MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 11, 2026

Jon Jordan

Kolby Gilles

Kam Sanders

Thomas & Mack Center

Air Force Falcons

Postgame Press Conference

Nevada 80, Air Force 45

THE MODERATOR: For Air Force we have student-athletes Kolby Gilles and Kam Sanders, Coach Jon Jordan.

Coach, let's start with you. Get some thoughts on today.

JON JORDAN: Please forgive my voice. I'm Jon Jordan with Air Force. Just wanted to come out here and compete as best as we could. That's always the goal, and I think sometimes things kind of get lost in the shuffle.

With what we've gone through this season one thing we know for sure is we did it together, and we did it all the way until the end.

Sometimes the scoreboard, it will tell the score of the game, but there's a bigger game in life, and I'm so proud of these young men next to me and the ones in the locker room that at that game of life, we didn't lose. Sounds cliche to say, and our intent was to win a basketball game today. Life doesn't always give you what you want, and you just have to keep pressing on and keep pushing.

You know, we didn't respond to the challenge the way you need to to win a basketball game today, but our players didn't give up. We did accomplish a couple of things that we haven't done this season. We went 11 for 11 from the free-throw line. That's a positive for us. That's a big step for us.

We did it together, and so that's my general thought for today. We did it together. Win, lose, or draw, we finished together. We'll take stock of everything that's happened and take a look at what's going to happen and we'll move on from here.

But these young men have a lot of to look forward to in their current teammates and in some teammates they'll have joining them very soon from now.

If they can stick together and learn the lessons of the season, there's a future ahead that's a lot brighter than today it. Those are my general thoughts.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. For both of you guys, obviously not the way you wanted this game or the season to go, but can you just kind of go through maybe some of the positives, the good memories that you have both on and off the court?

KAM SANDERS: I truly can say, man, these guys, this coaching staff, it's truly a brotherhood. It's always positive times. Just we recognize how much better we've gotten throughout the year. It's not one clear positive, because every day we can feel -- I mean, it's not reflected in the score, but I'm just grateful to have these men around me.

There's a true love there for them. Not one, because we know how we're getting better each and every day.

KOLBY GILLES: Yeah, to echo Kam here, a big positive, honestly, was this trip. You know, we tried our best to make it as special as possible, to get in the right head space, to prepare to win a basketball game.

We've never really focused on like the outside perspective of what we've got going on, because we recognize just how hard the sport is and what we do is, so all the outside noise really didn't bother us too much.

Like Kam said, we've really built a brotherhood this season that we're always going to stick together and push forward for next year.

Q. Coach kind of alluded to it, but a big thing about this team is that you're young and you have an opportunity going forward to be successful and kind of look at this season as kind of a distant memory. What are you guys excited for about the future with that?

KAM SANDERS: Just a challenge. Of course, this summer brings -- it should hurt I told the team. It should hurt. Reflect on this feeling this summer. Got to expound on it and get better as a team, as a unit, so when we finally do be successful in this journey, it can be even more sweeter, so...

KOLBY GILLES: Yeah, definitely a lot of work to be done this offseason, but you know, as much as the season hurts in terms of the result, I feel like this result is what's going to propel us to be a lot better next season. Only through great loss can you really gain anything.

I'm not trying to really look at it as a memory, but more as a constant reminder to keep pushing harder and to keep pushing myself to give as much as I can to this team so we can do better in the future.

Q. Coach, for you, just what were some of the good memories that you have and sort of being a part of this brotherhood and making that a thing that you guys can hang your heads on?

JON JORDAN: Well, I think just the understanding of how connected we all are, truly. The state of college basketball tends to ask the question, What can you do for me now? No matter what you did yesterday, that doesn't matter anymore.

With these young men we know we're going to ask of them some very big things in the future, so our relationship is important. The experiences that we have together are extremely important so that when they are asked those tough questions down the road, they know how to respond, they know what to do, and they know why they're doing it.

It will not be a question in their mind, and so that's what's unique and positive about this experience, especially in the current landscape of college basketball where it's common for players to switch schools from year to year and teammates not to know who is my new teammate going to be?

We're building something here. As time goes on, these guys are going to be the constant. We're asking them to do their very best to be that constant so that as new pieces get added, it grows. So you got to start somewhere, and that's where we're at right now be.

Q. It's bigger than a game, like you said. It's about life and growing into good, young men. Just what are you most proud of? Is there something you're most proud of about this group in particular, the way they carry themselves each and every day despite the results?

JON JORDAN: I believe so. I spoke to them briefly in the locker room a little while ago. In life you get challenges, and life sometimes throws adversity at you. These guys did not wilt, they did not give up, they did not falter.

Didn't work out the way we wanted. We wanted very much to get a conference win, but that did not happen. We had our chances. We had our chances, but we still have some growing to do and some learning to do, but they didn't give up. I know a lot of situations where young men and old would have just said, we're done; we're not going to do this anymore.

So our players, our coaching staff, our administration stayed the course. That's the only answer. That's the only way. The results may be whatever they are, but we stayed the course, and we'll see where we go from here.

I'm very proud of this team, this program, our institution for that.