AIR FORCE ACADEMY - Amid all the rumors and uncertainty surrounding Air Force basketball coach Jeff Bzdelik, perhaps only this much is known for sure: Bzdelik will coach at least one more game at Clune Arena.

Rumored to be among the front-runners for the vacancy at the University of Colorado, Bzdelik spent more time Wednesday fretting about how to get his reeling Falcons back on track in the National Invitation Tournament than he did mulling his future.

On Wednesday night, Bzdelik's players made sure their coach's decision would be delayed until next week at the very least, using a hot start from three-point range, balanced scoring and a familiar defensive effort to beat Austin Peay 75-51 in the first round of the NIT.

The Falcons (24-8), the top seed in the tournament's West Region, will host fourth-seeded Georgia in a second-round game Monday.

The Falcons were stung and discouraged after a four-game losing streak, capped by a loss against Wyoming in the first game of the Mountain West Conference tournament, dashed their NCAA Tournament hopes. They shook off their disappointment and the distractions surrounding their coach to attack Austin Peay with the sort of fire that often had been lacking during the team's second-half slide.

"Our seniors have so much pride, I knew in my heart they weren't going to end it like the end of the season," Bzdelik said. "There was no worry about that."

The win extended the Falcons' nonconference home winning streak to 32 games. AFA won 30 in a row overall at Clune before closing the regular season with a 62-58 loss to Brigham Young.

In the early moments, it was not the speculation surrounding Bzdelik that was causing the former Nuggets coach to experience headaches, but an early salvo of three-pointers by Austin Peay. Combined with two missed point-blank layup attempts by the Falcons that forced Bzdelik to slump his head in frustration on the scorer's table, Austin Peay made three three-pointers to take a quick 9-3 lead.

But after Bzdelik called a timeout with 14:42 remaining in the first half, the Falcons went on a 15-3 run that included two three-pointers by Dan Nwaelele.

AFA's lead reached eight early in the second half when a pair of three-point plays by senior Nick Welch spurred the Falcons to a 14-4 run, allowing them to cruise toward a victory in its first appearance in the NIT. All five of the Falcons' starters finished with 13 points.

"Coach told us to go out there and have fun and play with desperate energy," AFA guard Matt McCraw said. "There is no tomorrow."

Air Force 75, Austin Peay 51

AUSTIN PEAY (21-12) - Reed 2-10 3-4 7, Lockett 6-14 5-5 17, Wright 2-9 0-0 5, Channels 1-4 0-0 3, Babington 2-7 0-0 6, Felder 1-1 1-4 3, Fields 2-4 0-0 4, Harrifrod 0-0 0-0 0, Shipley 2-10 0-0 5, Janusauskas 0-1 0-0 0, Roberson 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 18-62 10-15 51.

AIR FORCE (24-8) - Burtschi 5-9 1-2 13, Nwaelele 5-9 0-0 13, Welch 5-7 3-4 13, McCraw 4-6 3-5 13, Anderson 2-9 8-8 13, Henke 0-7 2-2 2, Hood 0-0 0-0 0, Teets 0-0 0-0 0, Holland 0-0 0-0 0, Kenzik 1-1 0-0 2, Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, Frye 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 25-55 17-21 75.

Halftime - Air Force 33-24. Three-point attempts - Austin Peay 5-22 (Reed 0-1, Lockett 0-1,Wright 1-4, Channels 1-3, Babington 2-6, Shipley 1-6, Roberson 0-1); Air Force 8-28 (Burtschi 2-5, Nwaelele 3-6, Welch 0-1, McCraw 2-4, Anderson 1-6, Henke 0-5, Frye 0-1). Fouled out - Channels. Rebounds - Austin Peay 33 (Lockett 10); Air Force 43 (McCraw 8). Assists - Austin Peay 23 (Reed 6); Air Force 17 (Anderson 6). Total fouls - Austin Peay 23, Air Force 19. A - 2,718.