Senior forward Judson Stubbs led the Horned Frogs (5-20, 1-10) in scoring Wednesday night with 11 points, but it was to no avail as the Air Force Falcons (20-5, 8-4) beat TCU 63-45.The Falcons were led by senior guard Antoine Hood who finished with 23 points on 9 of 16 shooting.
“(Hood) is a guy that doesn’t get enough credit,” head coach Neil Dougherty said. “He could play and start for any team in the country.”
Dougherty said Hood is the most complete guard in the entire Mountain West Conference.
“Hood has ability to shoot, drive to the basket, pass the ball and play defense,” Dougherty said.
The Frogs committed 19 turnovers Wednesday night, which the Falcons turned into 25 points.
“The main problem tonight was turnovers,” Dougherty said. “It was more of a problem tonight than any other night.”
The Frogs were outscored 42-16 in the paint, most of which came off the back door cuts which have proven to be the trademark of the Princeton offense.
“The Falcons can really shoot, and they are usually going to get a look at a three or a layup,” sophomore guard Brent Hackett said. “If we had to pick our poison, we would want them to score off the dribble.”
The Falcons ran a matchup zone, which proved to be effective because the Frogs had trouble getting the ball to leading scorer Nile Murry, who finished with 7 points on 2-6 shooting.
“They matched on Nile all night,” Dougherty said. “Their matchup zone is very unique because they can settle on one player and make it difficult.”
The loss Wednesday is the Frogs’ 12th defeat in their last 13 games and their sixth in a row.
The Frogs next game is at 9 p.m. Saturday at San Diego.