AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Air Force’s fierce rally from a nine-point deficit in the final minute was halted Saturday night by Northern Arizona, which converted six consecutive free throws to put away the Falcons 60-52 at Clune Arena.
A three-point play by Evan Washington and a field goal by freshman guard Todd Fletcher pulled the Falcons to within 54-50 with 48 seconds left.
Then it became a chess match of fouls to get possessions, which seemed like a good idea for the Falcons because the Lumberjacks were just 7-of-15 from the free-throw line. But forward Nick Larson, guard Gabe Rogers and forward DeAngelo Jones each made their two free throws to clinch the victory.
“We can’t simulate that intensity in practice,” said Northern Arizona coach Mike Adras, whose team plays Colorado State tonight in Fort Collins. “It was good for us to experience that in a game. We played the first half on our heels. We played better on our toes in the second half, and it translated at both ends of the court.”
The Lumberjacks (4-6) shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half, while the Falcons shot only 32.1 percent. Air Force struggled all game from the free-throw line, hitting 11-of-21 attempts.
After Washington’s jumper put Air Force up 29-27 with 2:08 played in the second half, the Lumberjacks took over.
“We couldn’t stop them on the defensive end,” Washington said, referring mainly to forward Shane Johannsen’s game-high 17 points.
“We couldn’t get a shot to drop,” Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said. “We missed a couple and took a couple of forced quick shots. At the other end, they made some 3s and got some confidence.”
With the two-point lead early in the second half, the Falcons hit a stretch where they converted only four of their 20 possessions.
Junior forward Tom Fow had a strong start for the Falcons (5-4) before getting in foul trouble early in the second half. Fow finished with a career-high 15 points. Center Mike McClain had a career-high eight rebounds.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
