Boise State men's basketball drops one to Air Force Falcons 61-53

Looking to rebound from a REALLY close game against Utah State last Tuesday, February 2nd, the Broncos (16-7) met with the their only matchup against the Air Force Falcons (11-12) at Clune Arena in Colorado Springs, Co. The Broncos have been in a bit of a slump the last few games, while the Falcons have only won one game in their last nine attempts. Broncos are trying to develop some momentum in the latter part of the MWC schedule while the Falcons are just trying to finish with a winning record.

The first half saw the Broncos' sluggish run continue as they jumped out to an early 10-5 lead that would also be their largest of the half. From there the Falcons went on a 20-5 run when C.J. Siples took control and scored 15 straight Air Force points to get to a 25-15 lead that would also be their highest of the half. The Broncos were able to claw their way back as the Falcons had some foul troubles in the latter part of the half. Duncan had stopped the bleeding hitting two free throws to get the Broncos back on the scoring track. Then Lonnie Jackson was able to hit two of the last shots in the half (both threes) to retake the lead from the Falcons 31-30.

Lonnie Jackson led Broncos scorers in the first half with 10 points, hitting 3-4 from the field, 3-4 from the three, and adding two rebounds.

Webb had 8 points, an assist and a steal.

Air Force's C.J. Siples had a monster first half with 15 points on 5-7 shooting, 3-4 from the three, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.

Frank Toohey, who had foul troubles all game, had 8 points, 2-4 shooting, and 3 rebounds in the first half.

The Broncos opened the second half well enough with a dunk by Haney and a Duncan jumper to put the Broncos lead 35-30 in the opening minutes. But the Falcons would continue to be a pain for the Broncos. Much like the first half, the Falcons hit their stride with a big 14-3 run to take a 48-39 lead.

Try as the Broncos might, that run would prove to be too much to overcome as the Broncos would miss a lot of second half free throws (4-11) and continued struggles with threes (or lack thereof) going 2-12. For the game, Lonnie Jackson was 4-7 from beyond the arc. The rest of the team? 1-15.

Aside from the initial lead, the Broncos would ever come within three the rest of the of the half, 56-53 Air Force. Falcons would not look back, as they would score the last five points of the game to extend their lead to the game final 61-53.

Jackson led all Broncos scoring with 16, and he also ended the game with 4 rebounds, an assist and a steal.

James Webb had 12 points, 3 rebounds, an assist and 2 steals.

For the Air Force Academy, C.J. Siples led the game with 25 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals.

Toohey had 9 points, 7 rebounds, and a block.

This game marks a low for the Broncos as a winnable game was lost on missed free throws and another slump from the three. This game drops the Broncos to 16-8 overall, 7-4 in conference. They next play Colorado State in Fort Collins on February 10th. Game starts at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast by ESPN 3.