AIR FORCE ACADEMY — A lot of players filled their roles Wednesday night for the Air Force Falcons in Clune Arena, but there wasn’t a more emphatic performance than Derek Brooks’ energy boost with 53 seconds left in the game.
Brooks, a 6-foot-5 senior forward, took one of Evan Washington’s career-high 11 assists and banged in a 3-pointer that boosted the Falcons to a 72-67 lead on the way to a resounding 77-69 victory over Utah.
It not only was a win, but one the Falcons could savor as a return to a member in good standing in Mountain West Conference basketball.
“My role is to bring energy to the floor,” Brooks said. “I wanted the ball in that situation. If you want the ball that bad in that situation, you have to knock it down.”
From there, the Falcons (10-4, 1-0 MWC) closed out the game strong to snap a nine-game regular-season losing streak in the conference. The victory was only their second regular-season conference triumph in 33 games over three seasons.
“No one likes to lose, and it was great to get the monkey off our backs in the first conference game,” Brooks said.
Brooks’ shot was part of a finishing effort that allowed coach Jeff Reynolds to say his team is growing.
“I don’t know that this game tells us anything as a team other than we have grown,” Reynolds said. “I don’t know if it tells us we’re going to win any more games or not. But if we continue to play like we’re capable of, we can be more competitive in the league.”
Brooks and Washington weren’t the only Falcons to fill roles. Guard Michael Lyons had a career-high 26 points.
But the story for the Falcons was a strong finish under heavy 3-point shooting by the Utes (7-8, 0-1). Guard Chris Kupets came off the bench and hit 5-of-6 from 3-point range for 25 points. Forward Will Clyburn hit 4-of-9 from long range, including two down the stretch that threatened AFA’s lead.
The Utes didn’t fare well from the free-throw line. They finished just 2-for-3 and didn’t get their first shot until the 14:17 mark of the second half. Air Force was 18-of-20 from the line.
Washington had two defensive rebounds and a blocked shot in the last 2:40.
Utah coach Jim Boylen missed the game because of a family illness.
UTAH (7-8)
Ja. Watkins 2-5 2-2 6, Clyburn 6-14 0-0 16, Foster 0-1 0-0 0, Jo. Watkins 3-8 0-1 6, O’Brien 0-1 0-0 0, Hines 2-3 0-0 6, Kupets 10-18 0-0 25, DiMaria 1-3 0-0 3, Glover 1-1 0-0 3, Washburn 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 27-57 2-3 69.AIR FORCE (10-4)
Fow 5-9 4-4 17, Broekhuis 3-8 3-4 12, Fletcher 1-3 4-4 6, Lyons 10-15 4-4 26, Washington 1-5 0-0 2, Fitzgerald 1-1 0-0 2, Bohannon 0-1 0-0 0, Brooks 3-4 3-4 10, Hempsey 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 25-48 18-20 77.Halftime — Air Force 34-33. 3-point goals —Utah 13-24 (Kupets 5-6, Clyburn 4-9, Hines 2-3, Glover 1-1, DiMaria 1-2, O’Brien 0-1, Jo. Watkins 0-2), Air Force 9-21 (Fow 3-6, Broekhuis 3-6, Lyons 2-5, Brooks 1-1, Bohannon 0-1, Fletcher 0-2). Fouled out —Jo. Watkins. Rebounds — Utah 24 (Washburn 6), Air Force 30 (Washington 8). Assists — Utah 14 (Jo. Watkins 5), Air Force 17 (Washington 11). Total fouls —Utah 19, Air Force 10. A — 1,362.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
