AFA men survive hoops test at Northern Colorado
GREELEY • For much of Saturday night's game against Northern Colorado, Air Force was careless with the basketball and out of sync.
But the Falcons pulled it together in the second half, were efficient late and emerged with a 71-64 victory at Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion.
Air Force made 17 turnovers and the Bears grabbed 16 offensive rebounds. But after falling behind 52-50 with just less than 7 minutes to play, the Falcons got points on 14 straight possessions and grabbed some key boards to win their third straight game and improve to 6-2. Northern Colorado fell to 2-4.
"I thought early on with it being the second road game of the year, I think we had some jitters," coach Jeff Reynolds said. "We knew they were going to get into us and pressure us. I think it just took us awhile to get into our rhythm."
Senior guard/forward Andrew Henke led the way for Air Force with a game- and career-high 23 points. Henke scored or assisted on four of the team's last five baskets, including the last three.
He hit a 3-pointer with 3:52 to play that provided a 58-55 lead. Then, after a Northern Colorado bucket, he drove and dished the ball to Anwar Johnson for a layup and a 60-57 advantage. Northern Colorado got back within one, but Henke hit the front end of a one-and-one opportunity and then - after the Falcons got a stop - he threaded a pass to junior Grant Parker in the post. Parker, whose defender was screened, rolled to the hoop and scored to give Air Force a 63-59 lead with 1:22 to play.
"Every time they had a big bucket or an and-one, we came right back down the floor and scored and kind of dissipated the energy that was in the building," Henke said.
Johnson matched his career high with 20 points by making 8 of 10 shots from the floor - part of an outstanding shooting performance by the Falcons. Air Force went 23 for 36 from the field, and its 63.9 shooting percentage was its best in a road game since its victory at Texas-Pan American on Dec. 3, 2005.
The Falcons' sharp shooting helped offset a huge disparity in shots. Northern Colorado, thanks in large part to its work on the offensive glass, took 56 shots - 20 more than Air Force. But the Bears made only 25.
Down 30-25 at the half, Air Force scored on three of its first four second-half possessions to forge a tie at 35. The game was back and forth from there, but the Falcons made enough plays late.
"If our bench statistics are right, we got two stops in the last 8 minutes," Northern Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. "You're not going to beat anybody getting two stops in the last 8 minutes of a game."
