Falcon forwards march over Georgia in NIT

  • Published
  • By Wayne Amann
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNEWS) --  Jacob Burtschi and Dan Nwaelele are determined to graduate as winners.

The Air Force senior forwards combined for 40 points and 16 rebounds to power the Falcons to an 83-52 rout of visiting Georgia in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament, in front of a near-capacity crowd of 5,698 at Clune Arena and a national television audience on ESPNU.

The win moved the bluesuiters within one victory of earning their first-ever berth in the NIT Final Four at New York City's Madison Square Garden March 27 and 29.

Air Force, the West region's top seed, would reach that milestone with a win March 21 at home over the DePaul Blue Demons, 70-65 winners at Kansas State on March 19.

"We're still a little upset finishing the season with a four-game losing streak," Burtschi admitted. "There's nothing wrong with winning the NIT championship. It's not the NCAA (tournament) but as of tonight there are only 24 teams still playing, and we're one of them. None of the seniors want to go out with a home loss."

Burtschi and Nwaelele made sure of that against the Bulldogs.

With fourth-seeded Georgia leading 5-4, two minutes into the game, the forward tandem scored 14 points to fuel a 21-3 Air Force run from which the Southeastern Conference visitors would never recover.

"We wanted to show the country we can play against a team from that conference," said Nwaelele, a First-Team All-Mountain West Conference pick. "We did that by playing with a lot of energy and everybody was feeding off of that."

Burtschi finished with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds while Nwaelele had 19 points and six boards. Fellow starters Nick Welch, Matt McCraw and Tim Anderson each had nine points.

Anderson set the tone by taking the opening tip and driving for a lay up four seconds into the game.

The Falcons shot 56 percent (28-of-50) from the floor, including 11 three-pointers. Burtschi and Nwaelele hit three apiece from beyond the arc and both went 4-for-4 from the free throw line as Air Force connected on 16-of-17 charity tosses.

Defensively the Falcons allowed Georgia (19-14) to shoot just 36 percent, 16-of-44 from the floor. Terrance Woodbury was the lone Bulldog in double figures with 16 points.

"We are getting our swagger back," said Burtschi, a Second-Team All-MWC selection.

The victory gave Air Force 56 wins in its last 58 games at Clune Arena, including 33 straight against non-conference opponents.

The Falcons (25-8) lead the nation with nine wins of at least 30 points this season. Their 25 victories set an Air Force season record.

"Our players deserve all the credit," Air Force head coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "They truly care. I can sleep easy knowing they're always going to give a great effort. We play pretty good basketball here." 

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