Fort Collins – Some lessons are more difficult to learn, but Air Force coach Jeff Bzdelik has one that makes it easy for his team to understand – the value of making free throws.
According to forward Jacob Burtschi, Bzdelik teaches the lesson about three times a week at the end of a practice session.
Each player takes a turn at the free-throw line. If the free throw is missed, the whole team runs the length of the floor. The idea is to keep on good terms with your teammates.
The Falcons showed they have learned well, getting 10 of their last 15 points on free throws Wednesday night to hold on for an 81-75 victory over Colorado State.
For the game, Air Force (14-1) hit 12-of-14 free throws to help begin an anticipated wild Mountain West Conference race with a big road win.
The Falcons play UNLV on Saturday at Clune Arena with a chance for their first 15-1 start.
“You need to do all the little things to win whether it be on the road or at home,” Bzdelik said. “It is going to be a battle on every possession every night.”
Free-throw shooting was just one of the little things the Falcons did right. They had no turnovers in the first half and finished with seven, compared to 14 for CSU.
“I think this is important to note about our team,” Bzdelik said. “We’ve played 15 games and only six of them in Clune Arena. If we looked at the top 150 teams in the country, how many have played just six home games. That’s an incredible feat so far.”
With center Nick Welch playing only 17 minutes because of foul trouble, Bzdelik played some of the time with a small lineup that included 6-foot-6 guard Andrew Henke.
“We can’t match their size, so we totally inverted to a small lineup,” Bzdelik said. “We could spread their defense, drive on them and get them into foul trouble. We were able to draw some fouls on (Jason) Smith and put him on the bench or he might have hit 50 on us.” He scored 19.
A free throw by John Frye, a 3-pointer by Burtschi and two free throws by Matt McCraw put Air Force ahead 72-64 with 1:57 left. But CSU’s Cory Lewis hit three 3-pointers to keep the outcome in doubt until Tim Anderson hit two free throws with two seconds left.
Burtschi became Air Force’s only casualty. He leaped in the air to steal CSU’s final desperation pass, but landed on the side of his right foot and was limping badly on the way out of Moby Arena.
Bzdelik and Burtschi were confident he’d be back in action Saturday.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
