Air Force Falcons Blown Out by Boise State in Mountain West Basketball Opener

The Air Force Falcons men’s basketball team found itself on the losing end of their conference opener against the Boise State Broncos.

Mar 9, 2024; Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA; Air Force Falcons forward Luke Kearney (3) drives to the basket against Colorado State Rams guard Taviontae Jackson (2) in the second half at Clune Arena. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Air Force Falcons men’s basketball team found themselves at the mercy of a tremendous second half by Boise State, as the Broncos pulled away for a 77-59 victory on Saturday in Boise, Idaho.

The game was the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams.

Air Force (3-9, 0-1) and Boise State (9-3, 1-0) were just one point apart at halftime, with the Broncos clinging to a 32-31 lead. After that, both teams took their offense to another level.

Air Force shot 50% for the second half (11-of-22), while hitting a trio of 3-pointers. But Boise State did the Falcons one better. The Broncos shot 60% for the half (17-of-28). It didn’t matter that they didn’t make a 3-pointers because they added an 11-of-13 clip from the free throw line and 13 points off 10 Air Force turnovers.

That allowed Boise State to outscore Air Force, 45-28, in the final 20 minutes. In fact, the Broncos had an 18-point lead midway through the second half and never looked back.

Luke Kearney led Air Force with 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Kyle Marshall added 13 points. The Falcons were outrebounded, 30-21, and also gave up 18 turnovers to the Broncos’ 12. Boise State also dominated the paint with 52 points to Air Force’s 30 points.

The Broncos — who are coming off a 22-win season — held Air Force’s leading scorer, Ethan Taylor (15.9 ppg) to just three points in 35 minutes. They also held Jeffrey Mills to two points.

Wesley Celichowski added eight points for the Falcons.

Tyson Degenhart, Boise State’s leading scorer, led the Broncos with 19 points and also had six rebounds. O’Mar Stanley and Alvaro Cardenas each scored 15 points while Andrew Meadow added 14 points. Javan Buchanan had 10 points.

Cardenas had a double-double, as he wrapped up the game with 12 assists.

The Falcons continued their issues in conference openers and against Boise State. With the loss, Air Force extended its Mountain West-opening losing streak to six seasons. The Falcons are 1-9 against the Broncos under coach Joe Scott and the Broncos are now 20-5 against the Falcons under coach Leon Rice.

The loss also extended Air Force’s losing streak to Boise State to nine games overall and to 12 games in Boise’s ExtraMile Arena.

The Falcons are off for the holidays until they resume Mountain West action at home against UNLV on Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. mountain.