Falcons' problems dissected by Frogs

FORT WORTH, Texas • At times during Air Force’s dismal losing streak, the Falcons at least have appeared to be getting better.

Wednesday night at TCU was not one of those times.

Against a reeling Horned Frogs squad that had lost six straight, the Falcons did plenty to beat themselves and fell, 62-50, in front of an announced crowd of 3,519 at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

Air Force, now 9-16 and 0-12 in Mountain West Conference play, made 14 turnovers, missed a handful of layups and, as has become custom of late, had several costly scoring droughts.

Asked if the Falcons took a step back, senior guard Anwar Johnson said, “I think we did, just for the simple fact that we didn’t execute coach’s strategies. It just came to breakdowns, whether it was offensively or defensively.”

Air Force has lost 13 games in a row and 14 of its last 15. The Falcons need to beat Colorado State on Saturday to avoid matching the longest losing streak in program history, which took place during the 1993-94 season.

The Falcons held TCU to 35-percent shooting in the first half and went to halftime with a 23-22 lead. It was the third straight game Air Force led at the half. But for the second straight game the lead was gone seemingly in the blink of an eye.

On the first possession of the second half, TCU junior Zvonko Buljan, who scored 20 points, grabbed eight rebounds and made five steals — all game-highs — took the ball away from Air Force senior Matt Holland and moments later drained a 3-pointer. Holland then missed a 3, and Buljan drained another to put TCU up 28-23.

“I can’t put my finger on it,” Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said of his team’s struggles immediately after halftime.

Air Force stayed close and trailed just 40-37 with 8:10 left after senior Andrew Henke (team-high 13 points) put back his own miss.

But TCU’s Keion Mitchem hit a 3-pointer, Johnson missed a layup and the Horned Frogs scored on their next three possessions to build their lead to 51-37. And a chance for Air Force to halt its skid disappeared.

“I thought we played really hard,” Reynolds said. “We’ve just got to stay the course and keep trying to get better.”