Air Force Academy – And to think Colorado College volunteered.
It all came about last summer when new CC coach Andy Partee heard Air Force coach Jeff Bzdelik say he needed a game.
Why not, thought Partee. Clune Arena was just down the road and Division III programs are always looking for ways to cut travel expenses.
The Falcons (10-1) gave him plenty of reasons to say “not” after scoring the first 30 points of the game, taking a 50-6 halftime lead and eventually crushing the Tigers 82-31.
“It was exciting for me to think this would be a great opportunity,” Partee said after his team fell to 1-9. “But in hindsight, if this group gets discouraged easily, I probably would have thought differently.
“These guys are ranked 23rd (USA Today/ESPN coaches poll), so there was a little bit of awe in my players’ eyes. Mentally, I tried to get them to go back to their club days in high school when they were playing against LeBron James in an AAU tournament or something.”
Said Air Force center Nick Welch: “We came out with a great mentality of not overlooking anybody. We’re going to come out with fire. We need to attack every game like that.”
In CC’s first 15 possessions, Air Force’s defense had eight steals and the Tigers got off only five shots. They didn’t score until Nate Brodman hit a 3-point shot with 9:36 left in the first half. The six points by the Tigers marked the lowest figure in a half in Air Force’s basketball history.
“Today we really worked hard on our defense,” Bzdelik said. “We wanted to play with a sense of urgency throughout. I especially liked the first half – our intensity, the awareness on the weak side and defending situations that were there in terms of fundamental skill.”
Bzdelik took advantage of the one-sided action to use his bench for most of the game.
Dan Nwaelele’s 14 minutes represented the most playing time for any starter. Jacob Burtschi led the scoring with 10 points in 10 minutes. Twelve Falcons scored.
COLORADO COLLEGE (1-9)
Salem 1-2 0-0 2, Keefe 0-6 2-2 2, Brodman 3-8 0-0 7, Sweet 1-6 1-2 4, Jacobs 3-6 2-2 11, Johnson 1-5 0-0 2, Conover 0-0 0-0 0, Reid 0-2 0-0 0, Chapman 0-1 0-0 0, Bones 0-2 0-0 0, Haley 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 10-39 5-6 31.
AIR FORCE (10-1)
Burtschi 4-6 0-0 10, Teets 0-1 0-0 0, Welch 3-3 0-0 6, Anderson 2-2 1-2 5, Nwaelele 3-5 1-2 9, Henke 1-2 2-2 4, Merriex 2-3 0-0 5, Holland 2-2 0-0 5, Kenzik 3-4 2-2 8, Johnson 4-5 0-0 8, Maren 1-3 1-2 4, Parker 3-5 1-2 9, Hood 3-8 1-2 9, Hess 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-49 9-14 82.
Halftime – Air Force 50-6. 3-point goals – Colorado College 6-21 (Jacobs 3-5, Haley 1-1, Brodman 1-4, Sweet 1-5, Reid 0-1, Keefe 0-2, Johnson 0-3), Air Force 11-22 (Burtschi 2-2, Hood 2-3, Parker 2-3, Nwaelele 2-4, Holland 1-1, Merriex 1-2, Maren 1-3, Teets 0-1, Kenzik 0-1, Henke 0-1, Johnson 0-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – Colorado College 17 (Sweet 4), Air Force 31 (Burtschi, Hood, Maren, Parker, Welch 4). Assists – Colorado College 9 (Brodman, Keefe 3), Air Force 21 (Hood 6). Total fouls – Colorado College 15, Air Force 9. A – 3,347.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
