Dave Pilipovich’s first game as Air Force’s interim head coach didn’t turn out how he likely dreamed.

“Well, we lost,” Pilipovich said.

A shot of excitement the players had about having a new coach – by all accounts they had three great days of practice since Jeff Reynolds was fired, and they brought out the camouflage alternate jerseys they wore in the first two games as a way of turning the page – wasn’t the magical answer for a losing streak.

It became clear the players will need some time getting used to playing under Pilipovich, things like a new rotation and strategic changes, such as playing faster on offense. A switch wasn’t going to simply be flipped by the coaching change. All the Falcons’ issues weren’t suddenly cured.

“It’s been an emotional half week here, since Wednesday,” Pilipovich said.
“A lot of excitment, a lot of mixed emotions, a lot of confusion, and we came out with a lot of energy and a lot of spark. But then I think we were trying so hard.”

The team didn’t shoot well at all, and didn’t play great defense either. There are still six regular-season games left, but the Falcons won’t have any better matchups than Boise State, which was 0-7 in the Mountain West and without its starting point guard, who was suspended.

“We wanted to come out with a win, it didn’t happen,” forward Mike Fitzgerald said. “We’ve got to move on. We’re still going to stay positive, we’re still going to play hard.”

Pilipovich remained positive after the game, which will be how he leads the Falcons over the next four weeks, no matter the results.

“We’re going to get better,” Pilipovich said. “Each game, we’re going to get better.”

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