Kansas City, Mo. – The seven wins Texas Tech coach Bob Knight needs to surpass Dean Smith for the most in Division I history aren’t going to come easily.
Matt McCraw scored 18 points and Air Force shut the Red Raiders down in the second half of a 67-53 Falcons victory in the third-place game of the College Basketball Experience Classic on Tuesday.
Dan Nwaelele added 13 points and Nick Welch 11 for Air Force (5-1), which denied Knight victory No. 874.
The Red Raiders lost to No. 13 Marquette in the tournament semifinals Monday, keeping Knight three wins shy of tying Adolph Rupp for second-most in Division I history. Smith, who began his college coaching career as an assistant at Air Force in 1957, holds the record with 879.
Tuesday night, Knight wasn’t in much of a mood to answer questions about any coaching milestones – or about anything else, for that matter.
“We got beat by a team that was very tough-minded and a smart team,” said Knight, who spoke with reporters for about three minutes before calling it a night. “Those kids play very hard, very tough. They are a really, really well-coached team.”
After shooting 50 percent from the field in the first half, the Red Raiders (4-2) shot just 27 percent (6-of-22) during the final 20 minutes. Plagued by poor shot selection and stifling defense in the paint, Texas Tech made only two field goals over the first 10 minutes of the second half and at one point went nearly five minutes without scoring.
“We got a whole heck of a lot better defensively,” said Falcons coach Jeff Bzdelik, whose team will play its fourth game in five days tonight against Radford.
The Falcons took advantage of Texas Tech’s offensive plight, going on an 18-6 run led by two of McCraw’s four 3-pointers.
After Andrew Henke scored on a short jump shot, the Falcons led 51-39 with 12:28 to go in the game.
“What they have is an offense of two opposite things,” Knight said. “They shoot well from the 3-point line and cut well to the basket. They do a good job with both things.”
TEXAS TECH (4-2)
Rivzic 1-2 0-0 2, Valentine 2-7 1-2 7, Jackson 8-16 0-0 20, Burgess 1-4 0-0 3, Zeno 2-9 4-7 8, D. White 2-6 2-2 6, Voskuil 0-1 0-0 0, Plefka 2-2 1-1 5, Dora 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 19-48 8-12 53.
AIR FORCE (5-1)
Burtschi 3-7 0-0 7, Nwaelele 5-12 1-1 13, Welch 3-7 4-4 11, McCraw 5-8 4-4 18, Anderson 1-5 2-2 5, Henke 1-1 2-2 4, Teets 1-1 2-2 4, Holland 0-1 0-0 0, Kenzik 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Frye 2-4 0-0 5. Totals 21-46 15-15 67.
Halftime – Tied 33. 3-point goals – TT 7-15 (Jackson 4-6, Valentine 2-5, Burgess 1-2, Voskuil 0-1, D. White 0-1), AFA 10-23 (McCraw 4-6, Nwaelele 2-4, Welch 1-2, Frye 1-3, Burtschi 1-4, Anderson 1-4). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – TT 29 (Zeno 7), AFA 28 (McCraw 6). Assists – TT 8 (Valentine 4), AFA 14 (Anderson, Burtschi, McCraw 3). Total fouls – TT 19, AFA 12. A – N/A.
