AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.—Taylor Broekhuis had one word to describe Air Force’s hard-fought 64-60 win over Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday night.
“A game of grit is how I would describe it,” said Broekhuis, who had a career-high 20 points to go along with six rebounds. “Even though we weren’t playing great, we withstood their attacks and pulled out a win.”
Michael Lyons scored four points in the final 14.6 seconds to break a 60-60 tie and help the Falcons (6-2) survive a scare from the Hawks (3-9) at Clune Arena.
Maryland-Eastern Shore tied the game at 60 with 2:08 remaining on Ishaq Pitt’s offensive rebound and putback, but Lyons’ steal and layup with 14.6 seconds left gave the Falcons a two-point advantage. Lyons then grabbed a crucial rebound with 2.8 seconds remaining and then hit a pair of free throws to seal the victory.
“I was just focused on the hoop, and I had the confidence I was going to make it,” said Lyons, Air Force’s leading scorer. “It was nice to come up big, but I would like to be more consistent the whole way through.”
Todd Fletcher tied his career-high with 15 points for the Falcons, and Lyons had a team-high seven rebounds.
Air Force missed its first seven 3-pointers and was just 1 for 10 from beyond the arc in the second half. Air Force hit just 33.3 percent of its shots in the second half (7 for 21), while Maryland-Eastern Shore connected at a 44.4-percent clip.
“It felt like everything was going in and out (in the second half),” said Lyons, who was 5 for 13 from the field. “If we had had a better shooting night, the game wouldn’t have been as close.”
Lyons and starter Mike Fitzgerald – Air Force’s second-leading scorer – were a combined 0 for 10 from 3-point range.
“When your two leading scorers go 0-for-10 from three and you still come out with a win, you feel a little bit good about something,” Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said. “When you go shoot the three and it doesn’t go in, the guys get real tentative and doubted their shots. But give (Maryland-Eastern Shore) credit, because I think they had something to do with that with their length.”
The Hawks used their size advantage to outrebound the Falcons 36-26 and turned 17 offensive boards into 16 second-chance points. But Air Force’s defense and clutch rebounding down the stretch helped secure the win.
“They did a good job of posting us and did a good job on offensive rebounds,” Reynolds said of the Hawks. “We didn’t panic, even when they tied the game. It’s good for us to win that kind of game, and we’ll use it as a learning experience.”
Percy Woods’ 14 points led Maryland-Eastern Shore, and Pina Guillaume had a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards. Ronald Spencer chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds in his first game of the season for the Hawks.
