LAS VEGAS - If the Air Force Falcons are not smiled upon by the NCAA Tournament selection committee Sunday, they have only themselves to blame.

Check that. They also can blame a fired-up, relentless bunch of Wyoming Cowboys.

Wyoming, always a dangerous team once the postseason begins, might have dashed the cadets' NCAA dream Thursday afternoon, gritty guards Brandon Ewing and Brad Jones leading the Cowboys to a 67-62 win in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Air Force, once ranked as high as No. 13 in the national polls and considered an NCAA lock as little as two weeks ago, now has an unsightly blemish on its NCAA at- large résumé. The Falcons have lost four consecutive games, and the curious nose dive very well could cost the reborn academy program a third NCAA appearance in four years.

"I'm not going to make a case for us (for NCAA candidacy)," bewildered AFA coach Jeff Bzdelik said after the loss. "We've put ourselves in this position, so we're at their mercy, and that's the only thing I can say."

He also could have said something about why the Falcons have collapsed these past two weeks. But he, like everyone wearing white and blue Thursday, doesn't have a clue.

What was clear Thursday was Wyoming, for 40 minutes, was the more polished, more aggressive, more driven team. Led as usual by their superb guard duo of Ewing and Jones, who combined for 48 points, the fifth-seeded Cowboys took it to the Falcons from the get-go, scoring the first eight points, including the first two on a dynamic alley-oop from Ewing to Joseph Taylor.

The Falcons, who squeezed into the NCAAs in 2004 and last season despite first-round MWC tournament losses, might have run out of NCAA mojo this time.

Something clearly is wrong with a team that was a passionate and overwhelming force during its 17-1 start. The shots aren't falling. The crisp passing game that discombobulated opponents early in the season is gone. On defense, Air Force is letting too many drivers get too close to the rack.

On this day, even free throws, a longtime Air Force strength, missed the mark. AFA, which led the MWC with a free-throw percentage of .769, missed 14 of its 32 free-throw tries. Senior forward Jacob Burtschi at one point missed four straight during a crucial stretch of the second half.

"You're not going to win a big game and beat a good team if you don't shoot free throws well, miss open shots and don't rebound the basketball," said Bzdelik, who looked utterly dumbfounded after the game. "It's that simple. We had our chances, and we didn't take advantage."

Air Force led only once, 21-20 with 4:32 left in the first half.

Meanwhile, Ewing and Jones maintained their over-the-top aggressiveness in the second half.

By the midway point of the second half, Wyoming's lead was up to seven. With Air Force shots clanging off rims and free throws rimming out, it all was too much for the Falcons to overcome.

But Air Force's loss was the Cowboys' gain. They have a history of fine conference tournament play. Last March, as a No. 7 seed, they surprisingly reached the MWC final at the Pepsi Center.

"We didn't come here to win one game," said Ewing, whose Cowboys face Brigham Young in the semifinals at 7 MST tonight (CSTV). "We came here to win this tournament, win this whole thing. We feel we have unfinished business."

Said Wyoming coach Steve McClain: "I told the kids, 'It's a new beginning. It's a new start. Let's embrace it.' "

The cadets, for their part, must embrace this: They have gone from lock to bubble to big-time trouble. And all they can do is watch and hope. Asked to make a case for his team's NCAA candidacy, Burtschi tried to keep a brave face.

"It's been rough these last couple weeks," the senior said through quivering lips. "But I think you have to look at the big picture of our season, what we've done overall. I think we've shown we can handle almost everybody."

Not Wyoming. Not Thursday. And now, the Falcons might be headed somewhere next week they never thought was possible. A little thing called the National Invitation Tournament.

WYOMING (17-14) - Spencer 1-5 1-1 3, Taylor 3-5 2-2 8, Brown 3-4 0-0 6, Jones 8-13 12-15 29, Ewing 5-9 7-9 19, Okoye 0-0 0-0 0, Dermody 1-1 0-0 2, Platt 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-39 22-27 67.

AIR FORCE (23-8) - Burtschi 5-10 3-9 15, Nwaelele 3-9 3-6 9, Welch 2-5 0-0 4, McCraw 1-5 0-0 3, Anderson 3-8 7-9 13, Henke 4-6 5-7 16, Johnson 1-1 0-1 2, Frye 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-44 18-32 62.

Halftime - Wyoming 28-25. Three-point attempts - Wyoming 3-14 (Ewing 2-6, Jones 1-4, Spencer 0-2, Platt 0-2), Air Force 6-18 (Henke 3-4, Burtschi 2-3, McCraw 1-3, Welch 0-2, Anderson 0-2, Nwaelele 0-4). Fouled out - Dermody, Jones. Rebounds - Wyoming 32 (Spencer 8), Air Force 21 (Burtschi 9). Assists - Wyoming 7 (Jones 4), Air Force 11 (McCraw 5). Total fouls - Wyoming 25, Air Force 21. A - 9,813.

holtzr@RockyMountainNews.com Wyoming 67, Air Force 62

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