Air Force Academy – It was like old times Tuesday night for the Mountain West Conference-leading Air Force men’s basketball team.
After a recent slump of sorts, the 16th-ranked Falcons flexed their muscles again with a 72-39 rout of Texas Christian that extended their winning streak at Clune Arena to 27 games.
Air Force, which has won 51 of its past 52 home games, improved to 19-2 overall and 6-1 in the MWC.
With 13 points from 6-foot-5 senior forward Dan Nwaelele leading the way, the Falcons easily dropped the Horned Frogs to 10-8 overall and 2-4 in the MWC. The Frogs have lost four consecutive games.
During the rout, coach Jeff Bzdelik kept a steady stream of players coming off the Air Force bench.
The Falcons kept the tempo fast, not wanting to get tied up in a slow game underneath with TCU featuring 6-8 forwards Alvardo Parker and Kevin Langford and 6-9 center Femi Ibikunle.
Tim Anderson and Matt McCraw kept the Falcons moving, each guard finishing with 11 points.
After three games of poor performances in the first half, the Falcons opened Tuesday’s game with a 9-2 lead and never looked back.
With nine points coming from Anderson and nine from McCraw, Air Force led 33-15 at halftime. McCraw hit three 3-pointers and Anderson contributed two.
Bzdelik went to his bench early, and the Falcons received a big lift from John Frye, a 6-10 senior. Frye scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in the first half.
Air Force’s shooting from the field also improved from recent games with a 12-for-20 performance in the first half.
The Horned Frogs countered with cold shooting, hitting just 5-of-19 shots during the first half. They also were hurt by 10 turnovers that led to eight points for Air Force.
Air Force plays Saturday at Brigham Young, and TCU goes to Wyoming.
