AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.—Try as they might, Air Force’s Evan Washington and Grant Parker couldn’t out-shoot each other during the first round of the Reggie Minton Classic Friday night.
Washington and Parker were each a perfect 6 of 6 from the field to combine for 33 points and lead the Falcons to a 95-77 win over Dickinson State.
“Evan has become a leader, he’s playing within himself and he’s playing with some confidence,” Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said.
Washington tied his career high with 18 points, and Parker added 15 as the Falcons (2-0) set up an in-state final against Northern Colorado (4-0) in the tournament’s championship game Saturday night.
“I felt like I had it going tonight,” Washington said. “I felt really confident, and I was trying to get my teammates involved too.”
The Falcons’ 95 points was the most they’d scored since pounding Denver 111-88 on Feb. 16, 1999.
“I thought we moved the ball well and pushed our transition pretty well,” Reynolds said. “I wasn’t real happy with our defense. Even though we held them under 40-percent shooting from the floor, we put them on the free-throw line too much.”
The Blue Hawks (1-6) hit 19 of 27 free throws, while the Falcons hit 25 of 37 shots from the line. Nate Lebsock led Dickinson State with a game-high 26 points, and Ryan Ernst added 19.
Tom Fow scored 14 points and Sammy Schafer chipped in 10 for the Falcons. Air Force shot 57.4 percent from the field and used 11 steals to score transition baskets on the other end of the floor.
“We were just getting good looks, and Evan’s just a great player and a great athlete,” Parker said. “I was just running the floor and getting some open looks, but I can’t do what Evan does.”
The Falcons were unable to turn their double-digit lead into a blowout in the second half, as Dickinson State hit half of its 12 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes to cut a 25-point lead down to 14 points with 9:07 remaining.
Air Force scored the first seven points of the game, but Dickinson State fought back with a 9-2 run to tie it. The Falcons responded with a 14-3 run and never looked back, taking a 50-33 lead into the locker room.
Reynolds used the double-digit advantage to get 13 players on the court, including all five of the squad’s freshmen.
“We got a lot of people minutes, and that’s what we had hoped to do,” Reynolds said. “(The freshmen) are coming along, and it’s good to see those guys get an opportunity.”
Air Force won a hard-fought battle against Northern Colorado 71-64 last December, and Reynolds knows his Falcons have a tough game ahead of them.
“Tomorrow we’ll have a tough task,” Reynolds said. “They beat Colorado in a scrimmage, and when you count their scrimmages, they’re 7-0. We’ve got our hands full and have got to step up to that challenge.”
