Air Force men’s basketball lost to Wyoming 66-62 on Saturday afternoon in Laramie, dropping to 3-26 overall and 0-18 in Mountain West Conference play. The game took place at Arena Auditorium, where the Falcons nearly completed a comeback led by freshman Kam Sanders.
Sanders scored 16 points, collected nine rebounds, and made five assists. He was instrumental late in the game, hitting three consecutive three-point shots to give Air Force a 62-59 lead with under two minutes left. However, Wyoming responded with the final seven points of the contest.
“It was a tough loss for the Falcons, who had erased a 10-point deficit, only to see it slip away late.” The team held Wyoming to 34.5 percent shooting from the field and just 25 percent from beyond the arc.
At halftime, Wyoming led 35-25 after capitalizing on turnovers and second-chance opportunities. The Cowboys had a 15-4 advantage in points off turnovers and outscored Air Force 12-3 on second-chance points before halftime. Despite shooting efficiently—45 percent from the field and 60 percent from three-point range—Air Force attempted only 20 shots compared to Wyoming’s 36 in the first half.
The Falcons trailed by ten midway through the second half but used a nine-point run to close within one point. Sanders then sparked another rally with his three-pointers before Wyoming reclaimed control as Nasir Meyer converted a basket and free throw for a two-point lead.
Sanders finished as Air Force’s leader in scoring, rebounding, and assists. He tied his career high by making four of five three-pointers. Sophomore Eli Robinson contributed twelve points while junior Wesley Celichowski added nine points and grabbed seven rebounds—a personal best—alongside two made threes. Junior Caleb Walker chipped in eight points and five rebounds.
Wyoming’s Damarion Dennis led all scorers with sixteen points while Meyer posted fourteen points and eight rebounds.
Overall, Air Force shot nearly fifty percent from the floor and made eight three-pointers—a notable increase from their previous meeting against Wyoming when they hit just one three-pointer.
The recent games show improvement for Air Force; earlier this week they lost by six points to San Jose State before falling by four at Wyoming.
Air Force will play its final home game of the season against Grand Canyon on Tuesday, March 3 at Clune Arena with tip-off set for 7 p.m. MT. The matchup will be streamed live on the MW Network.
