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Air Force defeats Wyoming 59-40, ends 9-game skid

Mar 11, 2010 - 12:10 AM By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Sports Writer

LAS VEGAS(AP) -- The Air Force Falcons love play-in games. For the second straight season, they won in the opening round of the Mountain West Conference tournament, beating Wyoming 59-40 Wednesday.

Last year they snapped a 17-game losing streak with a win over Colorado State in the tournament opener. This time they snapped a nine-game skid.

They also beat Wyoming on Jan. 30, which ended a league-record 22-game regular-season conference losing streak.

The ninth-seeded Falcons (10-20) will face top-seeded and eighth-ranked New Mexico (28-3) on Thursday.

Air Force, which built a 32-21 halftime lead and never trailed in the second half, was led by Grant Parker's 15 points and Michael Lyons' 11.

The eighth-seeded Cowboys (10-21), who got 18 points from Desmar Jackson and 12 from Adam Waddell, cut their deficit to 47-40 on Waddell's basket with 5 1/2 minutes left. But the Falcons responded with a bucket by Parker and a three-point play by Todd Fletcher that ignited a 12-0 run to end it.