Nov. 11, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Game #1
Air Force Falcons (0-0) vs. Western State Mountaineers (0-0)
Friday, Nov. 13, 2009
8 p.m. at Clune Arena
SITE
Location: USAFA, Colo.
Arena: Clune Arena
Capacity: 5,858
RADIO
Network: Air Force Basketball Network
Flagship: KVOR AM 740, Colo. Spgs.
Other: AM 990 KRKS, Denver
Play-by-play: Jim Arthur
TELEVISION
None
INTERNET
Gametracker: GoAirForceFalcons.com
COACHES
Jeff Reynolds (UNC-Greensboro, 1978)
Air Force: 26-35, Third Season
Overall: 108-69, Seventh Season
Mike Moskowitz (Adams State, 2003)
Western State: 24-31, Third Season
Overall: Same
ALL-TIME SERIES
Overall: Air Force leads 15-1
at USAFA: Air Force leads 12-0
First Game: Jan. 5, 1957
Result: Western St. won 57-41
Last Game: Nov. 14, 2008
Result: Air Force won 70-64
Current Streak: Air Force - 15
Getting Started
This season marks the 54th year of varsity basketball for Air Force. This is Air Force's 11th season in the Mountain West Conference. AFA was a member of the Western Athletic Conference for 19 years before joining the MWC in 1999.
Season Openers
Air Force is 23-30 all-time in season openers. The Falcons are 17-8 at home and 6-22 on the road (including neutral games). Last season, the Falcons opened with a 70-64 victory over Western State at home. Air Force has won its last six season openers and eight home openers.
Falcons Picked 9th in MWC
Air Force was picked ninth in the 2009-10 preseason media poll released at the Mountain West Conference media day in Denver, Colo., on Oct. 6.
School (First Place Votes) -- Pts
1. BYU (23) -- 215
2. San Diego State (1) -- 166
3. UNLV -- 161
4. Utah -- 143
5. New Mexico -- 141
6. Wyoming -- 89
7. TCU -- 82
8. Colorado State -- 58
9. Air Force -- 25
Up Next
The Falcons remain at home for the Reggie Minton Classic next weekend. Air Force will play Dickinson State on Friday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. Northenr Colorado and Texas Southern will meet in the other first-round game at 5:30 p.m.
Still Outstanding at Clune
Despite a disappointing 7-10 record at home last season, the Falcons have been hard to beat at Clune Arena the last six seasons. Since the beginning of the 2003-04 season, Air Force has won 75 of its 91 home games, good for a .824 winning percentage.
In addition, the Falcons have won 35 of their 48 Mountain West Conference games at Clune Arena during that stretch.
Three-Point Streak
Air Force has made a three-point shot in 511 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.
Air Force Top 3 in MWC Last 6 Years
Air Force is ranked third among Mountain West Conference teams for the best overall winning percentage since the beginning of the 2003-04 season. AFA's winning percentage is 62.3 percent, just behind UNLV (66.6%) and BYU (66.4%). Air Force is one of only four teams in the conference to have a winning record in at least five of the last six seasons (UNLV (6); Air Force, BYU, New Mexico (5)).
Team -- Overall Winning Pct. (Last Six Seasons)
UNLV -- 66.6% (130-65)
BYU -- 66.4% (127-64)
Air Force -- 62.3% (116-70)
New Mexico -- 62.1% (118-72)
Utah -- 61.8% (120-74)
San Diego State -- 60.2% (115-76)
Wyoming -- 48.1% (88-95)
TCU** -- 43.0% (80-106)
Colorado State -- 40.3% (73-108)
** Joined MWC prior to 2005-06 season
2009-10 Season Preview
You can't blame Air Force head coach Jeff Reynolds for wanting to start the 2009-10 season as soon as possible. Combining the significant progress his team made during the second half of last season with a nucleus of returning players that worked extremely hard in the offseason, Reynolds is more than ready for the challenges of a new season.
He knows his team will be very, very young this year, but is excited about the enthusiasm and potential these Falcons have shown since school began in August.
One of Reynolds' main challenges will be to replace the three leading scorers from a year ago. Andrew Henke, Anwar Johnson and Matt Holland, the only three Falcons that averaged double-figure scoring last season, are gone. Henke and Holland left as the No. 3 and 4 career three-point percentage shooters in program history, respectively, while Johnson finished second in scoring and led the team in assists last year.
Leading the way among the senior class this year is Grant Parker, a 6-8 forward. Parker appeared in all 31 games last season and started four of them. He had a career game in Salt Lake City against Utah, scoring 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor. He made four of his five 3-point attempts against the Utes, helping him to an impressive 48.3 shooting percentage (24-of-50) from behind the arc for the season, the third-highest single-season percentage in school history with at least 50 attempts. Parker finished fifth on the team in scoring (6.0 ppg) and rebounding (2.7 rpg).
Two other seniors that will battle for high amounts of playing time are Mike McLain and Avery Merriex. McLain, a 6-8 center, played in 28 of AFA's 31 games and started the first 16 of the campaign. He averaged 0.9 points and 1.3 rebounds per game and scored a career-high six points in a 71-50 pasting of Texas-Pan American.
Merriex, meanwhile, started the two games Air Force played at the '09 MWC Championships and played in 26 during the season. He posted career-highs of nine points and three rebounds in last year's season-opener against Western State.
Fellow senior Saj El-Amin will rejoin the team following the 2009 football season. El-Amin saw action in 11 games last season.
Junior guard Evan Washington is back after appearing in all 31 games last year as a sophomore, when he led the team in rebounding (4.5 rebounds/game) and finished fourth in scoring (6.8 points/game). His best game as a Falcon came against Colorado State at the MWC Tourney when he scored a career-high 18 points and pulled down a game-high seven rebounds to lead the Falcons to their first-ever victory at the MWC Tournament and first conference tournament win since 1990. Washington started 20 games last season and became the first Falcon to score 200 points in each of his first two seasons since current assistant coach Tom Bellairs in 1999-00 and '00-01.
Fellow juniors Derek Brooks (four games before suffering a season-ending injury) and Tom Fow (two games) return and will be in the mix when the Falcons open the season in mid-November. Four players return for their sophomore season after gaining plenty of experience in the senior-laden Mountain West Conference last year. Swingman Taylor Stewart played in all 31 games and started 10. He became the first Air Force freshman to post a double-double since Bellairs in 2000 with career-highs of 13 points and 10 boards in his second career game against Cal State Bakersfield. Stewart finished the season averaging 2.9 points and 1.5 rebounds per contest. Joining him for his second season as a Falcon is Sammy Schafer. The 6-11 center appeared in 23 games and started 11 of them. He played very well during the conference season when he started nine games, including his first career start against BYU at Clune Arena when he posted a career-high 12 points on four-of-six shooting from the field and free throw line. Schafer showed himself as a solid passer, finishing fourth on the squad with 19 assists during conference play, including a career-high five at home against Colorado State, one of three games he had with at least three assists.
Guards Shawn Hempsey and Jon Atkins appeared in 16 and 12 games, respectively, in their first season at Air Force. Hempsey started six games down the stretch but was unable to play at the MWC Championships after coming down with the flu. Prior to that, he showed flashes of excellence as the starting point guard, seeming very comfortable running the offense late in the season. Atkins, meanwhile, scored a career-high seven points against Norfolk State and played a career-best 21 minutes at New Mexico, where he dished out a personal-high two assists. Fellow sophomore Scott Stucky will once again miss the entire season after reinjuring the same knee he hurt prior to last season.
If it is possible, this year's recruiting class may enter the Academy with higher potential and expectations than last years. Leading the 10-member class are Zach Bohannon (Marion, Iowa), Taylor Broekhuis (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Mike Fitzgerald (Centerville, Minn.), Todd Fletcher (Lee's Summit, Mo.) and Michael Lyons (Newport News, Va.).
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