It has already been a long week for the Air Force basketball team.

The Falcons left on Monday afternoon, a day earlier than normal for their Wednesday road game, on a military plane. They were honored at a dinner at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on Tuesday night, and then played at Wright State on Wednesday. Nothing was out of the ordinary until the team was getting ready for its flight home at about 8 a.m. on Thursday morning, and was told the plane was broken. The earliest another plane could pick the players and coaches up, they were told, was about 8 p.m., and they would get back to the academy at midnight. Commercial flights home were explored, but they still wouldn’t get back until the middle of the night.

Coincidentally, Lt. Gen. Mike Gould, Air Force Academy’s Superintendent, was at the Air Force Base, heard of the team’s plight and made some calls. The team got a plane earlier than expected and was back at the academy at 5:30 p.m.

“We were blessed Gen. Gould was there,” coach Jeff Reynolds said.

Still, the team couldn’t practice Thursday, and the players’ preparation for finals was disrupted. The Falcons have had a few distractions this week, and still have to play North Carolina Central on Saturday night.

“You always wonder how it is going to affect things,” Reynolds said. “We hopefully won’t have any negative repercussions. This is a resilient bunch.”

Guard Evan Washington looked at the bright side, that the team will be prepared for the conference season, when there are quick turnarounds between games.

“It’s tough, but it’s a preview of what we’re going to get later in the year,” Washington said.

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