Basketball to battle Air Force Tuesday
12/28/2010 7:08:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Bearkats, now 6-4 on the season, take on Air Force in the second game of the event Tuesday night at 9 p.m. The Falcons bring a 7-3 record into the tilt.
Sam Houston has split in its last two contests, both on the road. The Bearkats defeated Florida International 74-71 in Miami December 18 but lost 75-73 to the University of Houston December 21.
Seniors Gilberto Clavell and Josten Crow continue to lead the Kats with scoring averages of 19.4 and 14.5 points, respectively.
The Falcons are coming off a 74-63 loss at Northern Arizona last Wednesday. Derek Brooks led the Falcons with a season-high 15 points and tied his career-best with seven rebounds. This will be the first meeting between Air Force and Sam Houston State.
Here is the Bank of the West Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational schedule:
Tuesday, Dec. 28
UTEP vs. Western New Mexico - 7 p.m.
Air Force vs. Sam Houston State - 9 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 29
Western N.M. vs. Sam Houston St. - 5:30 p.m.
Air Force vs. UTEP - 7:30 p.m.
Air Force leads the Mountain West Conference and were ranked No. 6 in the country in field-goal percentage defense. Opponents are shooting just 37.6 percent against Air Force this season. Northern Arizona was the first team all season to shoot better than 50 percent against Air Force this season.
Air Force ranks 18th in the nation in field-goal percentage entering the NAU contest and is shooting 48.2 percent from the field this season. The Falcons shot better than their opponent in each of their first nine games. AFA's 37.3 percent shooting against Colorado College was the lowest this season.
Air Force's 7-3 record ties the third-best start ever in program history after 10 games. The Falcons have been 9-1 twice in the past (2005-06 and '06-07), 8-2 three times ('88-89, '03-04 and '08-09) and this is the 10th time at 7-3, most recently during the 1998-99 campaign.
Sam Houston has opened the season with six victories including three over NCAA Division I foes including road victories at Colorado State and Florida International and a home win against North Texas.
The losses came at the hands of No. 18 Texas in Austin, defending Conference USA tournament champion Houston and Mid-Major poll leader Cleveland State (giving CSU a 12-0 mark, at the time, the best in Division I play this year).
