A basketball player with the Air Force Falcons rushes past a player with the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, Oct. 7, 2024. (U.S. Air Force Academy)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Tribune News Service) — Air Force may still be working to identify a starting lineup, but a closing lineup is sure starting to emerge.
The Falcons overcame an 11-point deficit to topple Jacksonville State 73-67 at Clune Arena on Thursday night behind key plays from veteran and new players.
Senior Ethan Taylor finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, pouring in 19 of his points in the second half. Caleb Walker scored all of his 10 points in the second half in what was essentially his second college game. Luke Kearney scored nine of his 13 over the final 20 minutes and freshman Kyle Marshall scored seven points – four on loud dunks within the offense – in the second half.
Senior Jeffrey Mills, a co-captain with Taylor, also added 18 points as he connected on four 3s in the first half when the team at times struggled for offense.
The Falcons didn’t score over the final seven minutes of the first half and trailed 30-22 at the break.
“The game is a great place to kind of solidify what you know your role to be, and that’s what everybody did today,” Taylor said.
Jacksonville State is hardly a recognizable brand in college basketball, but the Gamecocks finished last year ranked No. 217 in the NCAA’s NET rankings. Air Force was No. 269.
Given Air Force’s struggles in the opener against North Alabama (No. 253 last year), this was a noticeable step in the right direction.
This was also the second game in which the Falcons (1-1) showed significant improvement in the second half. In two games they have been outscored 73-44 in the first half and have outscored their opponents 86-67 in the second half.
This time, the deficit wasn’t so large to prevent a win when the team heated up and shot 60 percent over the final 20 minutes.
“Down the stretch, everybody played with confidence,” coach Joe Scott said.
“I think you saw tonight, already, we improved tons from Game 1 to Game 2. I think there’s so much more room for improvement.
“We’ve got a chance to show that on Monday, and then game to game.”
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