Air Force has great start, gets easy win against Johnson & Wales

Give Air Force credit: the Falcons made sure Tuesday’s game against an overmatched Johnson & Wales team was never competitive.

Mike Fitzgerald opened the game by hitting a 3-pointer, starting a barrage that was shocking, no matter the competition. Air Force hit nine of its first 11 3-point attempts, and forced nine turnovers on Johnson & Wales’ first 16 possessions. Johnson & Wales, an NAIA Division II team, didn’t hit its second shot until 9:14 remained in the first half. Air Force led 34-3 before that second Wildcats field goal, and cruised to an 83-53 win at Clune Arena to improve to 8-4.

“We were surprised we were knocking them down the way we were - we were knocking everything in,” said Air Force freshman Kamryn Williams, a Sierra High School graduate who made his first career start. “We came focused. We were ready to play.”

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Air Force had little reason to get excited against Johnson & Wales, which is known primarily for its culinary arts program and came in with a 4-13 record, but the effort from the opening tip was impressive. The Falcons rarely allowed an open shot as they built the huge lead. Almost every Wildcats possession ended with a turnover or a highly contested shot. The Falcons started the game with a 17-0 run. The starters were on the floor to begin the second half as well, and put together an 11-2 run before they were given the rest of the night off.

“I told them, I’m proud of the starters because they focused in, didn’t worry about the opponent, they said, ‘OK, we’re going to come out and show some energy and make shots,’” Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said.

The shooting spree to start the game would have been impressive in an empty gym. Six players hit at least one 3-pointer. In the first 12 minutes, Air Force had 40 points.

Air Force played backups most of the game, which was a nice break considering guard Michael Lyons was out with an ankle injury and Taylor Broekhuis played limited minutes because of a sprained foot. Air Force used 15 players in the first half. Air Force had four players set career highs in points – Justin Hammonds (10), DeLovell Earls (7), Max Yon (9) and Chase Kammerer (10), a sophomore who had two career points before Tuesday.

“Anytime I can get in is a payoff for all the hard work,” Kammerer said.

Contact Frank Schwab: 476-4891

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