Falcons Win Second Straight In 77-63 Victory Over SIUE at Air Force Classic

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - Air Force men's basketball (2-4) rolled to a 77-63 win over SIUE (3-3) in opening day action at the Air Force Classic MTE Friday night at Clune Arena. The Falcons have now won two in a row.

The Falcons had five players in double-figures scoring, led by forwards Eli Robinson and Caleb Walker. Robinson notched his first-career double-double with a career-high 17 points to go with 10 rebounds. Walker scored 16 points, to go with nine rebounds and three blocked shots.

Ring Malith led SIUE with 17 points.

Air Force led for nearly the entire game, allowing SIUE to take one lead at 3-2 at the 17:48 mark in the first half. The Falcons quickly re-took the lead and never trailed again. Air Force led by as many as 12 in the first half, taking a 36-27 lead into halftime.

The Cougars clawed their way back into the game, getting to within two points at 40-38 at the 16:11 mark. Air Force responded later with a 12-0 run to go up 55-40 with 8:23 to play. The Falcons led by doubles digits the rest of the way.

Lucas Hobin added 12 points with four rebounds. Wesley Celichowski and Ethan Greenberg scored 10 points each. Kam Sanders added five assists and AJ Patterson had five rebounds and two steals.

Air Force out-rebounded SIUE 41-33 and led 32-24 in points in the paint. The Falcons took good care of the ball, committing a season-low 10 turnovers. The defense held SIUE to 39 percent shooting and 25 percent from three.

In the first game of the Air Force Classic, Alabama State defeated IU Indy 101-80.

Air Force returns to action Sunday against IU Indy in game two of day two at the Air Force Classic. Alabama State and SIUE play the opening game at 11 am.

Footer

The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the u.s air force of non-u.s. government sites or the information, products, or services contained therein. Although the u.s. air force may or may not use these sites as additional distribution channels for department of defense information, it does not exercise editorial control over all of the information that you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.