If it had been a football field, they would have torn down the goalposts.

As it was, the Cadets behind the north basket waited patiently after the game while the Air Force players and coaches stood at attention on the floor singing the school hymn, before storming the floor and celebrating like they had just won the NCAA championship.

Actually, it was only Utah that the Falcons had defeated, by a 62-49 margin Monday night at Clune Arena. But for the Falcons, it was a huge win on top of several other big wins in what appears to be the best season in Air Force basketball history.

Already, the Falcons have 14 victories, the most for the school since 1989. With one more win, they can assure themselves of their first winning season in 26 years. With a 4-0 record in the Mountain West Conference, the Falcons are in the driver's seat, two games up on everyone else in the loss column. With a win Saturday at San Diego State, the Falcons could find themselves in the top 25 for the first time ever.

Usually there are two or three reporters waiting to talk to AFA coach Joe Scott, but Monday night more than a half dozen were on hand, along with several TV cameras.

Scott soaked up the moment and tried to express what the two wins meant to his program.

"We had the two heavyweights come into our building, Utah and BYU, and we made a statement nationwide," he said. "I have so much respect for Rick (Majerus) and his program. Down the stretch, Utah has been the class of this league for the last 15 years, and we've always known they're one of the best teams in America in the last five minutes. But we sort of turned the tables on them tonight, and that's why we won and they didn't."

After leading the whole game, the Falcons fell behind for a minute at 40-38 before storming back to outscore the Utes 23-9 the rest of the way. Over the critical final five minutes, the margin was 13-5.

The loss left Utah's Majerus scratching his head and searching for words after the Utes' second straight loss, following nine straight wins.

"It's a unique system with very good shooters and very smart players," said Majerus. "They have five guys who can shoot 3s and they're very cohesive and they play together. They're also more talented. I've never won a game in my life as a coach. Players win games."

Majerus offered no excuses for the loss and reiterated what he said earlier in the year about his young squad that fell to 15-5 and 3-2 in the league.

"We're not that good of a team," he said. "I've said that right from the start. We've got a lot of work to do."

That means rebounding for Saturday's annual in-state battle with BYU. The game, scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Huntsman Center, has lost some of its luster with both teams losing a pair of games over the weekend.

Now, however, it will be a key game that could knock the loser out of championship contention.

Air Force doesn't look like it will lose many games the way it's playing right now.

"My guys have been watching for three years and learning and we were able to play just like Utah did tonight," said Scott. "They're the measuring stick in this league. Who knows if we've caught up with them, but I know we're going to be in this thing until the end and I'm almost certain Utah will be too."

---

E-mail: sor@desnews.com