Falcon's first loss; 46-38 to Belmont

The Falcons fall to 2-1 on the season as a slow start and early foul trouble against Belmont gives Air Force their first loss of the season.

Belmont's center, Adam Mark shot 11-of-12 from the field and posted game-highs of 24 points and seven rebounds as the Bruins defeated Air Force, 46-38, in Nashville.

The Falcons seemed to turn stone cold in their shooting as they did not score until the 16:27 mark when Joel Gerlach hit a free throw.  Antoine Hood then hit AFA's first field goal with a layup at the 13:50 mark.  The Falcons led 10-7 after a 10-0 run led by the two layups and a three-pointer by Nick Welch.  The Falcons held Belmont scoreless for more than nine minutes during that run.

Air Force's early foul trouble by Welch, Gerlach and backup center David Peterson produced two fouls each in the first 12 minutes of the game. Welch and Gerlach led the Falcons with nine points apiece and Antoine Hood chipped in with eight.

At the half the Falcons took a 15-12 lead into the locker room.  Air Force was 6-of-19 while Belmont was 4-17 from the field. The Bruins made just one of its last 12 field goal attempts in the half.

The second half was all Adam Mark as Belmont worked to get the ball to him in the post as often as possible. Mark scored the Bruins' first eight points of the half to give Belmont a 21-20 lead and later a stretch of seven consecutive points as the Bruins extended their lead to 36-28.  Air Force freshman Danny Nwaelele stopped the Falcons scoreless 5 minute run with a three-pointer at the 5:27 mark, cutting the Bruin's lead to 36-31. Belmont shot 64.7 percent (11-for-17) in the second half, finished the game shooting 44 percent, while Air Force shot just 35 percent (14-for-40) for the game. 

Air Force now 2-1 faces Auburn on 7 Dec.  Belmont is now 3-1.