Air Force Academy – With center Nick Welch having a flashback to the 2003-04 season when he was co-player of the year in the Mountain West Conference, the Air Force Falcons felt right at home Wednesday night at Clune Arena.
Welch tied his career high with 20 points and waged a successful battle against 7-foot-1 sophomore Luke Nevill of Utah, helping the 17th-ranked Falcons rout the Utes 69-43. It was the 29th straight victory at home for Air Force, which shares the nation’s longest home-court winning streak with MWC leader Brigham Young.
The Falcons improved to 22-4 overall and 9-3 in the MWC, a game behind BYU (20-6, 10-2). The Cougars also played at home Wednesday, defeating New Mexico 96-83.
Air Force coach Jeff Bzdelik saluted Welch, a 6-8 senior, and backup center John Frye, a 6-10 senior, for their work on Nevill, who scored 16 points but otherwise wasn’t a factor.
“We tried to make (Nevill) earn his points,” Bzdelik said. “Our centers, Nick and John, did a terrific job of moving him and knocking down shots. We tried to make him chase us around. Our centers were 4-for-5 from 3-point range.”
AFA senior forward Dan Nwaelele was right behind Welch with 19 points.
Maybe still smarting from their 85-79 loss at Utah on Jan. 16, the Falcons picked up their game defensively. They made it difficult for the Utes to get the ball into Nevill, who scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the teams’ first meeting of the season. The pressure defense helped force the Utes into committing 19 turnovers. Air Force had only eight. The Falcons also had a 10-4 advantage in steals.
“Air Force can really get it going in this place and get on rolls and runs,” Utah coach Ray Giacoletti said. “They had runs in both halves and that put it away. But you can’t turn the ball over 19 times and think you have a chance to win.”
Said Bzdelik: “Our defense was sounder today. We were active, we were energetic, we were communicating. It’s the kind of effort we need in every game.”
The Falcons had a 16-0 run in the first half. But it was their 15-0 run in the second half, ending on Welch’s 3-pointer with 7:37 left, that opened a 60-30 lead.
“Nick did a great job when he was co-conference player of the year,” Air Force senior forward Jacob Burtschi said. “There wasn’t another big man in the league who could touch him. He looked like the Nick of old.”
“I’ve been struggling for a long time,” said Welch, who missed all of last season with ankle and foot injuries. “I’ve been trying hard, but sometimes trying hard isn’t enough. Everybody on the team came out with passion and a chip on their shoulder. That’s how we have to play the rest of the way.”
UTAH (9-15, 4-7 MWC)
Green 1-6 0-0 2, Nevill 8-13 0-1 16, Bryant 2-7 0-0 6, Drca 1-1 0-0 3, Johns 2-4 2-2 7, Eatmon 0-0 0-0 0, Grant 0-2 0-0 0, Borha 2-4 1-1 5, Weigh 0-0 0-0 0, Deane 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 18-41 3-4 43.
AIR FORCE (22-4, 9-3)
Burtschi 3-7 3-3 9, Nwaelele 7-9 3-3 19, Welch 6-11 5-6 20, McCraw 2-4 0-0 6, Anderson 2-6 0-2 5, Henke 0-0 0-0 0, Hood 0-1 0-0 0, Teets 1-2 0-0 2, Holland 0-0 0-0 0, Kenzik 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 5-6 5, Maren 0-1 0-0 0, Frye 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 22-44 16-20 69.
Halftime – AFA 35-24. 3-point goals – Utah 4-14 (Bryant 2-4, Drca 1-1, Johns 1-3, Grant 0-1, Deane 0-1, Borha 0-2, Green 0-2), AFA 9-17 (Welch 3-4, Nwaelele 2-2, McCraw 2-3, Frye 1-1, Anderson 1-3, Hood 0-1, Burtschi 0-3). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – Utah 21 (Nevill 5), AFA 26 (Burtschi, Nwaelele 7). Assists – Utah 11 (Green 3), AFA 15 (McCraw 4). Total fouls – Utah 19, Air Force 11. A – 5,858.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
