COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Two-time all-Western Athletic Conference guard Otis Jones notched career highs in points and three-point goals to lead Air Force to an 85-76 win over Navy last night before 2,653 at Cloune Arena in both teams' season opener.
Jones, a senior, scored 37 points and hit seven of 10 three-point shots. He also grabbed a career-high eight rebounds.
For Navy, Randy Torgrimson scored 22 points on 6-for-11 field-goal shooting; all his shots were from three-point range. Michael Heary added 12 points for the Mids.
Navy used a 10-0 run late in the first half to close the gap on Air Force, but the Falcons recovered in time to take a 40-36 halftime lead.
Navy took a 7-5 lead after Torgrimson hit a three-pointer from the left baseline.
But Jones made three three-pointers -- sandwiched around another three-pointer from Torgrimson -- and the Falcons led 14-10 with 13:34 left in the first half.
Navy center Alex Kohnen hit a 10-foot jumper to make it 14-12, but he picked up his second foul with 12:03 left in the first half and didn't return until the second half.
Air Force took advantage of Kohnen's absence, outscoring the Midshipmen 18-8 over the next four minutes to take a 32-20 lead with 8:31 to go.
During the Falcon' run, the 5-foot-11 Jones hit a jumper, a three-pointer and his first career dunk.
Torgrimson's three-pointer with 4:15 left in the half pulled the Mids to 35-27 and started a 10-0 Navy run.
Navy's James Norris, who replaced Kohnen at center, hit a free-throw to complete a three-point play, the Mids' Wes Cooper hit two layups and Navy trailed 35-34 with 1:05 left in the half.
Charlie Nelson hit two free throws to end a four-minute Air Force dry spell, and Jones hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give him 21 points and giving the Falcons a 40-36 halftime lead.
Jones and Torgrimson both were 4-for-5 from three-point range in the first half. But the rest of the Mids were 1-for-6 on three-pointers. Air Force's Reggie Minton was 2-for-3 beyond the arc.
The Mids started the second half strong behind 5-8 guard Brian Walker. After Cooper hit a short jumper to give Air Force a 41-38 lead, Walker hit a layup and then stole the ball and made another layup to give Navy a 42-41 lead with 18:11 left, the Mids' first advantage since they led 7-5.
After an Air Force timeout, both teams went cold until Anthony Barrett hit a three-pointer to give AFA a 44-42 lead with 15:13 to go.
Navy didn't lead again until Torgrimson hit two free throws to give the Mids a 55-53 edge with 9:38 to go.