Freshman Kam Sanders’ message to the locker room before Air Force’s home opener was, “Be the best us.”   

The Falcons (0-2) fell to Austin Peay (2-0) 74-54 on Saturday in their home opener at Clune Arena, with foul shooting preventing Air Force from gaining any momentum, as well as its 22 turnovers, just one less than in its game against Belmont on Monday. 

While 8-for-24 foul shooting and 22 turnovers for a double-digit loss to Austin Peay (2-0) may not have fulfilled Sanders’ sentiment, coach Joe Scott likes where the new-look team could be headed.

The team just needs to understand it’s about playing against themselves, not the other team.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell this new team we have,” Scott said. “We are going back to the drawing board like we are playing against ourselves in everything we do. We teach ourselves that it’s just us, and then we will stop helping the other team.”

“Doesn’t matter if it’s on the road or at home, that’s the game and we have to improve in that area, and I think we will. That has to be a focal point for every one of our players.”

“It’s always about us,” freshman Ethan Greenberg added. “The other team can do their own thing, but it’s all about us. We need to execute what we’ve been talking about all year and continue to get better each game.”

After leading 33-22 at the half, Austin Peay continued to extend its lead to a game-high 23 points (69-46) with five minutes left in the contest after a 10-0 run over three minutes. The Falcons found a spark with a late 6-0 scoring run, five of those points coming from Greenberg. But it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit set earlier in the half. 

The Falcons shot 30% from the field in the first half, and improved to 41% in the second for 37% overall. Greenberg led Air Force with 21 points from six 3-pointers, followed by Wes Celichowski with 10 points and Colorado Springs native Eli Robinson’s nine points and 10 rebounds.  

 “We are getting good looks and getting to the foul line, so that means we are an aggressive team, we just need to capitalize,” Sanders said. “We are getting into positions we need to, we just need to make some free throws that will help build some momentum.” 

While the Falcons outrebounded the Governors 41-35, turnovers continued to be an issue for Air Force.

“Every team is different, especially in this day and age. It’s a completely new team,” Scott said. “There’s an experiential thing they need to go through. What really needs to get done is a quick learning curve. They need to learn to treat the ball like gold.”

The starting lineup was the same as it was against Belmont with Sanders and Ethan Greenberg joining returners Eli Robinson, Caleb Walker and Wes Celichowski. AJ Patterson had his season debut with one rebound and one assist.  

The Falcons quickly fell behind 10-3 at the start of the first half, but three 3-pointers from freshman Ethan Greenberg closed the gap to 12-9. Air Force managed a 6-0 run, but Austin Peay responded with a 9-0 run and kept its momentum to lead by as many as 12 in the final minute of the half.

Air Force struggled from the free-throw line early, shooting 4-for-11 from the line. The first half also had flagrant fouls issued to Wes Celichowski and Austin Peay’s Rashaud Marshall after an altercation. 

Air Force returns to Clune Arena on Tuesday to face LIU at 2 p.m. MT. The game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network. 

“A tough game like this is easy to dwell on, but we have the guys to turn things around quickly,” Sanders said. “Everything on the court is self-inflicted. We will be better on Tuesday.”