Air Force ahead at the half

Anwar Johnson scored 16 points in the first half and Matt Holland made a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to send Air Force into halftime of the first quarterfinal game of the Mountain West conference tournament with a 41-38 lead over top-seeded Brigham Young.

The Falcons are the No. 9 seed and did not win a conference game until knocking off Colorado State in the first round last night.

Holland and Andrew Henke added seven points each for Air Force. Henke also had five assists and four rebounds.

Jonathan Tavernari made three 3-pointers to lead the Cougars with 13 points, while Jimmer Fredette had 10.

Air Force jumped out to a 19-12 lead, but BYU responded with an 11-0 run midway through the half to take back the lead.

Air Force came back and the teams traded the lead over the final five minutes.

Rematch Thursday

The game between BYU and Air Force is the first of four rematches today.

That is not really a big deal, as that is always the case in conference tournaments.

What is noteworthy is that all four of the games that will be played today are rematches of games that were played on Saturday.

The higer-seeded team won each of the four games, but only New Mexico was on the road.

Who should Rebel fans cheer for?

It would be easy to get excited about the possibility of playing Air Force in the second round, should UNLV get by San Diego State today.

But, Lon Kruger’s squad would likely rather see BYU.

First of all, the Falcons gave the Rebels headaches with their patient style and zone defense just last week in this building.

The other, more practical reason, is that a loss to the Cougars wouldn’t look nearly as bad to the selection committee as a loss to an Air Force team that went winless in conference play.

Word travels fast

Lee Cummard was serenaded by UNLV fans with chants of “Psycho Sarah” that became especially pronounced when he was at the free-throw line.

The Air Force student contingent has picked up on the practice.

The chant is in reference to the antics of Cummard’s wife at last season’s Mountain West tournament.

Unlike last month’s UNLV game, Mrs. Cummard is believed to be in the building today.