AIR FORCE ACADEMY — One of the Front Range’s most intense rivalries lived up to its billing Saturday at Clune Arena.
J.J. Avila scored 28 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and ignited an altercation in the second half that led to several technical fouls and an ejection in Colorado State’s 92-87 victory over rival Air Force.
The Rams were leading 52-36 with 17:34 remaining in the second half when Avila went over Zach Kocur’s back for an offensive rebound, and when both players went to the floor, Avila had Kocur in a headlock. Matt Mooney rushed up and punched Avila in the back, and a pushing battle ensued.
“I went over a guy’s back to try and get the ball,” Avila said. “My hand was caught, and he rolled on my legs. A guy punched me in the back, and you saw what happened next. You can’t just punch somebody.”
The game was delayed 17 minutes as referees handed out three technical fouls, ejected Mooney for a flagrant foul and administered the free throws, with both teams making three.
“I was just boxing J.J. out, we got tangled up and went to the ground,” Kocur said. “I don’t know what happened after that, because I really didn’t see it. It was just two teams battling for a rebound, I guess.”
Avila scored on the ensuing possession to make it 57-39.
The scuffle brought Air Force (8-7, 1-3 Mountain West) to life, and the Falcons cut the Rams’ lead to 84-81 with 50.5 seconds remaining after a Hayden Graham 3-pointer. Colorado State (15-2, 2-2) responded by making 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch to escape with the narrow victory.
“The atmosphere was incredible today, and the (intrastate) rival gets your blood pumping,” said Air Force senior guard Max Yon, who tied his career high with 25 points. “We need to start the game off the right way, and we don’t need to be throwing any punches or anything like that.”
“What I wanted to happen was to just start over and play,” Rams coach Larry Eustachy said of the skirmish. “It’s not part of the game, but nobody got hurt and it was quickly broken up. It was a hard-fought game.”
