By GREG MENGELT

COLORADO SPRINGS — Air Force freshman Jake Heidbreder scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds to help his Falcons knock off Texas Southern 61-57 at home Wednesday.

The Floyd Central graduate went 3-for-5 from the floor, 2-for-3 from the 3-point line and 2-for-4 from the charity stripe as the Falcons improved to 2-1 on the season.

Air Force had four players in double figures. Sophomore guard Joseph Octave led the way with 17 points, senior A.J. Walker added 13 and Heidbreder and junior Camden Vander Zwaag scored 10 each.

The Falcons trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half before the closed the deficit to 33-28 at the break. Heidbreder’s 3-pointer with 11:42 pulled the Falcons within a point at 43-42. His layup two minutes later gave Air Force a 46-44 lead. That started a decisive 17-9 run.

Texas Southern (0-4) was led by senior John Walker III, who had 16 points in the loss.

Heidbreder and the Falcons face Holy Cross (1-2) next at the Sunshine Slam in Daytona Beach, Fla. That game is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. start. The Falcons will face either Bryant (1-2) or Bethune-Cookman (0-3) at noon or 2:30 in the tournament’s final round.

By GREG MENGELT

ROCHESTER, Mich. — Kooper Jacobi and the Toledo Rockets suffered their fist loss of the season, 80-59 at Oakland (Mich.).

Oakland (2-1) outscored the Rockets 49-27 in the second half Wednesday at the Athletics Center O’Rena.

Jacobi, who helped lead Silver Creek to back-to-back state championships, scored five points and grabbed five boards in the loss. He also had a steal and an assists in his 23 minutes as a Toledo sub.

Jacobi’s first of two baskets came at the 11:49 mark of the first half. His jumper gave Toledo a 13-9 advantage. The freshman knocked down a 3-pointer with 5:29 left and the Rockets trailing 70-50.

Oakland senior Jamal Cain — the Golden Grizzlies’ leading scorer at 19.3 points per game — had a season- and game-high 29 points.

The Rockets, who host Charlotte (2-0) next Monday at noon in the first round of the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship in the Bahamas, were paced by sophomore Ryan Rollins’ season-best 21 points.

By GREG MENGELT

ATLANTA — Former New Albany star Romeo Langford went scoreless and his Boston Celtics dropped a 110-99 decision at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena on Wednesday.

Langford was 0-for-2 from from the field in his 14 minutes. He had five rebounds as Boston fell below .500 at 7-8.

Atlanta, which led 91-77 through three quarter, got 20 points from John Collins and 19 apiece from Kevin Huerter and Cameron Reddish. Five Hawks scored in double figures in the win, which makes them 7-9 on the season.

The Celtics’ Jayson Tatum was the game’s leading scorer with 34 points. He also had nine rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot. Jason Richardson was the only Celtic to score off of the bench. He had 11.

Langford and the Celtics return home Friday and host the rival Los Angeles Lakers. That game can be seen on ESPN.

By GREG MENGELT

MORAGA, Calif. — Bellmarine’s trip to the West Coast began with a pretty impressive performance, yet in defeat, 73-64 at Saint Mary’s (Calif.) on Wednesday evening.

Senior guard Dylan Penn did everything he could to keep the Knights in the game with the unbeaten Gaels (4-0). He had a game-high 27 points for Bellarmine, which falls to 0-3 with the loss. Penn was 11-of-19 from the field and had four rebounds and four assists in the loss.

Former Providence star Juston Betz scored on a layup — on an assist from Penn — with 12:41 left to get the Knights within 47-38. It was Betz’s only bucket. He finished with three points, five rebounds and two assists. The five rebounds is a season-best performance for Betz.

The Knights took a 55-54 lead with 5:54 left following a Penn jumper. The Gaels outscored Bellarmine 19-9 the rest of the way.

Estonian senior Matthias Tass led the Gaels with 25 points. He had 21 combined points in Saint’s Mary’s first three games.

The Knights stay out West and take on the nation’s top two teams in their next two games. First, it’s a true road game at No. 1 Gonzaga (3-0). That game is scheduled for 9 p.m. Friday. Then Bellarmine takes on No. 2 UCLA (4-0) at the Empire Classic in Las Vegas next Monday. The game against UCLA is on ESPN Plus.

By GREG MENGELT

HANOVER — Hanover shot over 50 percent from the field and drilled visiting Spalding 82-56 on Wednesday at John Collier Arena.

The Panthers connected on 55.7 percent of their shots and 12 of their 23 3-point attempts (52.2 percent) to improve to 2-0. The Golden Eagles are now 1-3.

Junior forward Ty Houston led the Panthers with 20 points and sophomore forward Matt Munoz finished with 14 in the win.

New Albany graduate Isaac Hibbard finished with nine on 4-of-10 shooting. His 3-pointer with 11:50 left in the second half put Hanover up 61-46. Hibbard also led Hanover with eight assists.

Former Christian Academy star Noah Williams contributed eight points, seven rebounds and six assists off the Hanover bench. He made 2 of his 3 3-point attempts.

Former Clarksville General Christian Stewart paced the Golden Eagles with 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists and a steal. Stewart and his Spalding teammates go to Ripon in Wooster, Ohio, for their next game Friday.

By GREG MENGELT

NEW ALBANY — Alice Lloyd’s Will Philpot hit a jumper with seven seconds left to help the Eagles knock off host IU Southeast 75-74 Wednesday at the Activities Building.

The Grenadiers, who led 47-36 at the half and led by as many as 14 in the first half, held a 74-67 edge after an Anthony Wells bucket with 2:12 left. The Eagles scored the final eight points of the contest.

IU Southeast (1-6) had four players scored in double figures. Glenn Hill Jr. led the Grenadiers with 15 points. Anthony Wales Jr., Jared Osborne and Richard Lang scored 12 apiece in the loss. Charlestown graduate Caleb Brown had six points for IUS, which returns to action Saturday at 2 p.m. when it goes to Brescia to face the 1-3 Bearcats.

Philpot scored 22 to lead all scorers. The Eagles remain unbeaten at 4-0.