AFA out of MWC, but will host postseason tourney game

LAS VEGAS • Air Force’s stay in the Mountain West Conference Tournament was short, but at least the Falcons have a postseason tournament berth to fall back on.

Hours before UNLV beat the Falcons 69-53 in a Mountain West Tournament quarterfinal game Thursday at Thomas and Mack Center, Air Force agreed to host a CollegeInsider.com Tournament game Tuesday at Clune Arena. If the Falcons win they will host another game two days later.

The Falcons, who fell to 15-15, don’t go into that postseason berth with much momentum.

Against UNLV they didn’t score for the first 5:39, and it didn’t get much better from there. UNLV hit 13-of-23 shots in the first half against Air Force’s listless defense. The Falcons pulled within eight points at one point in the second half, but couldn’t close the gap further. Michael Lyons, Derek Brooks and Evan Washington each scored 10 points for Air Force.

Air Force will have to regroup before its next game, which will be the sixth postseason appearance in school history. The Falcons were considering offers from the College Basketball Invitational and the CollegeInsider.com event.

“The opportunity to play postseason basketball is one I’m going to jump at,” athletic director Hans Mueh said.

Air Force will pay $31,000 per game to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, but will keep all revenue from those games. The Falcons haven’t been to a postseason tournament since 2007.