Van and senior Kyle Broekhuis could also be listed as returning starters. Van started the last seven games last season while Broekhuis started 15 games throughout the season. There are three seniors, six juniors and four sophomores among the returnees.
MORE ON RETURNING FALCONS
Air Force returns its top three and nine of its top 11 scorers from last season's team. Senior Hayden Graham is the top returning scorer and rebounder with averages of 13.8 points and 6.3 rebounds. Junior Trevor Lyons was second on the team in scoring with a 12.7 average.
The Falcons return 80.4 percent of their scoring and 79.5 percent of the minutes played from last season. A closer look at the breakdown follows:
Category Total/Ret. Pct Ret.
Minutes 6500/5169 79.5%
Points 2189/1760 80.4%
Rebounds 1109/889 80.1%
Field Goals 752/5998 79.6%
3-Pt FGs 202/177 87.6%
Assists 420/346 82.4%
LYONS, GRAHAM PRESEASON ALL-MW
Senior Hayden Graham and junior Trevor Lyons were each named to the preseason all-Mountain West team by CollegeSportsMadness.com.
Graham was named to the second team while Lyons was a third-team member. Graham led the Falcons in scoring and rebounding last season with averages of 13.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Lyons was second on the team in scoring with a 12.7 mark and was leading the team in assists with 61 before missing the final 10 games of the season due to injury.
AIR FORCE WINS EXHIBITION
Air Force defeated Colorado Christian, 81-71, in an exhibition game Friday night at Clune Arena. The Falcons rallied from a five-point halftime deficit with a 50-point second half.
Trailing 36-31 at the half, the Falcons opened the second half with a 19-6 burst to go up 50-42 five minutes in. Colorado Christian got to within two points with five minutes remaining, but the Falcons finished the game on a 9-2 run to close it out.
Three players reached double-figures in scoring for Air Force, led by junior Center Frank Toohey, who scored 14 points. Junior guards C.J. Siples and Jacob Van added 12 points each.
Dimitri Saliba led CCU with a game-high 18 points. Stefan Hackethal added a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
LOOKING BACK AT 2015-16
Air Force finished the season 14-18 overall and placed 10th in the Mountain West with a 5-13 mark. The team's 14 wins tie as the 12th most in the history of the program. Air Force finished 12-5 at home. The team's 12 home wins tied for fourth in the Mountain West. The 12 home wins is the most since 2012-13 when Air Force posted 13.
