Air Force notes: Bench plays a role in win

Positive vibes from the bench might not seem like much, but Air Force’s players and coaches said that played a role at TCU on Saturday in the Falcons’ first conference road victory since 2008, when it won at Colorado State.

“There was never a kid on the bench that didn’t think we were going to win,” coach Jeff Reynolds said. “Nobody said anything negative. It was incredible to watch the resiliency.”

Reynolds said even after the Falcons missed four free throws in overtime, the bench stayed upbeat. Air Force never led in overtime until its final shot with 11.8 seconds left.

“The guys on the bench kept telling us, ‘Come on,’ ” forward Derek Brooks said. “One through 15, we never gave up.”

Brooks comes up big

Brooks was Air Force’s best player on Saturday, with 18 points and five rebounds. He also had a scary fall with 3.1 seconds left in overtime, when he landed on a TCU player’s foot and twisted his ankle. He waved off the trainers and walked it off, staying in to finish the win.

“I didn’t want to come off the floor,” Brooks said. “And (senior guard) Evan (Washington) told me to suck it up.”

Big play

With 1.7 seconds left in regulation and TCU inbounding the ball, the Falcons gambled a bit. Instead of using their tallest player, Taylor Broekhuis, to defend near the basket, they put Broekhuis on the inbounds passer. Broekhuis made a nice play to bat the pass out of the air, and the game went to overtime.

“We told Taylor, ‘Time it, see if you can get a deflection,’ and he did,” Reynolds said.