AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.—Air Force followed a familiar script against Norfolk State: Struggle through a poor-shooting first half, come out strong in the second, open up a lead and win going away.
It worked in the Falcons’ 65-53 victory Thursday night over Norfolk State. But according to Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds, that formula could use some revision.
“It’s a concern for our next game,” Reynolds said. “It’s one of those deals where I think we have to have more of a sense of urgency for the entire game. I think if we can make some shots earlier that we normally are making in the second half, it may help with that intensity.”
The Falcons (7-4) led 20-17 at the intermission, after hitting seven of 21 field goals, including one of nine from 3-point range. They came out with renewed intensity to open the second half.
Tim Anderson, who led Air Force scorers with 19 points, and Evan Washington hit consecutive 3-pointers some five minutes into the second half to give the Falcons a 12-point lead, and Anwar Johnson extended that to 13 with a free throw.
Norfolk State (2-6) cut the margin to seven behind 3-pointers by Jeremy Banks and Raphael Hall, but the Spartans could get no closer, despite a strong performance on the offensive boards.
“I thought we made some shots in the second half that we had wide-open in the first and just didn’t fall,” Reynolds said.
Air Force improved its field-goal shooting percentage to 68.5 in the second half to finish at 50 percent. The 45 second-half points were the highest for the Falcons this year, and the 68.5 shooting percentage the highest for a half.
“Recently we’ve been trying to concentrate on getting the ball inside before we take many outside shots,” said Air Force forward Matt Holland. “We were one of nine from the 3-point arc in the first half, so we really wanted to make it happen in the lane and open up some outside shots in the second half.”
Air Force also went 20 of 22 from the free-throw line and scored 14 consecutive points from the line down the stretch.
“We made an emphasis this year of trying to get to the line more,” Reynolds said. “I thought Adam Hood did a really good job of that, as well as Anwar. It’s an emphasis that we want to drive the ball more and get to the free-throw line.”
“In practice we’ve been focusing on taking our time and shooting free throws every time we get a chance to,” Hood said.
Johnson finished with 12 points, Washington had 11 and Keith Maren was in double figures for Air Force with 10.
Corey Lyons led Norfolk State scoring with 19 points. Tony Murphy added 10. Brandon Monroe was the game’s leading rebounder with six, and Chidi Okoli had five.
“The most disappointing thing in the game was their offensive rebounds,” Reynolds said. “I think it kept them in the game. We’re very fortunate. Any time you allow a team to get 16 offensive rebounds and still win, you’re very fortunate.”
