FORT COLLINS — Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds decided it was time to mix it up a little bit with his lineup rotation Tuesday night when the slumping Falcons came to Moby Arena to play Colorado State.
The Falcons had lost their first four Mountain West Conference games and were riding a five-game losing streak overall.
But Air Force’s bench stumbled miserably. With 6-foot-10 freshman center Sammy Schafer playing 24 minutes and freshman guard Shawn Hempsey on the court for 17 minutes, the contribution was three points.
Seven players saw action off the bench, and the three points by Schafer and Hempsey were the only contribution in 49 minutes of total playing time.
On the other end, CSU’s bench poured in 24 points in 57 minutes of playing time and helped the Rams to a 67-56 victory.
“We need more productivity off the bench,” Reynolds said. “Both of those players are true freshmen. I thought they both played pretty well.”
Reynolds was shaken after the game. He didn’t do his usual postgame radio interview.
“Someone told me after the game we missed nine layups,” Reynolds said. “We have to keep working and keep our players confident and continue to give our young players opportunity.”
For the most part only senior forward Matt Holland played with the intensity needed to beat even a team that was missing players.
Holland scored a career-high 25 points, hitting all seven field goals from 3-point range. He was 4-for-6 from the free-throw line. But otherwise, the Falcons were off-target. They finished 9-for-22 from the free-throw line; the Rams were 18-for-23.
“We need to have more energy from the get-go,” Holland said. “We have had some rough starts and have been playing from behind. We need to change our approach a little bit, but continue to play hard.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
