AFA: Stewart showing daily progress

With less than 10 seconds to play in the first half of Tuesday's game at Wyoming, Air Force freshman Taylor Stewart drove into the lane and tossed in a runner to give the Falcons a one-point lead.

The drive displayed Stewart's quick first step and feathery touch. But more important was the manner in which the 6-foot-5 forward executed it - with authority and clear purpose.

"Taylor has times when he's indecisive, and when you're indecisive that causes you to be slower and be thinking apprehensively about what you want to do," coach Jeff Reynolds said. "When he's decisive, he just plays."

Stewart was decisive against the Cowboys with another strong drive to the hoop and a basket off a hard cut in the first half. He finished with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting to snap a four-game scoreless streak, and he added a pair of assists in 17 minutes - his most in a game since nonconference play.

"I thought he was really aggressive," senior forward Matt Holland said of Stewart. "He was in control, and he played smart. At the same time he did a good job of asserting himself."

Stewart will need to continue to assert himself and give the Falcons a much-needed additional scoring option if they are to break through with a victory in the Mountain West Conference. Air Force has lost seven straight games, including six in league play, heading into this afternoon's game at Clune Arena against UNLV. The Runnin' Rebels are 16-4 and tied for the MWC lead at 4-2.

Stewart, who plays the most of any Air Force reserve (15.4 minutes per game), looked as if he'd be one of the team's top scoring options after hitting double figures in each of the first three games. But he averaged just two points in the next 15 games and scored three points total in conference play before Wyoming. Stewart admitted he might have hit "the wall" that many freshmen often meet.

"I think he's played very similar to how I'd say 80 percent of freshmen play, and that's up and down," Reynolds said. "Hopefully now he's on an up-turn and playing with a little bit of confidence."

Stewart said he thinks he got back into the flow of the game against Wyoming and that "the whole team did" as well.

"I think each conference game we take a step," Stewart said. "If we just keep improving each game, I could see us winning multiple conference games."

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Contact the Writer: 636-0365 or jake.schaller@gazette.com. Check out our Air Force blog at gazetteafasports.freedomblogging.com

TODAY

UNLV at Air Force, 2 p.m., The mtn., 740 AM