Matt McCraw and Dan Nwaelele led Air Force’s onslaught of 3-pointers to help the Falcons defeat Western State 66-44 on Wednesday night.
McCraw scored 19 points and sank three from beyond the arc, and Nwaelele added 14 points, 12 of them from long range, as the Falcons improved to 4-1 under first-year coach Jeff Bzdelik.
Jacob Burtschi scored 14 points and a 3-pointer for the Falcons, who were 9-for-19 from 3-point range. Lorens Knudsen’s 13 points led the Mountaineers (0-1).
Colorado State 79, North Dakota State 62
Jason Smith had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Michael Harrison added 13 of his 17 points in the second half to lead Colorado State over visiting North Dakota State.
Foul trouble limited Smith to 25 minutes. Harrison, Micheal Morris and Cory Lewis, who had 16 points, picked up the slack for Smith for Colorado State (3-0).
Ben Woodside led all scorers with 26 points and was 14-for-14 from the free-throw line for North Dakota State (1-2).
WOMEN
N. Colorado 65, Illinois 55
The Bears (2-1) got their first win against a Big Ten team, in their first game against a Big Ten team. Northern Colorado made 15 3-pointers on its way to the upset. The Bears hit 8-of-16 3-pointers in the first half in building a 31-21 advantage at Greeley.
Illinois (1-1) struggled from the field all night, hitting only 34.5 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from 3-point range.
Cindy McCarroll matched her career high for Northern Colorado with 14 points, hitting a perfect 4-of-4 from 3-point range.
Denver 45, Lamar 42
Tyesha Lowery was one of only two players in double figures, scoring 14, as Denver (1-0) got a road win in Beaumont, Texas. Lowery, a redshirt junior back after missing all but one game last season because of an injury, hit 5-of-10 shots from the floor, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Audrea Samuel had 12 points for Lamar (0-1).
Air Force 97, Utah Valley State 70
The Falcons (2-0) shot 60 percent in the first half to build a 53-27 halftime lead, and went on to an easy win in Orem, Utah.
Regis 78, Puget Sound 72
Diana Lopez had a steal and three 3-pointers to open the second half, turning a 40-37 deficit into a 46-45 lead, and Regis (5-1) went on to beat Puget Sound (2-1) in Tacoma, Wash.
