The Air Force Falcons defeated the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, 77-67, in the opening round of the 2011 CollegeInsiders.com Tournament. The Falcons never lost the lead in this game and had a 13-point lead at one in the first quarter.
Falcons sophomore Michael Lyons had team-highs with 21 points and three steals, but Derek Brooks had 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Evan Washington and Todd Fletcher both did a good job distributing the ball throughout the game, finishing with eight assists and six assists, respectively.
For the Fighting Sioux, it was raining three-points, putting up 39 shots. They made 13 of those shots. Josh Schuler and Troy Huff combined for 41 points and went 9-of-21 from beyond the arc. The bench scored only seven points.
It is not known who Air Force will play in the next round, but stayed tuned to the CIT's website for results as they come through. Buffalo, East Tennessee State, Jacksonville and Northern Iowa have already advanced to the next round. East Tennessee State and Northern Iowa have already been chosen as two of the four teams to receive byes to the quarterfinals. Four games are on Wednesday's schedule.