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Burtschi strong again as Air Force tops Santa Clara

Dec 30, 2006 - 8:43 AM SANTA CLARA, California (Ticker) -- For the second straight night, Jacob Burtschi helped Air Force shake off the rust.

Burtschi scored 16 points and Andrew Henke and Matt McCraw added 13 apiece as the 17th-ranked Falcons routed Santa Clara, 78-48, to win the Cable Car Classic.

Dan Nwaelele scored 12 points for Air Force, which shot a blistering 60 percent (30-of-50) from the field and a remarkable 16-of-30 from the arc to overwhelm the Broncos. The Falcons already had one game with 15 3-pointers and two with 13 this season.

After a postponement of last Saturday's game vs. Northern Colorado due to the blizzard that inundated the Denver area, the Falcons (13-1) had not played since December 13, when they trounced Norfolk State.

However, they played for the second time in as many nights and did not show any signs of rust. After scoring 21 points against George Washington on Thursday, Burtschi was 5-of-9 from the floor and 4-of-7 on 3-pointers.

Henke, who faced his older brother - Santa Clara forward Mitch Henke - for the first time in his career, and McCraw combined to shoot 10-of-16 and 6-of-11.

The Falcons played a suffocating zone to force outside shots by the Broncos, who were just 5-of-21 on 3-pointers.

Santa Clara was the defending champion of the Cable Car Classic - its own tournament - after beating Bucknell for its 14th title last season.

The Broncos had won five of their last six contests, with the only loss at Kentucky on December 19. Friday's setback was their worst defeat since a 93-59 loss at New Mexico on November 13, 2004.

Santa Clara last lost on its home floor to then-No. 21 Nevada on November 25.

John Bryant scored 10 points for Santa Clara (10-5), which shot just 38 percent (17-of-45) and lost by 25 points or more for third time this season.