Air Force Academy – It was the kind of game nobody wanted.
But Air Force coach Jeff Bzdelik left Clune Arena knowing the 17th-ranked Falcons had protected their position in the Mountain West Conference men’s basketball race.
The Falcons whipped a depleted Wyoming team 88-43 for their 28th consecutive victory at home. The 45-point margin was the largest ever between the MWC teams.
Wyoming (13-10, 4-5) was missing four starters Saturday, three because of suspensions related to a fight last week during a game at New Mexico and center Daaron Brown because of an ankle injury.
“I didn’t like today’s game,” Bzdelik said. “I didn’t like anything about it from a coaching standpoint. The most anybody played on our team was 23 minutes. It took away from the afternoon, to be honest with you.”
With the MWC-leading Falcons (20-3, 7-2) playing at a crisp pace, they reached 20 victories for the third time in four seasons. Air Force was 24-7 last season, setting a school record for wins.
While the latest AFA victory was decided early, Bzdelik saw what he wanted – 40 minutes of aggressive basketball by the Falcons at both ends of the floor.
“I wanted to create a tempo that would be favorable to us, knowing the situation with Wyoming’s roster,” Bzdelik said.
Wyoming coach Steve McClain said he never felt more helpless.
“Air Force knew it had a wounded team and they got after us early and in a lot of ways played differently than they normally play,” McClain said. “Our guys played as hard as they could. Human nature makes you believe you can win if you’re in this business. I knew if they made shots early, we’d be in trouble. They wanted all of our guys here and let’s line up and play. This is something I hope I never experience again in my lifetime.”
Instead of a repeat of the Jan. 13 game in Laramie that the Falcons won 58-56 on a last-second shot by Jacob Burtschi, a sellout crowd of 5,858 witnessed a mismatch.
Air Force shot 55.2 percent and had advantages of 42-25 in rebounds, 18-7 in turnovers and 11-1 in steals. Burtschi returned to form after a subpar game last weekend at Brigham Young, contributing 18 points and five rebounds. Dan Nwaelele also scored 18 points and grabbed a game-high six rebounds.
“Our bench did a great job,” Burtschi said. “We were crisp on offense and our defense was pretty good, but we know we have to keep this in perspective.”
WYOMING (13-10, 4-5 MWC)
Okoye 0-2 2-2 2, Dermody 2-7 0-1 4, Nelson 1-1 0-0 2, Spencer 3-11 1-2 7, Platt 4-10 1-2 13, Engels 1-3 0-0 3, Geis 0-2 3-5 3, Henson 2-8 0-0 4, Songondo 2-5 1-2 5. Totals 15-49 8-14 43.
AIR FORCE (20-3, 7-2 MWC)
Burtschi 5-7 8-8 18, Nwaelele 6-8 4-4 18, Welch 4-5 0-0 9, McCraw 2-6 0-0 5, Anderson 2-4 2-2 6, Henke 4-9 0-0 11, El-Amin 1-3 0-0 2, Hood 2-3 0-2 5, Merriex 0-1 0-0 0, Teets 1-2 0-2 2, Holland 1-2 0-0 2, Kenzik 1-2 0-0 2, Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Maren 1-3 0-0 2, G. Parker 0-0 1-3 1, Frye 2-2 0-0 5. Totals 32-58 15-21 88.
Halftime – AFA 46-18. 3-point goals – Wyoming 5-19 (Platt 4-8, Engels 1-2, Henson 0-1, Geis 0-1, Spencer 0-3, Dermody 0-4); AFA 9-19 (Henke 3-7, Nwaelele 2-3, Welch 1-1, McCraw 1-1, Frye 1-1, Hood 1-1, Burtschi 0-1, Teets 0-1, Johnson 0-1, Holland 0-1, Anderson 0-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – Wyoming 25 (Geis 5, Spencer 5); AFA 42 (Nwaelele 6). Assists – Wyoming 7 (Spencer 3); AFA 21 (Henke 3, McCraw 3, Welch 3). Total fouls – Wyoming 17, AFA 19.
A – 5,858.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
