Falcons fly high in NIT debut

  • Published
  • By Wayne Amann
  • U. S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNEWS) --  The Air Force Academy Falcons didn't let the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament snub on March 11 sidetrack them in their National Invitation Tournament debut three days later.

In a statistical rarity, all five Air Force starters -- Matt McCraw, Tim Anderson, Jacob Burtschi, Dan Nwaelele and Nick Welch -- scored 13 points to fuel the bluesuiters' 75-51 victory over Austin Peay in the first round of the NIT March 14 before 2,718 raucous fans at Clune Arena and a national television audience on ESPN2.

"We put it (the NCAA exclusion) behind us," Burtschi said. "You can't hang on to the past. We've moved on to a great opportunity in the NIT and we plan on making the best of it."

The win was the Falcons first ever in the post-season and snapped a four game losing streak. Air Force (24-8) tied its all-time high for wins in a season, set in 2006. The Falcons have won 55 of their last 57 games at home, including 31 straight against non-conference opponents.

As the top seed in the NIT's West Region, Air Force looks to extend that streak when it hosts No. 4 seed Georgia of the Southeastern Conference in the second round March 19. The Bulldogs advanced by beating Fresno State, 88-78, March 14.

"Our seniors have so much pride, I knew in my heart they weren't going to let the season end the way it could have," Air Force head coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "We're a very good basketball team when we play the right way. We have something to prove because we are good."

The Falcons trailed 13-7, 5:18 into the game. After Bzdelik called a time out his troops seized the momentum by hitting four straight 3-pointers, including one by McCraw which put Air Force up for good at 19-16.

"They made me look like a good coach, I told them to start making shots," Bzdelik said with a grin. "Our guys responded well."

The three's triggered a 23-6 run the Falcons used to forge a 33-24 halftime lead.

Air Force out-rebounded the Governors 43-33, including a career high eight by Anderson. McCraw tied his career-best with eight.
 
"Give credit to our big men who boxed out their big men which left those balls for us," Said Anderson who also led his club with three steals. "They did all the work."

Although Fernandez Lockett had a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds, the Falcons defense clamped down on Ohio Valley Conference Player of he Year Drake Reed who finished with just seven points. Reed registered double figures in his previous 24 games.

Austin Peay, the OVC regular season champion, saw its season end at 21-12.

McCraw became the 22nd player in Air Force history to surpass 1,000 points in his career. The Lakewood, Calif., native joined fellow seniors Burtschi, Nwaelele and Welch who reached that plateau earlier this season.

"They made a run at us, but once we controlled the pace of the game, we had fun," McCraw said. "Coach (Bzdelik) told us to play with desperate energy because there was no tomorrow."

The Falcons performance made a believer of Governors head coach Dave Loos.

"They really play well together. They're solid defensively. They don't have the size like some of the teams we faced, but I was impressed. They sure didn't look like a team that had problems recently," he said. "We got a good dose of the next level." 

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