AIR FORCE ACADEMY - Air Force's seniors are having too much fun to let the ride end.

Motivated to keep their careers going as long as possible and seemingly completely recovered from the disappointment of fading out of the NCAA Tournament picture, the Falcons assured themselves of playing one final game at Clune Arena by beating Georgia 83-52 on Monday in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.

Air Force's senior class, which has led the program to two NCAA Tournament appearances and three 20-win seasons, will enjoy one last hurrah at Clune Arena on Wednesday, when the Falcons host DePaul in a quarterfinal game for the right to advance to the NIT's Final Four at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Air Force improved to 25-8, setting a program record for wins in a season. It was the 89th victory for the Falcons seniors, also a team record.

"We're going to make the most of the NIT," senior forward Jacob Burtschi said. "There is nothing wrong with winning the NIT championship. Yeah, it's not the NCAA (Tournament). But you know what? I think as of (Wednesday) night, there is only 24 teams playing. And we're one of those 24. We're lucky enough to get another home game and hopefully move on next week to New York."

Senior guard Tim Anderson set the tone at the opening tip, snaring the loose ball out of the arms of a Georgia player and racing for a layup that immediately sent the crowd of 5,698 into a frenzy.

The Falcons outhustled and outexecuted the bigger, more athletic Bulldogs from the Southeastern Conference from the early moments, using an early 21-3 run to take control while putting together one of their finest all-around efforts of the season.

Air Force made six of its first 10 three-point attempts and shot 56 percent overall. The Falcons did not commit a foul until more than 13 minutes had elapsed and did not commit a turnover until a little more than 4 minutes remained in the first half.

Air Force made 16-of-17 free throws and finished the first half with more steals (three) than turnovers (two).

The Falcons also outrebounded the Bulldogs and harassed lethargic Georgia into 16 turnovers and 36.4 percent shooting.

Burtschi posted the fifth double-double of his career, leading the Falcons with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Dan Nwaelele scored 19 points and Anderson turned in a solid all-around game, collecting nine points, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots.

"We played well," said Air Force coach Jeff Bzdelik, whose team has won 33 consecutive nonconference games at home. "I always look for something to yell at them about and I couldn't find it there for a while. We knew (Georgia) forced about 16 turnovers a game and that we really needed to take care of the basketball.

"We knew when they scored in the 80s they usually won. When they score in the 60s, they usually had a tough time. So we wanted to make sure we were really efficient offensively and made them work and, as we typically try and do defensively, to give them nothing easy. And we did a real good job on the boards."

Air Force 83, Georgia 52

GEORGIA (19-14) - Brown 4-9 1-4 9, Bliss 0-0 1-4 1, Gaines 2-4 4-4 9, Stukes 2-9 0-1 5, Humphrey 1-6 1-2 4, Ndiaye 0-0 0-0 0, Brizendine 0-0 0-0 0, Newman 1-4 2-3 4, Butler 0-1 4-4 4, Woodbury 6-11 1-2 16, Singleton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-44 14-24 52.

AIR FORCE (25-8) - Burtschi 7-11 4-4 21, Nwaelele 6-14 4-4 19, Welch 4-5 0-0 9, McCraw 3-7 2-2 9, Anderson 4-7 0-0 9, Henke 2-3 1-1 5, Hood 0-1 0-0 0, Merriex 0-0 0-0 0, Teets 0-0 0-0 0, Holland 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 3-4 3, Maren 1-1 0-0 3, G. Parker 0-0 0-0 0, Frye 0-0 2-2 2, Kenzik 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 28-50 16-17 83.

Halftime - Air Force 43-24. Three-point attempts - Georgia 6-18 (Woodbury 3-6, Gaines 1-3, Humphrey 1-3, Stukes 1-6), Air Force 11-25 (Burtschi 3-5, Nwaelele 3-9, Welch 1-1, Maren 1-1, Kenzik 1-1, McCraw 1-2, Anderson 1-4, Hood 0-1, Henke 0-1). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - Georgia 28 (Woodbury 8), Air Force 29 (Burtschi 10). Assists - Georgia 9 (Gaines 5), Air Force 20 (McCraw 6). Total fouls - Georgia 19, Air Force 17. A - 5,698.