Air Force’s team let out a sigh of relief as the game buzzer sounded, this time with its name on top. 

In a gritty game down to the wire, the Falcons (4-1) earned their first win of the season, edging Alabama State 66-64 Wednesday at Clune Arena.  

After being down 39-32 at the half, Air Force fought to tie the game at 64-64 with less than a minute left. A driving layup by freshman Kam Sanders put Air Force up with 16 seconds left and his defensive rebound at the buzzer sealed the Falcons’ win to snap a nine-game losing streak dating back to last season. 

“I wasn’t playing my best the duration of the game but my teammates picked me up through that adversity,” said Sanders, who had seven points and six assists. “I’m just thankful for my teammates for trusting me in that moment and I’m just grateful for the win.”

Several players contributed to Wednesday’s win, including a first career double-double from junior Caleb Walker and 40 points from Air Force’s freshmen, the most this season. 

Walker notched 17 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman Lucas Hobin had a career-high 20 points to lead the Falcons and freshman Ethan Greenberg rounded out three Air Force players in double digits with 13.  

“It’s a good feeling, all glory to God and grateful for the opportunity,” Walker said of his performance. “Just doing what I can today to help the team get a win but it wasn’t just me. There were a bunch of young guys that had a big impact especially. It’s cool, but it takes everyone.”

Walker had been playing forward until Saturday’s game with Miami-Ohio when he moved back to center off the bench. The results have been a success. 

“We tried to play Wes (Celichowski) and I together but it wasn’t getting the job done and I’m more comfortable (at center) since I played it all last year,” Walker said. “It feels good to be back.”

Senior guard Micah Simpson led the Hornets with 30 points, but the Falcons held him scoreless for the last 13 minutes. 

Air Force shot 50% from the field, its second time over 50% this season, while Alabama State shot 40%. The Falcons outrebounded the Hornets 33-24 and shot 43% from the 3-point line with nine 3s, both season highs. 

“Obviously extremely very happy with the result,” coach Joe Scott said. “We have seven games in 22 days. They are all winnable, all loseable. We have changed our lineups and know we’ve gotten better. I’m glad we have these next six games in 21 days because these guys need to play and play and play and really show they can get better and grow.”

“We battled … had to grind. We learned today grinding possession by possession. It wasn’t easy. Winning is hard, it requires everything.”

There were seven ties and seven lead changes in the first half, which ended with a 39-32 Hornets lead after a 7-0 run in the last 15 seconds. Five of those points came from made free throws, including a technical foul issued to Scott. 

The Falcons went cold for over six minutes during the second half, but never trailed for more than three points during that stretch. A pair of layups by Walker gave Air Force a one-point edge and it was back-and-forth until Alabama State fell into a 3-minute scoring drought to help the Falcons land on top. 

Air Force returns to Clune Arena to face SIUE at 4 p.m. Friday in the first game of two in the Air Force Classic.