Dec. 3, 2005

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The Air Force Academy overcame a late surge by The University of Texas-Pan American men's basketball team during the final 10 minutes of the game to come away with an 81-68 triumph at the UTPA Fieldhouse on Saturday (Dec. 3).

The Falcons found their shooting touch early in the game and kept it through the entire 40 minutes as they shot 66.7 percent (28-42) and didn't miss a shot inside the three-point arc until a missed jumper by Dan Nwaelele at the 14:12 mark in the second half.

That strong shooting performance started for the Falcons right from the get-go as Jacob Burtschi and Matt McCraw each connected on a three-pointer before the first media timeout and gave Air Force an early 10-6 lead with 15:57 remaining in the first half.

The Air Force Academy was able to extend its lead to 10 points at the 7:26 mark when Antoine Hood hit his first of two treys in the game to give the Falcons a 20-10 advantage. The Falcons and Broncs would exchange field goal-for-field goal over the next five minutes until Air Force was able to increase its lead to 15 points on a lay-in by Nwaelele.

Heading into intermission, Air Force doubled up the Broncs by a 36-18 margin and were shooting 63.6 percent (14-22), including 6-14 from behind the three-point arc. The Falcons were a perfect 8-8 from inside the three-point line during the first half.

"We knew that Air Force could shoot the ball, and they proved that tonight," said head coach Robert Davenport. "We gave them a lot of easy shots because our guys just stood around for the first 30 minutes of the game before they decided to play. We played to our capabilities in the final 10 minutes of the game, but we played as bad as we have all season during those first 30 minutes."

In the second half, the Falcons continued their strong shooting performance and rallied up the points on the Broncs as they extended the lead to 21 points following Hood's second trey of the game. The lead got to as many as 30 points in the second half when Hood, who finished with a game-high 22 points, scored on a lay-in following a Burtschi steal with 11:16 remaining in the game.

With the deficit at 30 points, the light inside of the Broncs finally went on as UTPA proceeded to go on a 22-5 run over the next seven minutes, which was highlighted by a three-pointer by sophomore Dexter Shankle (Katy, TX/James E. Taylor H.S.) at the 3:47 mark. With the score at 67-55 in the Falcons' advantage, the Broncs and Falcons continued to exchange field goals until the final minutes of the game when UTPA was forced to foul the Falcons.

Down the stretch, the Falcons converted on 8-12 shots from the charity stripe as they came away with the 81-68 victory. Following a 36-18 deficit at halftime, the Broncs won the scoring battle in the second half by a 50-45 margin, but it was a little too late in the game for a miraculous comeback.

"We scored 50 points in the second half, and I would say that the majority of them came during the final 10 minutes of the game. We attempted more shots from the field, more shots from the free throw line, had more rebounds and had less turnovers in the game, and we just didn't get it done. In order to be successful, we need to play with that bounce in our step and that type of confidence throughout the entire game," added Davenport.

The Broncs attempted 53 shots in the game compared to 42 by the Falcons and also held advantages in free throw attempts (25-22), grabbed more rebounds (29-25) and fewer turnovers (19-16) in the game. However - their sluggish start was too much to overcome as the Broncs only shot 29.2 percent (7-24) in the first half.

For UTPA, Shankle finished with a career-high 21 points on 4-8 shooting and 11-14 at the charity stripe. Johnathan Chatman (Chicago, IL/Sheridan College) added a career-high 16 points, including four of the team's seven treys in the game, while Zach Trader (LaPorte, TX/LaPorte H.S.) also added a career-high 11 points.

Burtschi finished with 19 points and six rebounds while Nwaelele had 17 points, five assists and two rebounds. McCraw finished with 15 points on 4-5 shooting, including 3-4 from behind the three-point arc, along with a pair of assists and steals.

With the victory, Air Force upped its record to 7-1 and extended its winning streak to three games while the Broncs fell to 2-5 on the season.

The Broncs will be back in action on Tuesday (Dec. 6) at The University of Texas at San Antonio with game time set for 7:00 p.m. The game can be heard on the airwaves courtesy of ESPN Radio 1240AM with Alex del Barrio.

UTPA Sports Information