Like the weather Wednesday night, Air Force went cold in the second half for a blowout loss to the University of the Pacific. 

The Tigers led by 15 at the half, and a lethal offense led by Elias Ralph’s 31 points helped Pacific stay ahead for the rest of the contest for a 80-65 win over the Falcons at Clune Arena. 

The Tigers (7-2) extended their lead to a game-high 20 points with two minutes left (80-60) while Air Force went without a field goal for almost the entire last 8 minutes of the second half, save a 3-pointer by Lucas Hobin in the last 30 seconds.

“We got to figure out ways no matter what to execute the scouting report and have the understanding of team defense,” coach Joe Scott said. “You need to give the guy credit, (Ralph) averages 17 a game and makes his foul shots.” 

Air Force (3-7) struggled at the foul line the whole game, shooting 19-for-32 (59%) after shooting 3-for-11 in the first half. The Falcons shot 47% from the field and their 11 turnovers were one off the lowest of the season (10).

Hobin led four Falcons in double digits with 19 points, including three 3-pointers, and went 8-for-12 from the foul line. Caleb Walker had 15 points, Eli Robinson had 11, and Kam Sanders put up 10. 

Pacific had four players in double digits as well, and shot 53% from the field and 90% (18-for-20) from the foul line. 

“Our defense needs to do a better job following the scouting report and comes down to guarding your guy, me included,” Walker, a junior, said. “Just playing solid defense.”

“It’s the same game to game, foul shooting, defensive rebounds,” Scott said of what the team needs to focus on. “We have to get better at those things, understand the purpose of our defense and have to continue to grow and understand the purpose of offense. The purpose is executing, do it right, do it hard. Same thing defensively. All games are similar in that regard, which is why consistency comes with the more games you play.”

Pacific led by 15 at the end in the first half after a 17-3 run helped the Tigers gain a comfortable advantage early. The Falcons managed to get within five points around the 7-minute mark, but then went cold for the last 4 minutes of the half and had three turnovers in the last 2 minutes. 

“It doesn’t help when we start poorly, we are good getting back into the game but when you start off giving up a 17-3 run it’s pretty hard to stay in the whole game,” sophomore Eli Robinson said. “We need to be more solid at the start and make free throws.”

Air Force travels to Annapolis to face Navy for the first time since 2005 at 10 a.m. MT Sunday. 

“In football it’s a huge rivalry; for whatever reason we haven’t played them since 2005,” Scott said. “It’s a big game, every game is a big game for us. We are going to do some things so our guys know it’s a big game. We got to be ready to go.”