Air Force Academy

Jacob Burtschi and Dan Nwaelele each scored 18 points and Burtschi grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds Saturday to lead the Air Force men's basketball team to a 77-42 victory over IPFW at Clune Arena. The Falcons claimed their 10th consecutive victory and are 12-1 entering Mountain West Conference play on Thursday, Jan. 5 vs. BYU.

Burtschi had 12 points and nine rebounds in the first half as the Falcons shot 53.8 percent (14-of-26) to take a 35-27 halftime advantage. Nwaelele added 10 points and Tim Anderson, making his first career start in place of Matt McCraw, who sprained his ankle in practice on Friday, tied his career-high with four assists in the opening 20 minutes. Anderson also finished with five points and a personal-best five rebounds.

Air Force ran away in the second half, outscoring IPFW, 42-15, and holding the Mastodons to 24 percent shooting (6-of-25) in the half. IPFW did not score in the final 4:51 of the game.

Justin Hawkins led the Mastodons (2-11) with 12 points and six rebounds, while Kyle Savely added 11 points and eight rebounds.

Antoine Hood hit double figures for the 11th time in 13 games this season, scoring 12 points, while Andrew Henke added eight points and a career-high four rebounds. As Falcon coach Jeff Bzdelik emptied his bench in the final minutes, Eric Kenzik scored a career-high four points and Adam Hood made the first three-pointer of his career.

The victory marks the Falcons' 25th straight at Clune Arena against non-conference opponents and they are 33-1 in their last 34 home games.

Thursday's game against BYU begins at 9 p.m. at Clune Arena and will be broadcast nationally by ESPN2.