USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Utah State saw its double-digit lead go by the wayside as the Aggies lost to Air Force 79-60 in a Mountain West men’s basketball game Tuesday night at Clune Arena.
Sophomore guard Brock Miller led the Aggies (13-5, 2-3 MW) with 16 points as he knocked down all five of his 3-pointers on the night. Senior guard Sam Merrill chipped in 10 points for USU, which lost its third-straight game.
Ryan Swan scored 31 points for the Falcons (8-8, 2-2 MW), who trailed the Aggies 34-22 with 3:46 left in the first half following a 3-pointer by Miller.
However, Air Force closed the half on a 9-0 run and went into the break only trailing 34-31. The Falcons kept soaring after intermission and extended their game-changing spurt to 29-5, opening a 51-39 lead with 13:48 to go.
The closest Utah State got the rest of the way was six – on two occasions.
The Aggies only shot 36.5 percent from the field on the night (23-of-63), including 35.7 percent from 3-point range (10-of-28), and 50.0 percent from the free throw line (4-of-8). Air Force did turn it over 13 times on the night, which led to 20 points on the other end.
Air Force shot 47.5 percent from the field (29-of-61), including 32.0 percent from beyond the arc (8-of-25), and 76.5 percent from the charity stripe (13-of-17).
Despite its height advantage over Air Force, Utah State was outrebounded 50-29.
AJ Walker joined Swan, who had a double-double with a game-best 11 rebounds, in double-figure scoring for the Falcons with 12 points.
Utah State will look get back on track when the Aggies host Nevada on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 6 p.m. The game between USU and the Wolf Pack will be televised live on the CBS Sports Network.