Jan. 4, 2011
Game Notes in PDF Format 
Game #14
Air Force Falcons (9-4, 0-0 MWC) vs. Utah Utes (7-7, 0-0 MWC)
Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011
8 p.m. at Clune Arena (The Mtn.)
SITE
Location USAFA, Colo.
Arena Clune Arena
Capacity 5,858
RADIO
Network Air Force Basketball Network
Station AM 740 KVOR, Colo. Spgs.
Play-by-Play Jim Arthur
Analyst Matt Pauley
TELEVISION
Network The Mtn.
Play-by-Play Ari Wolfe
Analyst Marty Fletcher
INTERNET
Gametracker GoAirForceFalcons.com
COACHES
Jeff Reynolds (UNC-Greensboro, 1978)
Air Force 45-60, Fourth Season
Overall 126-94, Eighth Season
Jim Boylen (Maine, 1987)
Utah 63-49, Fourth Season
Overall Same
ALL-TIME SERIES
Overall Utah leads 49-12
At USAFA Utah leads 19-9
First Game Dec. 23, 1965
Result Utah won 108-57
Last Game Feb. 24, 2010
Result Utah won 54-43
Current Streak Utah - 6
Falcons Open MWC Play at Home Against Utah
The Air Force Falcons (9-4) open their 12th Mountain West Conference campaign on Wednesday, Jan. 5 against the Utah Utes (7-7) at Clune Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. (MT). The game will be broadcast locally on AM 740 KVOR and televised nationally by The Mtn. The Falcons are coming off an 81-48 victory over Florida A&M at Clune Arena on Sunday. Utah dropped its final non-conference game last Friday night to Portland, 88-79.
Conference Openers
The Falcons are 6-24 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 4-7 in conference openers since the Mountain West Conference began play in 1999. The Falcons had won four straight conference openers before losing their last three, including a 59-50 defeat at TCU last season.
Air Force's MWC Openers:
Date -- Opponent -- Result
1/15/00 -- UNLV (H) L, 98-73
1/8/01 -- UNLV (A) L, 65-54
1/7/02 -- UNLV (H) L, 66-54
1/11/03 -- San Diego St. (H) L, 63-48
1/12/04 -- Colo. State (A) W, 65-57
1/8/05 -- Colo. State (H) W, 58-53
1/5/06 -- BYU (H) W, 75-59
1/3/07 -- Colo. State (A) W, 81-75
1/5/08 -- Utah (A) L, 58-36
1/3/09 -- San Diego State (H) L, 44-61
1/6/10 -- TCU (A) L, 50-59
Up Next
The Falcons travel to Provo, Utah on Saturday, Jan. 8 to take on the BYU Cougars beginning at 1 p.m. The game will be televised nationally by The Mtn.
Tom Fow Named All-Tourney at Sun Bowl Invite
Senior Tom Fow was named to the all-tournament team at the Sun Bowl Invitational last week after averaging 14 points and four rebounds in AFA's two games.
Here are the Bank of the West Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational results:
Tuesday, Dec. 28
UTEP 87, Western New Mexico 58
Air Force 76, Sam Houston State 65
Wednesday, Dec. 29
Sam Houston State 64, Western New Mexico 48
UTEP 71, Air Force 54
Big Win Against Sam Houston State
Derek Brooks led Air Force with career-highs of 17 points and eight rebounds and the Falcons made their last 13 free throws in a 76-65 victory over Sam Houston State on Dec. 28. Tom Fow added 15 points and Todd Fletcher added 12 for Air Force, which played without two of its top three scorers, center Taylor Broekhuis (concussion) and guard Michael Lyons (knee).
9-4 Ties Fourth-Best Start
Air Force's 9-4 record ties the fourth-best start ever in program history after 13 games. The Falcons have been 12-1 twice in the past (2005-06 and `06-07), 11-2 once (`03-04), 10-3 two times and this is the fifth time at 9-4, most recently during the 2008-09 campaign.
Injuries Are Here Again
After enduring a season full of injuries in 2009-10, the Falcons were hoping for a healthy `10-11 campaign. Unfortunately, it has not started out that way. Freshman Ethan Michael tore his ACL during Basic Cadet Training, then sophomore forward Zach Bohannon tore a ligament in his right hand and underwent surgery on Oct. 28. In addition, freshmen Sean Bowman (knee) and Myles Jerrett (shoulder) underwent surgery recently. Michael and Jerrett are out for the year while Bohannon returned vs. Sam Houston State. Sophomore Taylor Broekhuis missed the team's two games at the Sun Bowl Invitational with a concussion.
Falcons Lead the MWC in Free Throw Shooting
Air Force currently leads the Mountain West Conference in free throw shooting at 72.3 percent. The Falcons have shot 84.9 percent (45-for-53) in their last three games, and made 16 in a row at one point during the Sun Bowl Invitational, including the last 13 straight against Sam Houston State. Air Force's 94.1 percent (16-of-17) shooting from the free throw line against Colorado College on Nov. 17 was the the best single-game percentage since going 16-for-17 against Georgia on March 19, 2007.
Mountain West / Missouri Valley Challenge
The 2010-11 edition of the MWC/MVC Challenge is the second in a four-year agreement between the Mountain West and Missouri Valley Conferences. Nine Challenge games will be played each year, and each conference will host a total of 18 games in the four-year period. Missouri State will be the Valley team that does not participate in the 2010 Challenge Series. The Mountain West won eight of the nine games this season:
Date -- Result
Wednesday, Dec. 1 -- Colorado State 78, Drake 67
Wednesday, Dec. 1 -- BYU 77, Creighton 65
Wednesday, Dec. 1 -- New Mexico 74, Southern Illinois 59
Wednesday, Dec. 1 -- UNLV 82, Illinois State 51
Saturday, Dec. 4 -- Northern Iowa 64, TCU 60
Saturday, Dec. 4 -- Wyoming 81, Indiana State 61
Saturday, Dec. 4 -- Utah 68, Bradley 60
Saturday, Dec. 4 -- San Diego State 83, Wichita State 69
Sunday, Dec. 5 -- Air Force 57, Evansville 56
Super Sophs Solid So Far
Sophomores Michael Lyons, Taylor Broekhuis and Todd Fletcher have produced some impressive numbers in the Falcons' first 13 games. Lyons took over the team lead in scoring (12.6 ppg) after scoring a season-high 24 points on Dec. 18 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He has scored in double figures seven times this season and reached the 20-point mark twice.
Broekhuis, meanwhile, scored a career-high 19 points on Dec. 5 against Evansville and shot 5-for-10 from three-point range. He had made just two career 3-pointers entering the game. Broekhuis is shooting a team-high 59 percent from the field and is third on the team in scoring at 11.7 ppg. He also played a career-high 41 minutes against CC and blocked a personal-best three shots, the most by a Falcon in one game since Matt Holland swatted four against Wyoming on Feb. 28, 2009. Unfortunately, Broekhuis missed both games at the Sun Bowl Invitational due to injury, but returned to the lineup and scored 15 points against Florida A&M.
Fletcher has been just as solid at point guard, dishing out just under three assists per game and scoring a career-high 15 points against Cal State Northridge. He is second on the team with 36 assists.
Fow Still Putting Up Strong Numbers
Despite scoring in double figures just four times in his last eight games, senior Tom Fow is still second on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg) after 13 games. He is shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from three-point range, good for No. 7 in the MWC rankings. Fow, who led or tied for the team lead in scoring in four of AFA's first five games, scored a season-high 22 points on Dec. 2 against CSU Northridge. He also tied his career-high with eight rebounds against Colorado College on Nov. 17.
Stucky Finally Gets His Shot
Junior guard Scott Stucky appeared in his first career game Dec. 8 at Wright State. Stucky, playing just 30 minutes from his hometown of Dublin, Ohio, did not play in either of his first two years after suffering a torn ACL prior to each season. He scored four points at WSU.
First Four-Game Win Streak Since `08
With its 57-56 victory over Evansville on Dec. 5, Air Force had won four consecutive games for the first time since early in the 2008-09 campaign. The Falcons won five straight games from Nov. 30 - Dec. 22, 2008.
Most Assists in Nearly Four Years
The Falcons dished out 24 assists against Tennessee State on Nov. 20, the most by an Air Force team since it had 24 against Norfolk State on Dec. 13, 2006.
Stellar Second Half vs. TSU
Air Force scored 58 points and shot 76 percent (19-of-25) from the field in the second half against Tennessee State on Nov. 20. The 58 points were the most in one half since scoring 58 in the second half vs. Utah on Jan. 16, 2007 and it was the best shooting percentage in one half since shooting 76.5 percent (13-of-17) in the first half against Utah on Jan. 19, 2006.
Still a Great Record at Clune
Including a 7-1 record at home this season, the Falcons have been hard to beat at Clune Arena the last seven seasons. Since the beginning of the 2003-04 season, Air Force has won 90 of its 116 home games, good for a .776 winning percentage.
In addition, the Falcons have won 36 of their 56 Mountain West Conference games at Clune during that same stretch.
Falcons Win Eighth Straight Season Opener
With its 66-53 victory over UCCS at Clune Arena on Nov. 14, Air Force is now 25-30 all-time in season openers. The Falcons are 19-8 at home and 6-22 on the road (including neutral games). Air Force has won its last eight season openers and 10 home openers.
Evan Washington in Search of 1,000
Senior Evan Washington entered the 2010-11 campaign within striking distance of becoming the 23rd player in Air Force history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Washington has 859 career points and is currently tied for 37th on the school's career scoring list with Tyron Wright.
Still Looking for Back-to-Back Road Wins
Air Force was looking for its first consecutive true road wins since 2007 at Wright State on Dec. 8. The Falcons still have not won two straight road games since winning at Colorado State and Wyoming in January of `07.
With their 72-66 victory at Wofford on Nov. 24, the Falcons captured their first true road win in nearly two years. Their last victory on an opponent's court was Dec. 6, 2008, a 71-64 victory over Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo. Air Force, which won four neutral-site games in between, including two last year (Niagara at the Sun Bowl Invitational and Wyoming at the MWC Championships), had lost 18 consecutive true road games before defeating Wofford.
Balanced Attack So Far This Season
Air Force has had five players score in double figures in two games and four in double figures in three others this season. Prior to this season, the last time Air Force had five players in double figures in one game was March 14, 2007 against Austin Peay in the postseason NIT.
Air Force Almost 60 Percent Last 7
Air Force is currently ranked sixth among Mountain West Conference teams for the best overall winning percentage since the beginning of the 2003-04 season. AFA's winning percentage is 58.4 percent. Air Force is one of only five teams in the conference to have a winning record in at least four of the last seven seasons (UNLV (7); BYU, New Mexico (6), San Diego State (5), Air Force (4)).
