AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik brought his bodyguard with him Thursday night on his return to Clune Arena, and guard Richard Roby was the strong arm of the law.
Roby scored 21 points before sitting for a few minutes while in foul trouble late in the second half, and he was the catalyst in a wire-to-wire, 60-50 victory before disappointed Air Force partisans who wanted their Falcons to show Bzdelik a thing or two. But it was the Buffs (5-2) who played as if they were home as the Falcons (5-3) lost their third game in a row.
The Falcons played as if on the road, hitting only 7-of-17 free throws and contributing 13 turnovers, major components to CU snapping Air Force’s 38-game homecourt winning streak against nonconference foes. The Section 8 cheering section heckled Bzdelik, Air Force’s coach the past two seasons, before the game, but they parted with Bzdelik complimenting the group for its support of the Falcons. Bzdelik made his return to Clune Arena after leading the Falcons to a combined 50-16 record that featued an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2006 and an NIT bid in 2007.
“When I said before the game that this was just another game, I wasn’t telling the truth,” Bzdelik said. “My emotions were all over the map. I truly love this place, and it was great to see so many friends. I’m so happy for my players, but I’ll be the biggest fan for the Air Force players throughout the course of the year.”
Bzdelik’s knowledge of the Air Force team, and of Roby, were the differences.
“Richard’s a very talented player,” Bzdelik said of his senior who hit 3-of-5 from 3-point range. “He made some shots when they were closing the gap and we got some separation. It helped.”
Bzdelik acknowledged it also helped that he knew Air Force’s team, enabling him to get his players on the right defensive track. Air Force guards Tim Anderson and Evan Washington were a combined 8-for-21 from the field without a 3-point field goal. Andrew Henke led the Falcons with 18 points.
“They had a game plan and they executed it very well,” Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said. “We had a game plan and we didn’t execute it very well.”
Reynolds said the 13 turnovers were uncharacteristic of his team.
If the Buffs needed more of a catalyst than Roby and guard Marcus Hall (18 points), it was the memory of an 84-46 thrashing by the Falcons last season in Boulder.
“They beat us by almost 40 in our home last year. Coach coming back and giving him a hard time, we remembered,” Hall said. “We marked it on our calendar. Just to come in here and get a win where it doesn’t happen too often was awesome.”
Air Force lagged from behind throughout, with Roby hitting a jump shot with just 27 seconds played.
The Falcons came out strong in the second half and cut the deficit to 26-25 on Anwar Johnson’s dunk. But the Buffs were up to the challenge, with Hall’s 3-pointer building the lead back to four.
Johnson’s slam got the Falcons as close as they would get. The Buffs opened the lead to double digits, 48-36, on freshman Levi Knutson’s 3-point goal with 4:34 left.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
