Friday, November 20th, 10:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Clune Arena (5,858) -- Air Force Academy, Colorado. Television: None. Home Record: Dickinson State 1-1, Air Force 1-0. Away Record: Dickinson State 0-3, Air Force 0-0. Neutral Record: Dickinson State 0-1, Air Force 0-0. Conference Record: Dickinson State 0-0, Air Force 0-0. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: The Air Force Falcons will host the Dickinson State Blue Hawks this evening in the opening round of the Reggie Minton Air Force Classic.

It has been a rough start to the year for the Blue Hawks, who have dropped five of their first six games. Dickinson State heads into this matchup with a two-game losing skid and the most recent loss was an 81-70 setback to Great Falls.

As for the Falcons, they opened their new campaign with a 65-54 decision over Western State. Air Force is coming off an embarrassing season in which the team dropped 21 games. However, seven of the Falcons' 10 victories last year did come at home.

This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

The Blue Hawks' abysmal start can be attributed to the team's play offensively, as Dickinson State is averaging just 66.8 ppg. The Blue Hawks are shooting a healthy 47.7 percent from the field, but the team is struggling from behind the arc (36.2 percent) and from the foul line (67.8 percent). Nathan Lebsock has been the top scoring option thus far and comes into this game averaging 14.2 ppg. Joshua Henry is the team's main threat in the paint, as the big man is posting 11.7 ppg, to go along with a team-high 7.7 rpg. The Blue Hawks shot an impressive 53.2 percent in their recent matchup, but the team could not overcome the 27 turnovers, and that was a major reason why Dickinson State fell to the University of Great Falls. Henry led the way with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds. Brian Lebsock added 14 points, while Branden Thomas chipped in with 10. As for the team's top scorer, Nathan Lebsock, he finished with just seven points in the setback.

Sure the Falcons were victorious in their opener, but the team did not play an outstanding game. In fact, Air Force was a tad inconsistent in the win, shooting a pedestrian 40.4 percent from the floor, while netting just 33.3 percent from long range, and a poor 56.3 percent from the foul line. Grant Parker poured in 26 points and grabbed seven boards for the Falcons, while Evan Washington contributed 14 points to go along with eight rebounds. Parker will be looked upon as a leader this season after performing as a reserve option last year (6.0 ppg and 2.7 rpg). The same goes for Washington, who contributed just 6.8 ppg last season. For the Falcons to have any success both players will have to take over this year.

The Falcons were not overly impressive in their opener, but they are clearly better than Dickinson State, and should have no trouble disposing of the Blue Hawks.

Predicted Outcome

Air Force 88, Dickinson State 59