Air Force Academy – Center John Frye made a difference Thursday night for the surging Air Force Falcons at Clune Arena.
Playing in the shadow of his more productive teammates most of the season, Air Force’s junior center hit his first five shots, including two from 3-point range, to help boost the Falcons to a 66-44 victory over Utah, the widest margin of victory for the Falcons against the Utes.
Even though the 6-foot-10 Frye finished third with 12 points in Air Force’s scoring derby behind Antoine Hood’s 16 points and Dan Nwaelele’s 14, Frye’s play gave the Falcons a presence in the middle against Utah’s big back line of 7-1 Luke Nevill and 6-11 Chris Jackson.
It all added up to Air Force’s 16th victory, the fourth-most in school history, in 18 games and the 11th in a row at home as the Falcons improved to 4-1 in Mountain West Conference play.
Air Force coach Jeff Bzdelik explained that he wanted his sometimes-shy center to open up against what he thought would be a Utah defense more interested in stopping Air Force’s outside game.
“We told him we wanted him to shoot the ball,” Bzdelik said. “Shoot it and if you miss, shoot it again.”
Frye only took six shots, but he also added a blocked shot and a steal to his final line.
At times, the Falcons made a textbook showing of their inside-outside game that had Utah’s defense chasing and always a step behind. The mixture was evident in the first half when the Falcons mustered a 14-2 run, started by layups by Hood and Frye and followed by two 3-pointers by Matt McCraw.
“Air Force did anything it wanted to do tonight,” Utah coach Ray Giacoletti said. “When they shot the ball they knocked it down. If you can’t give a better effort defensively than to let a team shot 68 percent from the floor, you’re going to be dead in the water.”
But Bzdelik noted that the first eight to 10 minutes of the second half were critical after the Utes scored the last eight points of the first half to cut Air Force’s lead to 33-23.
The Falcons put it away by scoring the first 14 points of the second half as the Utes failed to convert their first nine possessions.
It was during the 14-point run that Air Force workhorse Jacob Burtschi scored his first points of the game with 16:58 left in the second half. But by that time each of the other Air Force starters were in double figures.
UTAH (8-8, 1-4 MWC)
Markson 4-5 0-0 8, Green 1-1 0-0 3, Jackson 4-4 0-1 8, Bryant 1-6 0-0 2, Grant 0-2 0-0 0, Borha 2-3 0-0 4, Iverson 3-5 0-0 8, Drisdom 0-2 0-0 0, Johns 1-2 0-0 2, Nevill 2-5 5-8 9, Langvad 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-36 5-9 44.
AIR FORCE (16-2, 4-1 MWC)
Burtschi 3-5 0-0 7, Nwaelele 6-11 0-0 14, Frye 5-6 0-0 12, McCraw 4-4 0-0 11, An.Hood 6-8 4-6 16, Henke 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 2-3 2-2 6, Teets 0-0 0-0 0, Walker 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Maren 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-38 6-8 66.
Halftime – Air Force 33-23. 3-point goals – Utah 3-10 (Iverson 2-3, Green 1-1, Drisdom 0-1, Grant 0-2, Bryant 0-3), Air Force 8-13 (McCraw 3-3, Nwaelele 2-3, Frye 2-3, Burtschi 1-2, An.Hood 0-1, Maren 0-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – Utah 15 (Nevill 5), Air Force 19 (Burtschi 6). Assists – Utah 10 (Bryant 3), Air Force 16 (Burtschi 4). Total fouls – Utah 15, Air Force 7. A – 3,902.
Staff writer Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
