Falcons' Mountain West slide ends against Wyoming

Air Force’s Grant Parker and Wyoming’s Boubacar Sylla were tangled up on the court, each with their hands on the basketball.

It was early in the second half of Saturday’s game at Clune Arena, and well after refs had blown their whistles, stopped play and decided to call a jump ball that gave the Cowboys possession.

But Parker wouldn’t let go. And then, just before getting to his feet, he ripped the ball away from the 7-foot-2, 275-pound Sylla.

“I was going to get up with it,” Parker said later. “No matter what.”

The moment captured the collective attitude of an Air Force team desperate for a Mountain West Conference victory. The Falcons weren’t going to let this one slip through their grasp. And they didn’t.

In front of an announced crowd of 3,414, Air Force defeated Wyoming 70-63 to capture its first regular-season MWC contest since March 8, 2008. The victory snapped an MWC-record 22-game losing streak in regular-season league play.

“I kind of have to relate it to winning a championship or something like that,” junior guard Evan Washington said. “Finally getting that monkey off our back.”

While Parker’s refusal to give up the loose ball sent a symbolic message that Air Force would not be denied, Washington did much of the tangible work to make the victory a reality. He scored a career-high 23 points, tied a career-high with seven assists (while committing only one turnover) and grabbed four rebounds.

Washington made 7-of-10 shots from the floor, including 2-of-3 3-point attempts, both of which splashed through the net as the shot clock expired. He also drained 7-of-8 from the free-throw line — including six in a row with less than 90 seconds to play — and accounted for 15 of the team’s final 23 points.

Coach Jeff Reynolds said Washington played “maybe his best overall game of his career here.”

After trailing early, Wyoming (9-12, 2-5) took a 29-26 lead into halftime. The Falcons (10-11, 1-6) seemed to take control when they hit 3-pointers on four straight possessions midway through the second half and then got a jumper from Washington to go up 49-42. Wyoming, however, went on an 8-0 run to retake the lead 50-49 with 5:56 left.

But Washington, and the Falcons, roared back. He hit a jumper and then a 3-pointer with 3:40 left to put the Falcons up 54-50, and they didn’t trail again.