Cougars outlast Falcons

PROVO — It took a little more than a handshake.

That little extra dose of moxie BYU's found in a six-game win streak of late? It took a few buckets of it Monday night in dispatching Air Force 67-61 before a Marriott Center crowd of 17,152.

The Cougars held a lead for the final 12 minutes against the Mountain West's best team, making free throws and getting key stops in preventing the Falcons from sweeping the Utah-BYU series for the first time in history.

"I thought we had good poise, good composure," BYU coach Steve Cleveland said. "But in the first half when we got down by eight I thought we panicked. Our guys came over to the bench and they were nervous and panicked. I told them we just needed to get stops and make plays and not get all panicked out there."

The Cougars shot 82 percent from the field in the second half, making 14-of-17 field goals and converted 7-of-8 free throws in the final 1:11 to seal the win. The victory lifted BYU to 18-7 and 8-4 in league play while the Falcons (19-5, 9-2) failed to clinch the conference championship.

Rafael Araujo and Mark Bigelow each scored 21 points to offset AFA's 10 3-pointers, the bulk of those key buckets coming in the final 10 minutes.

The Cougars chose their poison. They could give up back-door cuts and layins, or take their chances with the Falcon's 3-point shooting. In the first half BYU elected to mix up a 1-3-1 zone and a little man and keep the Falcons out of the key. The result led to AFA making 6-of-13 treys and a 26-23 lead at the half.

"We practiced that zone for about a week. I thought Mark made two mistakes in the first half and got turned around and gave up a pair of 3s, but otherwise, I was pleased," Cleveland said.

During that first half the Cougars had plenty of possessions to lead Air Force but failed to consistently hold on the ball in the post and misfired on all five 3-point attempts. Thus, the Falcons simply out-3'd the Cougar for their three-point lead as both teams had nine field goals and shot 45 percent The game wasn't without its passion. Araujo collided with A.J. Kuhle midway through the second half and the collision drew blood on Kuhle's face. AFA coach Joe Scott came off the bench pointing at Cleveland and screaming for a flagrant foul.

"What I saw is Araujo trying to block his drive and his elbows are right where that young man's face is," Cleveland said. "It was a clean play, unfortunate, but nothing intended to hurt anybody. This is a physical game and Air Force plays physical."

Officials also asserted themselves outside the lines. In the first half, a referee threatened to kick out BYU's trainer for yelling at him and another official had a TV cameraman thrown out of the game.

Tim Keller led the Falcons with 16 points and AFA shot a respectable 46 percent from the floor.

The Cougars, victims of 70 percent shooting by AFA in Colorado Springs, outscored the Falcons 32-20 in the paint.

"This was a great game with a lot of passion out there," Cleveland said. "Air Force was playing for a championship out there. And it was like a championship game for us, playing for something on the line. Every game from here on out will be like this."

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