Air Force Falcons Men’s Basketball Falls in Wright State Showdown

The Air Force Falcons started the first game of their two-game Ohio road swing with a loss in the Stars, Stripes, Flight Classic.

Feb 6, 2024; Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA; Air Force Falcons center Wesley Celichowski (51) controls the ball as San Diego State Aztecs guard BJ Davis (10) guards in the second half at Clune Arena. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Air Force Falcons men's basketball team wrapped up its action for the month of November with a 70-57 loss to Wright State in the Stars, Stripes, Flight Classic at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio, on Saturday.

The Falcons (2-6) dug themselves a big hole in the first half, as they fell behind by 13 points. Air Force played Wright State (5-4) to a draw in the second half, but it did nothing to help the Falcons bridge their halftime deficit.

Wright State put together an exceptional shooting game to put Air Force in its rear-view mirror, as it shot 51.9% from the floor and 45% from the 3-point line.

That offset a 58% clip from the free-throw line and being outrebounded by Air Force, 40-24. The Falcons’ 40 rebounds was a season-high.

Wright State also held a significant edge in turnovers as it forced 15 while Air Force was only able to force seven.

Brandon Noel poured in 23 points to lead Wright State, but it was Alex Huibregtse who poured it on as he scored 20 points. Six of his seven field goals were 3-pointers. He also pitched in six rebounds and three assists.

Michael Imariagbe came off the bench to score 14 points (6-for-6 from the field) and five rebounds in 20 minutes.

Two Air Force starters finished in double figures. Wesley Celichowski led the Falcons with 15 points, which was his fourth straight game in double figures.

Ethan Taylor added 11 points and it was a milestone game for him. He now has 1,024 career points and is now 27th all-time in scoring at Air Force. With his three 3-pointers, he now has 189 career 3-pointers, moving into sixth all-time at Air Force.

Byron Brown only scored five points, but he came up with a game-high 11 rebounds. Brown set a career high in rebounds for the second straight contest.

Air Force remains in the state of Ohio to play Miami (OH) on Monday at 5 p.m. mountain in Oxford, Ohio.

After a few days back in Colorado Springs, Force heads to Frisco, Texas, to play in the Legends Showcase against Stony Brook on Saturday at 1 p.m.

After that, the Falcons will take a nine-day break before heading to Greeley, Colo., to face Northern Colorado on Dec. 16 at 6 p.m. mountain in their final tune-up before they begin Mountain West Conference action.

Air Force will be at Boise State on Dec. 21 at 1:30 p.m. mountain.