Air Force
Falcons

The Falcons lost 67-49 to Colorado State on Feb. 4 for their sixth consecutive loss and coach Jeff Reynolds wasn't around for the end of it after being ejected with 7:11 remaining.

Reynolds didn't miss much except for the end of a downer performance and he didn't shed much light on his ejection.

"I really can't make any comment on that," Reynolds said. "It's against the rules. I'll just say this: I wasn't nonprofessional. I didn't use any cusswords."

The Falcons (11-10, 1-6) were looking good after winning their Mountain West Conference opener at Boise State on Jan. 14. At that point, it seemed only a deep collapse could keep Air Force from recording a winning record.

And that's exactly what has occurred. Air Force has lost four of the six games by double digits and the results have been alarming the last two contests since the Falcons pushed UNLV into overtime before losing on Jan. 28.

Air Force lost to New Mexico by 39 points prior to the 18-point loss to Colorado State.

Reynolds had feared troubles against New Mexico after the emotional loss to the Rebels. But the results against the Rams can only be described as disappointing.

The Falcons need a drastic turnaround to make a .500 season seem realistic. They get the right opponent to start the second half in Boise State, the only Mountain West program faring worse.

The Broncos are 0-7 in conference play and Air Force notched a 15-point victory in Boise.

Air Force suffered its largest home loss ever by falling 81-42 to the Lobos. The previous worst defeat occurred last season when Air Force was lost by 38 points to Jimmer Fredette-led Brigham Young, 90-52.

Making the margin more disappointing was that the collapse occurred just three days after Air Force took UNLV into overtime before falling.

"I really don't have a true explanation," forward Mike Fitzgerald said. "I can tell you that it's very disheartening as a team to get so close to beating a ranked team like UNLV and to come out (against the Lobos) and just not bring it."

--Air Force has allowed 65 or more points in three consecutive games after holding seven of the previous eight opponents below 60.

--The Falcons were outrebounded 42-24 by Colorado State and had just two offensive rebounds.

BY THE NUMBERS: 27.8 -- Air Force's 3-point percentage during Mountain West play.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We really need to learn from these games and we need to start moving on and start winning games. This isn't the team we had. We have a talented team this year. We all want to have a good second half of the season." -- Air Force forward Mike Fitzgerald after the Feb. 4 loss to Colorado State.

--vs. Boise State, Feb. 11

KEY MATCHUPS: The Falcons won at Boise State while leading scorer Michael Lyons was sidelined so a sweep is highly possible. Center Taylor Broekhuis had a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) and hit three 3-pointers in the first meeting. Air Force frustrated the Broncos throughout the game and kept Boise State's offense from ever finding its rhythm.

FUTURES MARKET: Air Force's lack of depth has prompted freshmen Kamryn Williams and Justin Hammonds to handle more responsibility than planned and both players have dealt with inconsistency. When they both struggle in the same game like against Colorado State, the Falcons' chances of winning diminish further. The two freshmen are among just six Air Force players to average double-digit minutes in Mountain West play. Both players are averaging 4.4 points. The bright side is they are getting valuable experience that will pay off later in their respective careers.

PLAYER NOTES

--Junior G Michael Lyons scored 16 points against Colorado State for just his second double-figure outing in six games since missing six games with an ankle injury.

--Junior F Mike Fitzgerald had 15 points against Colorado State for his 13th double-digit performance of the season.

--Sophomore F Chase Kammerer missed the Colorado State game due to a sprained left ankle.

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