The most encouraging sign for Air Force basketball was found in the words of freshman Kam Sanders following an 18-point loss.

The Falcons fell 71-53 to Northern Colorado at home Wednesday. Air Force was outscored 30-9 from 3-point range and 20-5 over the final 10:33.

If strictly viewed from a basketball lens, there would have been plenty to dissect that went wrong.

But that’s missing the point for a Falcons team that is starting three direct-enter freshmen and a sophomore who played just one minute last season. The key at this point in a season that has seen four losses by double digits is making sure the team is equipped to handle the setbacks and grow through them.

That’s where Sanders words came in, describing how he found himself starting at point guard for this program after turning down 10 other NCAA Division I offers.

“(Associate head) coach (David) Metzendorf told me, ‘Be different. Don’t fall into what everybody else is doing, the temporary lifestyle,’” said Sanders, a freshman from Albany, Ga. “Just being here, being present and being grateful for being here. I’m trying to adopt that mindset. I love my team. We’re going to keep getting better as a team.”

There were positives to be found against the Bears, whose early RPI ranking (157) places them one spot behind Wyoming and ahead of Mountain West teams like Fresno State and San Jose State and well in front of the Falcons (315).

Northern Colorado made runs of 9-0, 6-0 and 5-0 and each time the Falcons answered to pull within three points.

The Falcons committed just five turnovers while forcing 13, their bench outscored the Bears’ 16-9 and they led 9-4 in second-chance points.

Quinn Denker, a fifth-year senior, led Northern Colorado (6-1) with 23 points. Brock Ware, also a senior, added 20. The pair combined for 28 second-half points on 11-of-16 shooting.

“What it came down to was hitting shots in big moments,” said Air Force sophomore AJ Patterson, who scored eight points with six rebounds off the bench.

Falcons (3-5) coach Joe Scott pointed to a lack of crispness and aggression in offensive execution, which he felt prevented the multiple pieces from working together. The first 16 points from his team came in the paint, which can often be a good sign, but not if it means the full offense isn’t involved to keep the defense working.

“It’s a balancing act,” said Scott, who likes his talent and finds his team has been “unbelievable” in being receptive to instruction.

The bigger balancing act for the Falcons is handling the losses in a way that doesn’t zap competitiveness and fosters growth.

“We showed some things, some signs from this game that we can build upon,” said Sanders, who scored a team-high 16 points. “I’m not happy, but I can see what we can be as a team. You see a good team, what it requires to win. We’ve got to keep building up on that.”