Air Force host Utah State in MW home opener
12/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
THE GAME
Air Force hosts Utah State Saturday, Dec. 31, at Noon in Clune Arena. The game is the Mountain West home opener for the Falcons.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television:........ ROOT Sports (Drew Goodman, Marty Fletcher)
Radio:................... KVOR AM 740 (Jim Arthur, Dan Acheson)
THE BREAKDOWN
Quick Facts Air Force Utah State
Record:............................ 7-7, 0-1 MW............................................. 6-6, 0-1 MW
Streak:.............................. L 1.................................................................... L 2
Last Game:................... L 72-84 at Wyoming......................... L 80-83 vs. Boise State
Next Game:................. at Colorado State (1/7)................... vs. New Mexico (1/4)
Conference:................ Mountain West .................................... Mountain West
Nickname:.................... Falcons......................................................... Aggies
Location:....................... Colorado Springs, CO...................... Logan, UT
Website:......................... GoAirForceFalcons.com.................. UtahStateAggies.com
THE COACHES
Category Air Force Utah State
Head Coach................ Dave Pilipovich..................................... Tim Duryea
Alma Mater................. Thiel College, 1986............................ North Texas, 1988
School Record.......... 67-80 (5th season).............................. 22-21 (2nd season)
Career Record........... Same............................................................. Same
THE SERIES
Overall....................... Utah State leads 14-3
First Meeting...... Feb. 15, 1963 at USAFA (Air Force, 66-65)
Last Meeting....... March 1, 2016 at USAFA (Utah State, 78-65)
Streaks...................... Utah State W 4
THE SERIES
Air Force and Utah State are meeting for the 18th time overall and sixth time as Mountain West foes. The Aggies lead the overall series, 14-3, and hold a 4-1 mark in MW meetings. Utah State has won four straight, including a sweep of last year's series. Utah State beat Air Force, 79-60, Jan. 12, in Logan and won 78-65 March 1 at the Academy. Air Force's last win came Jan. 1, 2014 at the Academy, 73-72. The team's first played Feb. 15, 1963 at the Academy. Air Force won the game, 66-65.
LAST SEASON VS. UTAH STATE
Jan. 12, 2016 in Logan
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.
March 1, 2016 at USAFA
Jalen Moore and Chris Smith scored 23 points each to lead Utah State past Air Force, 78-65, Tuesday night at the Academy.
The Aggies closed the first half with a 10-2 run to take a 40-33 halftime lead. Utah State build the lead to 10 points, 50-40, with 14:40 to play and Air Force was never able to get the lead back under double digits. Utah State hit 50 percent from the field, becoming just the fifth team to shoot 50 percent or better against Air Force this season. The Aggies hit 14 of 34 3-pointers and out-rebounded Air Force, 36-27.
Hayden Graham scored 14 points to lead Air Force. C.J. Siples added 13 points and five assists while Zach Moer added 11 points and six rebounds in his final home game. Jacob Van added 10 points and a career-high five steals. The Falcons hit 48.2 percent from the field, but just 26.9 percent from three.
EARLIER THIS WEEK
Hayden Dalton and Alan Herndon scored 15 points apiece to lead five Cowboys in double figures as Wyoming defeated Air Force, 84-72, Dec. 28 in Laramie in the Mountain West opener for both schools.
Air Force used a 10-0 run midway through the first half to overcome an early 10 point deficit and tie the score 18-18 with 7:42 remaining. Zach Kocur and Ryan Manning hit back-to-back threes to key to spurt. Wyoming then used a 14-0 run to take control of the game and take a 32-18 lead with just over four minutes to play. Dalton scored seven points in the run. The Cowboys extended the lead to 15 and led at the half, 41-26.
Wyoming used a 21-9 run midway through the second half to take its biggest lead of the game, 77-49, with 7:45 left. The Falcons hit just two field goals during the stretch. Air Force was able to cut into the lead and got as close as 10 points, 82-72, in the final minutes.
Wyoming shot 43.8 percent from the field and hit 14 of 35 from 3-point territory (40.0 percent). The Cowboys entered the game leading the conference in made threes with a 9.2 norm. Alexander Aka Gorski added 14 points and six assists while Justin James chipped in with 14 points and Jason McManamen added 11 points and six assists. The Cowboys assisted on 21 of 28 field goals.
Air Force was led by Frank Toohey, who scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Ryan Manning came off the bench to add 10 points and four rebounds. Dane Norman added eight points and a career-best seven rebounds.
Air Force shot just 35.6 percent from the field, including a 31.8 clip from 3-point territory on seven of 22 shooting. The Falcons entered the game ninth in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage at just under 42 percent. Air Force out-rebounded Wyoming, 45-44, and had just 13 turnovers.
FALCONS IN THE MW
Air Force leads the conference and ranks ninth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at 41.0 percent. The Falcons are second in 3-pointers made per game with an 8.9 mark.
The Falcons lead the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4) and are third in scoring offense (78.2), third in free throw percentage (74.0) and second in assists (15.6).
FREE THROWS
Air Force is shooting 74.0 percent from the free throw line this season which is third in the Mountain West. The mark is the best at Air Force since 2007 when the team hit 75.5. Air Force has hit 80 percent or better five times. Air Force hit 81.8 percent (28-32) vs. Missouri State. The team hit 13 of its final 14 in the final four and one-half minutes to help secure a win. The Falcons hit 70.4 percent against UC Davis, but hit 10-11 (90.9 percent) in the second half to secure the win, including 4-4 in the final three minutes. Air Force has made just 10 less free throws (242) then its opponents have attempted (252).
