By Robert Weiler
There may have been five guys in BYU uniforms on the floor Monday night at Clune Arena, but by the time the BYU men?s basketball team put its act together against the Air Force Academy, they had picked up right where they left off in Albuquerque: down 19 points.
Missing their first 12 shot attempts of the evening, including free throws, and suffering through the first 10:39 of play without scratching the scoreboard, BYU set a number of unenviable records before being saved by the horn to end the 70-39 debacle.
With its worst loss in Mountain West Conference history, BYU completed its toughest road trip of the year and shifted its season from discouraging to, well ?
?I knew they (New Mexico and Air Force) would be difficult places to win, but that was one of the most embarrassing efforts, and that starts with me,? said BYU head coach Steve Cleveland. ?Everything that could go wrong did go wrong.?
Setting a new school record low for first half points in the shot clock era (13) and the lowest point total in Cleveland?s era, Cleveland said he was disappointed with the competitive effort of his team and a few of his leaders in particular.
?Coach Cleveland said there were two or three players that played their hearts out the whole game, and there were two or three of his main players that didn''t,? said junior guard Brock Reichner.
Unfortunately, relying on heart alone would not convert into points. After Austin Ainge?s NBA-range 3 ended the scoring drought, BYU made just four of its 21 attempts.
?Offensively, a lot of things that worked in the past did not work,? Cleveland said. ?We had open looks all the time at home. We didn''t have a post presence.?
Meanwhile, the Falcons shot 58 percent in the first half and killed the Cougars on the boards, outrebounding them 21-8. Antoine Hood scored 11 of the Academy?s first 19 points and Nick Welch added 10 to put the game out of reach with a 24-point lead.
?I think our guys got so down and so frustrated with not being able to score, they lost their energy to defend,? Cleveland said.
Air Force pushed the lead up to as much as 33 early in the second half, allowing head coach Chris Mooney to clear the bench and play all 17 of his players in uniform.
BYU?s Sam Burgess hit three 3?s during cleanup time to lead the Cougars in scoring with nine points, becoming the seventh Cougar this year to take the game-high honor.
Reichner, who got his first start for in a Cougar uniform and marked the 17th different starting five of the year, said there is still hope in the locker room despite the results of the last two games.
?It doesn''t feel good, that''s for sure,? he said. ?The only thing that we can do is come out fighting.?