Halloween may be over, but 23 turnovers for Air Force on Monday night were a frightening sight for the Falcons. 

Costly turnovers and foul trouble led to a 79-63 road loss to Belmont University to open Air Force’s 70th season of basketball. However, strong performances from its freshmen bode well for the team’s future.

After trailing by one in the first half (39-38), the Bruins outscored the Falcons 40-25 in the second half to lead to their second consecutive win over Air Force. Belmont earned 35 points from the Falcons’ 23 turnovers, 12 in the first half, and went 21-for-25 from the free-throw line. 

Four freshmen saw the floor Monday night in Nashville, including Ethan Greenberg and Kam Sanders in the starting lineup with returners Wes Celichowski, Caleb Walker, and Eli Robinson. 

The Falcons had three players in double-digits Monday, led by Sanders, who was recruited by Belmont, with 18 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. The Air Force freshmen accounted for 42 of Air Force’s points.

“What’s a positive from tonight is we got some guys their first college experience against a team that has won 20 games, 15 years in a row,” coach Joe Scott said on KVOR 740 AM. “We just need to get better from game to game. I tip my cap to Belmont, but we beat ourselves tonight.”

Air Force shot 51% from the field and went 7-for-9 from the free-throw line. The Bruins shot 47% from the field, and Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Sam Orme led Belmont in scoring with 23 points. 

Air Force started the first half shooting 8-for-8 from the field to create an eight-point lead (19-11) before falling into a four-minute scoring drought to allow Belmont to tie the game at 19-19. A layup by junior Kolby Gilles ended the drought, and it was back-and-forth until a driving layup by Belmont’s Nic McClain at the buzzer gave the Bruins a one-point edge. 

There were five lead changes and three ties in the first half, and Belmont scored 19 points from Air Force’s 12 turnovers. Belmont forced nine fouls from Air Force to go 12-of-14 from the free-throw line in the first half. 

The first half also saw a technical foul on Air Force coach Joe Scott that resulted in a six-point possession for Belmont, but the Falcons took back the lead late in the half. 

“We said on the bench our coach is fighting for us, so we have to fight for coach,” Sanders said on KVOR 740 AM. “We wanted to show our coach we can battle back for him.”

Walker opened scoring for the second half, but Belmont quickly created a 15-0 run over five minutes and led by as many as 18 points to extend its lead to 79-61. Air Force cut the lead to 10 but were prevented from scoring for the last three minutes of the contest.  

Air Force opens its season at home Saturday against Austin Peay at 2 p.m. 

“There were positive signs from this game we will build upon, and I’m just glad to persevere,” Sanders said. “We were battling, keeping each other in good spirits, and I’m grateful for that, grateful for my teammates just believing in me and the game plan. Hopefully, we get some wins.”