Falcons host Boise State in men's basketball
2/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television:.................... ROOT Sports (Drew Goodman, Sed Bonner)
Radio:............................... KVOR AM 740 (Jim Arthur, Matt Pauley)
THE BREAKDOWN
Quick Facts Air Force Boise State
Record:..................... 11-12......................................................... 16-7
Conf. Record:...... 2-8............................................................... 7-3
Streak:........................ W 1............................................................. W 1
Last Game:............. vs. Wyoming (2/2)........................... vs. Utah State (2/2)
Win 70-62 Win 70-67
Next Game:........... at Nevada (2/10).............................. at Colorado State (2/10)
Conference:.......... Mountain West................................. Mountain West
Nickname:............. Falcons..................................................... Broncos
Location:................. Colorado Springs, CO.................. Boise, ID
Website:................... GoAirForceFalcons.com.............. BroncoSports.com
THE COACHES
Head Coach:......... Dave Pilipovich................................. Leon Rice
Alma Mater:......... Thiel College, 1986........................ Washington State, 1986
School Record:... 57-67 (4th season).......................... 119-74 (6th season)
Career Record:.... Same......................................................... Same
THE SERIES
Overall:..................... Boise State leads, 7-3
First Meeting:..... Dec. 27, 1991 at Boise State (Boise State, 77-68)
Last Meeting:...... Mar. 12, 2015 at MW Tournament (Boise State, 80-68)
Streaks...................... Boise State W 3
THE SERIES
Air Force and Boise State are meeting for the 11th time overall and 10th time as conference foes. Boise State leads the overall series, 7-3, and has a 6-3 mark in conference games. Air Force is 2-2 at home, 1-4 in Boise and 0-1 in neutral site games. Boise State swept three games against Air Force last season. The Broncos beat Air Force, 80-68, in the second round of the conference championships. Boise State defeated Air Force, 77-68, at the Academy and 67-42 in Boise. The teams first played in the Albertson's Classic in Boise on Dec. 27, 1991 resulting in a Boise State victory, 77-68.
THE LAST MEETING
3/12/16 (MW Tournament) - Boise State forward Nick Duncan scored 23 points in No. 25 Boise State's 80-68 quarterfinal victory over Air Force in the Mountain West tournament.
It was his third impressive performance against the Falcons. He was a combined 8 of 14 from the field - 8 of 13 from long range - in two regular-season meetings.
The top-seeded Broncos (25-7) used a 13-6 run over the final five minutes to pull away for the win.
Up 32-28 at halftime, Boise State raced to a 45-30 lead after limiting the Falcons to one field goal over the first 3 1/2 minutes. Air Force's Marek Olesinski hit two consecutive 3-pointers within 40 seconds to cut Boise State's lead to single-digits, but Duncan answered with a pair of 3s to push the Broncos' lead to 53-41 with 13:25 left.
Derrick Marks added 13 points for the Broncos, and Igor Hadziomerovic and Rob Heyer had 11 apiece.
Olesinski led Air Force (14-17) with 14 points. Zach Kocur and Hayden Graham each had 13, and Trevor Lyons added 10.
THE LAST TIME AT USAFA
1/24/15 - Marek Olesinski led Air Force with 24 points and 10 rebounds, but the Falcons lost to Boise State 77-68 in a close contest at the Academy.
The Falcons held a 31-30 lead at intermission. Boise State pulled ahead on Derrick Marks' 3-pointer - the first shot of the second half - and never trailed again, although the final 20 minutes saw five ties and no more than a single-digit lead.
Boise State shot almost 58 percent from the floor, and 14 of 22 on 3-pointers.
Marks scored 28 points and Nick Duncan added a career-high 20 to lead Boise State.
Marks shot 4 of 5 from 3-point range and had six assists. Duncan finished 6 of 8, all from beyond the arc for the Broncos, and James Webb III added 10 points and five steals.
AIR FORCE'S LAST GAME
Hayden Graham scored 23 points to lead four Falcons in double figures as Air Force defeated Wyoming, 70-62, Tuesday night in a Mountain West game in Clune Arena. The victory ended an eight-game losing streak for the Falcons.
Graham ignited the crowd and gave the Falcons much-needed momentum with a half-court shot as time expired in the first half to cut the Wyoming lead to 36-29. The Falcons opened the second half with a 9-1 run to take their first lead since early in the first half, 38-37, with 17:33 remaining. Wyoming answered with a 9-3 spurt to take a 48-41 lead with 11:54 left to play. Air Force battled back to tie the game at 54-all with 7:08 remaining, then used a 9-0 run to take its biggest lead, 63-54, with 3:12 remaining. The Falcons hit seven of 10 free throws in the final two minutes to secure the win.
Frank Toohey, who started for the first time in his career, had 13 points and six rebounds. C.J. Siples added 13 points, four rebounds, three assist, two steals and no turnovers in 36 minutes starting for the injured Trevor Lyons. Zach Moer added 11 points in 10 minutes and Zach Kocur chipped in with six points and six rebounds.
The Falcons shot 52.3 percent from the field to improve to 5-1 this season when out-shooting an opponent. The Falcons also improved to 7-1 when out-rebounding an opponent, holding a 29-28 advantage over the Cowboys. Air Force had just 10 turnovers while forcing 13 and held Wyoming to just 42.6 percent shooting, including 28.6 percent in the second half.
Wyoming was led by Josh Adams, who scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Jason McManamen added 17 points while Alan Herndon chipped in with 11.
AIR FORCE IS.....
- 6-1 when leading at the half
- 8-1 when leading with 10:00 left
- 8-1 when leading with 5:00 left
- 7-1 when out-rebounding opponent
- 7-4 when out-shooting opponent
- 9-2 when holding opponents under 70 points
The Falcons accomplished four of the six in Tuesday night's 70-62 win over Wyoming in Clune Arena.
7-3 IN CLOSE GAMES
Air Force is 7-3 overall in games decided by eight 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. Air Force defeated Wyoming, 70-62, Feb. 2 in Clune Arena.
FREE THROW SHOOTING UP AND DOWN
Air Force is shooting 67.8 percent from the free throw line this season.
The Falcons have hit over 80 percent six times while shooting under a 60 percent six times.
Air Force hit a season-high 85.0 percent (17-20) at San Jose State Jan. 30. The Falcons hit just 62.2 percent (23-37) percent the previous two games. Air Force shot just 66.7 percent against Wyoming Tuesday, but hit 11 of the last 14, including 7-10 in the final two minutes.
TEN LINEUPS
Air Force has used 10 different starting lineups this season. Six Falcons have made the first start of their careers this season: Zach Moer, Joe Tuss, Kyle Broekhuis, Jacob Van, Pervis Louder and Frank Toohey. Zach Kocur is hte lone Falcon to start every game. Trevor Lyons and Hayden Graham have started all 22 games they have played this season, but each missed one game due to injury.
FALCONS DEFENSE IMPROVED
Air Force has held 20 of 23 opponents under 50 percent shooting this season. Colorado (52.1), UNLV (50.0) and New Mexico (63.0) are the only opponents to hit 50 percent or better.
Air Force has allowed only five opponents (Colorado, Army, UNLV, Colorado State, New Mexico) to shoot 40 percent or better from 3-point range this season. Air Force held Wyoming to 42.6 percent overall and 36.0 percent from 3-point territory Tuesday.
LYONS OUT INDEFINETELY
Sophomore guard Trevor Lyons is out indefinitely due to injury. He missed Air Force's game Tuesday vs. Wyoming, his first missed game of the season.
Lyons leads the team in assists (2.8) and steals (1.4) and is second in scoring (12.7).
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 ninth in the MW in scoring (14.8) and 10th in rebounding (6.2). He is also second in field goal percentage (50.6) and second in minutes played (35.8).
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. Graham led the Falcons with 23 points, five assists and two steals vs. Wyoming on Tuesday. He hit 9-14 field goals, including a half-court shot to end the first half.
LOUDER STEPS UP
Freshman Pervis Louder has stepped up recently. Louder is averaging 7.1 points and 20.5 minutes the last seven games. He has hit 41.7 percent (15-36) from the field and 45.5 percent (5-11) from 3-point range. Louder made his second-career start in the Wyoming game Tuesday, going scoreless with two rebounds in 19 minutes. He started for the first time in his career against Fresno State and 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 and 10 points in 14 minutes and hit 2-2 threes at Utah State.
TOOHEY STARTS, CONTINUES FINE PLAY
Sophomore Frank Toohey has averaged 15.0 points and 6.5 rebounds the last two games. He has hit 64.3 percent (9-14) from the field, 50.0 percent (1-2) from 3-point territory and 78.6 percent (11-14) from the three throw line.
Toohey recorded career highs of 17 points, seven rebounds and 29 minutes at San Jose State Jan. 30. Toohey led the Falcons in scoring for the first time in his career and in rebounding for the second time. He hit five of nine field goals, including a 3-pointer, and all six of his free throws. Five of his seven rebounds were offensive. Toohey made the first start of his career Tuesday against Wyoming and responded with 13 points and six rebounds to record back-to-back double figure scoring games for the first time in his career. He was second in scoring and tied for the team-lead in rebounds.
