Air Force beats TCU, snaps 20-game conference road losing streak

FORT WORTH, TEXAS • During pregame warmups at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, a sign was hung behind the Air Force bench. It was presumably done by a TCU fan because part of it was written in purple, and it read: “Days since Air Force won a conference game on the road: 1,102.”

That punchline is no longer valid. Air Force won its first conference road game since 2008, snapping a 20-game losing streak, beating the Horned Frogs 66-65 in overtime after TCU missed a wide open layup at the buzzer.

The sign was removed before the game started. As far as Air Force is concerned, it might as well be burned too.

“We saw that — we never thought it was that many, but it’s good to get it back to zero,” Falcons guard Taylor Stewart said. 

Air Force improved 12-8 and 3-4 in the Mountain West Conference, and TCU is 10-13 and 1-7.

Air Force’s performance wasn’t pretty. The Horned Frogs had plenty of chances to win, including a missed free throw with 5 seconds left in regulation and Greg Hill’s missed layup at the end of overtime. The Falcons missed all four of their free-throw attempts in overtime, and the game-winning points came on a goaltending call against the Horned Frogs.

But after a couple years of heartache and heartbreak, the Falcons weren’t apologizing.

“For two years we hadn’t won any of those games,” coach Jeff Reynolds said. “It was great to be on the other side of it.”

The Falcons had a few players come up with huge plays when it looked like the Horned Frogs were going to pull away in the second half, but Derek Brooks stood the tallest. He hit 6-of-8 shots, including three 3-pointers, and had career bests with 18 points and five assists. His biggest points came with 55 seconds left, when he cut TCU’s lead to one point with a 3-point shot.

After Brooks’ 3-pointer, TCU missed a shot. On the other end, Stewart had a clear path through the lane after a great pass by Michael Lyons. His layup was blocked by TCU’s Garlon Green after it hit the glass — a goaltending violation that gave Air Force a one-point lead with 11.8 seconds left.

TCU had two shots to win after that. One was a wild layup attempt that missed the rim, but Brooks stepped out of bounds on the rebound attempt. Hill got a wide-open look off an inbounds play, and the Falcons held their breath as his short shot went up.

“When it rolled out, I was like ‘Yes!’” Brooks said. “I was just waiting for the buzzer to go off, and get out of here.”