Jan. 2, 2009
Game #14
Air Force Falcons (9-4) vs. San Diego State Aztecs (10-3)
Saturday, Jan. 3, 2009
7 p.m. at Clune Arena
Complete Release in PDF Format 
SITE
Location: USAFA, Colo.
Arena: Clune Arena
Capacity: 5,858
RADIO
Network: Air Force Basketball Network
Flagship: KVOR AM 740, Colo. Spgs.
Other: AM 1510 KCKK - Denver
Play-by-play: Jim Arthur
TELEVISION
None
INTERNET
Gametracker: GoAirForceFalcons.com
COACHES
Jeff Reynolds (UNC-Greensboro, 1978)
Air Force: 25-20, Second Season
Overall: 107-52, Sixth Season
Steve Fisher (Illinois State, 1967)
San Diego State: 157-133, 10th Season
Overall: 341-215, 18th Season
ALL-TIME SERIES
Overall: San Diego State leads 40-20
First Game: Dec. 8, 1973
Result: SDSU won 68-67
Last Game: March 13, 2008
Result: SDSU won 53-49
Current Streak: SDSU - 1
Conference Play Begins
Air Force opens its 10th Mountain West Conference campaign on Saturday, Jan. 3 against San Diego State. The Falcons are coming off a 67-64 loss to Stony Brook at home last Wednesday. Air Force went 1-2 against SDSU last season.
Conference Openers
The Falcons are 6-22 all-time in conference openers. They were 2-17 in conference openers in their 19 years in the Western Athletic Conference, with the two victories coming against San Diego State (86-75) in 1986-87 and Colorado State (69-58) in 1992-93.
Air Force is 4-5 in conference openers since the Mountain West Conference began play in 1999. The Falcons had won four straight conference openers before falling at Utah, 58-36, last season.
Johnson Stays Hot
Senior Anwar Johnson scored a career-high 25 points in the Falcons loss to Stony Brook on Wednesday. He was 6-of-8 from the field and 13-of-17 from the free-throw line. His FTM and FTA were the most by a Falcon in one game since Lamoni Yazzie went 15-of-17 against Liberty on Dec. 22, 2001. Johnson has scored in double figures in 12 of AFA's 13 games this season, including each of the last nine, and has 20 or more points in three of those games.
Up Next
The Falcons are idle for a week until playing New Mexico on Saturday, Jan. 10 in Albuquerque. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be nationally televised on The Mtn.
Golden Bear Classic Recap
Air Force split a pair of games and captured third place at the Golden Bear Classic, hosted by the University of California, last weekend. The Falcons dropped a 43-42 decision to Portland in the first round, then rebounded to defeat Dartmouth in the third-place game, 63-41. Senior Anwar Johnson was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 12 points and four rebounds in the two games.
Here are the results for the Golden Bear Classic:
Saturday, Dec. 27
California 98, Dartmouth 62
Portland 43, Air Force 42
Sunday, Dec. 28
Air Force 63, Dartmouth 41 (Third-Place Game)
California 81, Portland 61 (Championship Game)
Most Valuable Player
Jerome Randle, Cal
All-Tournament Team
Jamal Boykin, Cal
Theo Robertson, Cal
Luke Sikma, Portland
T.J. Campbell, Portland
Anwar Johnson, Air Force
Falcons No. 3 in Country in Shooting the 3-Ball
Air Force is currently ranked No. 3 in the nation in three-point percentage at 43.3 percent. California leads the country at 50.6 percent and Arizona is No. 2 at 43.5 percent
Nearly Unbeatable at Clune
Despite their loss to Stony Brook on Wednesday, the Falcons have been close to unbeatable at Clune Arena the last five-plus seasons. Since the beginning of the 2003-04 season, Air Force has won 75 of its 83 home games, including 40 of its 43 non-conference games.
In addition, the Falcons have won 35 of their 40 Mountain West Conference games at Clune Arena during that stretch.
Three-Point Streak
Air Force has
made a three-point shot in 493 consecutive games. The last time the Falcons failed to make a three-pointer was Dec. 4, 1991 in a 57-51 victory over Adams State College. The streak is the third-longest in the MWC behind UNLV (720) and New Mexico (595).
Falcons Picked 7th in MWC
Air Force was picked seventh in the 2008-09 preseason media poll released at the Mountain West Conference media day in Las Vegas, Nev., on Oct. 14.
School (First Place Votes) -- Pts
1. UNLV (16) -- 206
2. BYU (5) -- 181
3. San Diego State (3) -- 170
4. Utah -- 148
5. New Mexico -- 132
6. Wyoming -- 75
7. Air Force -- 66
8. Colorado State -- 53
9. TCU -- 49
Stewart Makes Immediate Impact
Freshman Taylor Stewart became the first Air Force freshman to record a double-double since 2000 when he scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against CSU Bakersfield on Nov. 16. Tom Bellairs was the last freshman to have a double-double in his first season at Air Force and he had eight of them during the 1999-2000 campaign.
Stewart is also the first Falcon freshman to score in double figures in his first three collegiate games since David Schuck during the 1997-98 campaign.
Henke No. 3 All-Time in Three-Point Pct.
Senior Andrew Henke is No. 3 on Air Force's career list for three-point percentage at 43.3 percent. He is 32-of-64 (50%) this season, which is tied for the Mountain West Conference lead.
Air Force 2nd in MWC Last 5 Years
Air Force has the second-best regular-season MWC record since the beginning of the 2003-04 MWC schedule. AFA's conference regular season record is 51-25, one game behind BYU (52-24). Air Force is one of only two teams with a .500 record or better in MWC play each of the last five seasons.
Team -- MWC Regular Season Records (Last Five Seasons)
BYU -- 52-24 (10-4; 3-11; 12-4, 13-3; 14-2)
Air Force -- 51-25 (12-2; 9-5; 12-4, 10-6; 8-8)
UNLV -- 48-28 (7-7; 7-7; 10-6, 12-4; 12-4)
Utah -- 41-35 (9-5; 13-1; 6-10, 6-10; 7-9)
San Diego State -- 41-35 (5-9; 4-10; 13-3, 10-6; 9-7)
New Mexico -- 38-38 (5-9; 10-4; 8-8, 4-12; 11-5)
Wyoming -- 28-48 (4-10; 7-7; 5-11, 7-9; 5-11)
Colorado State -- 17-59 (4-10; 3-11; 4-12, 6-10; 0-16)
TCU** -- 12-36 (2-14; 4-12; 6-10)
** Joined MWC prior to 2005-06 season
Reynolds Captures 100th Career Win
Jeff Reynolds won his 100th career game as a head coach earlier this season. The Falcons' victory over CSU Bakersfield on Nov. 16 was his 18th at Air Force. He won 21 games in his only season as head coach at North Carolina Wesleyan, then won 61 in three years at Wingate College.
Seniors Dominate Against Northern Illinois
The Falcons' three seniors, Andrew Henke, Anwar Johnson and Matt Holland, combined for 54 of Air Force's 67 points on Dec. 3 against Northern Illinois. They also combined for 10 rebounds and nine assists.
For the season, the trio is averaging 38.7 points and 12 rebounds per contest. Johnson has scored in double figures in 12 of 13 games this season, while Henke has in 10 of 13. Holland has scored 10 or more points in seven of 13 games.
Parker Playing Solid
Junior Grant Parker is making the most of his playing time this season. After playing in just 14 games his first two seasons at Air Force, he has appeared in all 13 this season and is averaging 6.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest. He is third on the team in rebounding.
Parker scored a career-high 15 points against Wofford on Nov. 23 and grabbed a career-best nine rebounds against CSU Bakersfield and Northern Illinois.
