Winning Ain't Pretty

Air Force won a basketball game Wednesday night, beating Nevada 75-70. It was an ugly game for both teams, filled with fouls, 65 combined free throws, turnovers, and sometimes sloppy play. One team had to win, and it was the Falcons. As this 2014-15 season winds down Air Force has learned some things about itself, and maybe the biggest is, Winning Ain't Pretty. Sure, sometimes you shoot 60%, play unbelievable defense and roll to an easy win. But those victories are reserved for match-ups against teams like Colorado Christian and Western State. In conference play its different. Sometimes you don't have your "A" game. Some nights the shots won't fall. On many an evening you have to throw the scouting report out the window. But you still gotta play. The Falcons have started to figure this out. Sophomore forward Hayden Graham had 12 points and 10 rebounds in that win over the Wolfpack. He said two interesting things on the post-game radio show. The first revelation was Air Force would not have won this kind of game a year ago. The second was teams have to find different ways to win. He was spot on with both observations. I have a new saying that I stole from Ohio State Football Coach Urban Meyer-"Embrace The Grind." That's what the Falcons did Wednesday night. They hung around, they screwed up, they fought back, they got dirty, but found a way to win. As the season comes down to a precious few games nobody wants to see it end. Teams that understand you have to get down and dirty to find wins, usually end up on top. In a season of lessons for the Air Force Mens Basketball team they're starting to understand winning ain't pretty. And, to have survived so many injuries and tough losses and find themselves just 1 game under 500 this late in the year is a testament to growing, learning, and doing what it takes to win.