Rams look to extend winning streak against Air Force

Eddie Herz

January 17, 2018

Nixon dribbles with left hand — Prentiss Nixon (11) dribbles by a Wyoming defender during the second half of the Rams’ 78-73 border war win over the Cowboys in Laramie. Nixon finished with 16 points all in the second half. (Javon Harris | Collegian)

The Colorado State Rams will head home to face the Air Force Falcons on Wednesday night in search of their third consecutive victory.

After losing two straight games that went down to the wire against San Diego State and Fresno State, the Rams responded by defeating Utah State and Wyoming in back-to-back games on the road.

CSU’s leading scorer Prentiss Nixon and senior forward Che Bob have done the heavy lifting as of late. Nixon set a career high for scoring in a Mountain West game in the victory over Utah State with 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor. The guard followed up that performance by contributing 16 points in the Border War victory over the Cowboys.

Bob, who is averaging 10.3 points per game this season, scored 19 points against Utah State and was the Rams’ leading scorer against Wyoming with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

While Bob has never faced Air Force in his career, Nixon had no trouble making an impact both times CSU matched up with the Falcons last season. The guard collected a total of 35 points against Air Force in two meetings during the 2016-17 season.

Though the Falcons have tumbled to a 7-10 (1-4 MW) record after beginning the season 3-0, they come to Fort Collins with a little bit of momentum. Air Force was finally able to shake the monkey off its back last Saturday when it picked up its first conference victory of the season in five tries. The Falcons defeated San Jose State 78-71 on the road.

The major problems for Air Force thus far have been scoring consistently and rebounding effectively.

The Falcons rank 292nd among all Division I schools in total scoring, with an average of 69.2 points per game. In fact, Air Force is one of only two Mountain West teams to have less than two players averaging double digit points per game.

The lone Falcon scoring in double figures consistently is sophomore forward Lavelle Scottie, who has scored 11.6 points per game. In terms of rebounding, the Falcons are the worst team in the Mountain West. Air Force’s 32.8 team rebounds per game also rank 313th among 351 teams.

CSU has not lost to Air Force since Feb. 26, 2011. Since that loss, the Rams have defeated the Falcons in 12 consecutive games.

The Rams are set to tip off against the Falcons at 7 p.m. MT. The game can be seen on AT&T SportsNet. Audio coverage will be provided by KARS 102.9 FM with Brian Roth conducting play-by-play.

Collegian sports reporter Eddie Herz can be reached by email at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @Eddie_Herz.

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