Bombs did not materialize in San Diego -- off the court or on it.

Two hours before the start of the first round of games March 16 in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament there, bomb-sniffing dogs found a suspicious package in Cox Arena, necessitating an evacuation of the building and a subsequent delay in the day’s games.

When Air Force finally tipped off against Illinois, the bomb many of the so-called hoop experts thought the Falcons would drop, didn’t show up either.

Air Force lost to heavily favored Illinois, 78-69, in the first meeting between the two schools. But, if there is such a thing as a moral victory in defeat, it was the Falcons’ season finale against last year’s championship runners up.

The bluesuiters gave up height, depth, quickness and a gym full of post-season tournament experience (26 NCAA appearances to four) to the Fighting Illini. Air Force, however, never gave up on itself.

The 13th-seeded Falcons kept the fourth-seed from the Big Ten Conference in their sights most of the game. A steal and driving lay up by junior forward Jacob Burtschi had Air Force nipping at Illinois’ heels, 39-38, with 16:19 left in the second half.

But the Illini reeled off a 6-0 run in the next 49 seconds to keep Air Force head coach Jeff Bzdelik’s crew at arms length.

“We simply could not get enough stops,” Coach Bzdelik said. “When we did, we couldn’t culminate it with a defensive rebound.”

Illinois out-rebounded the Falcons, 28-15. Seven were offensive boards.

Air Force kept the outcome in doubt most of the way -- thanks to its three-point shooting.

The last lead the Falcons enjoyed was 11-9, courtesy of a Burtschi 3-pointer with 12:02 remaining in the first half.

Air Force set a Cox Arena NCAA Tournament record for three-point field goals made (13) and attempted (28). Junior guard Matt McCraw led the way going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc.

Meanwhile, Jamar Smith stole the long-range shooting show, and basically the game, for Illinois. The 6-foot 3-inch freshman guard came off the bench and torched the country’s no. 1-ranked Falcons’ defense for six 3-pointers in nine attempts, en route to a game-high 20 points. That tied an NCAA Tournament school record for three-point field goals made.

Smith and fellow reserve, junior forward Warren Carter, combined for 32 points on 13-for-18 from the floor.

“We did our best to shut down their power (seniors James Augutine, 10 points, and Dee Brown, eight points), but their younger guys came up big,” Burtschi said. “That’s what team with stars like that do.”

“Smith and Carter terrorized us,” said Falcon senior guard Antoine Hood who scored a team-high 17 points and dished out six assists in his final game at Air Force.

Burtschi, McCraw and junior forward Dan Nwaelele each scored for 13 points, while center John Frye added eight. The Falcons shot 51 percent from the floor (21-for-41 against the No. 1 rated defense in the Big Ten.

That was negated by Illinois shooting a season-high 58 percent (29-for-50), including 64 percent (16-for-25) in the second half.

“They have a lot of weapons,” Bzdelik said. “We tried to limit them, but their fire power off the bench broke our backs. When we scouted them, three other Big Ten teams told us Illinois was the team they feared the most. By far, they’re the best team we played all year long.”

Reflecting on the Falcons record-setting 24-7 campaign, Bzdelik said he told his players that while losing hurts, they should think about all the good things that happened this year.

“All the credit goes to the players,” the first-year Falcon coach said. “They kept battling, staying within our game. They were very resilient, coachable, dedicated and passionate. I love them. They’re great.”