Air Force Unable To Complete Rally Against South Dakota in Rapid City

RAPID CITY, SD - Air Force men's basketball (3-6) fell to South Dakota (5-3), 80-63, in a non-conference neutral site game Saturday afternoon at Summit Arena at The Monument. Forward Caleb Walker scored 21 points to lead the Falcons and guard Kam Sanders set a new school free throw record with 15 points.

Down by as many as 20 points in the second half, the Falcons got the game down to one point with 11 minutes to play. Air Force trailed 41-21 at the 18:36 mark in the second half. A 15-0 run pulled the Falcons to one point at 48-47 with 11:19 to play.

South Dakota was able to withstand the furious Falcon rally, as they pulled away with a 8-0 run to go up double-digits at the 6:28 mark.

The Coyotes out-rebounded Air Force 43-22 and held the Falcons to just one made three on the day. Guard Isaac Bruns led USD with with 22 points.

Walker tied his career-high for points, going 10-for-17 from the field. Sanders scored all of his points by going 15-for-15 from the free throw line to set a new school record for most consecutive free throws in a game. He surpassed the record of 13-for-13 by Bob Beckel in 1958. The 15 free throws also tied the Mountain West freshman record for most free throws made in a game. Sanders also finished with three steaks, three rebounds and three assists.

Forward Lucas Hobin scored 12 points for the Falcons, going 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Forward Eli Robinson led the Falcons with five rebounds and guard AJ Patterson tied for the team-lead with three assists.

South Dakota took a 37-21 lead at halftime, aided by a big run and a 29-12 advantage in rebounding. After the Falcons scored the opening basket, the Coyotes ran off a 16-0 run to take a commanding double-digit lead. The Falcons shot just 30 percent from the field and went 0-for-5 from three in the opening half.

Air Force shot 41 percent from the field. The Falcon set season-high's for free throws made and attempted, going 26-for-35 from the line. The Falcons also had nine steals, which was one shy of a season high.

Air Force returns to action Wednesday, Dec. 3, hosting Pacific. Tipoff is 7 pm MT and the game will be on the MW Network.

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