Air Force Academy
San Diego St
Falcons Fall To Aztecs
1/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By JOHN MOSSMAN
AP Sports Writer
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Freshman Evan Burns came off the bench and hit his first four shots, triggering a 13-0 first-half run that helped San Diego State beat Air Force 63-48 Saturday in a Mountain West Conference opener.
Burns finished with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting as the Aztecs (10-4) posted their fourth straight road win.
Tim Keller had 13 points for Air Force (9-5), which trailed 34-29 at halftime but shot only 24 percent (5-for-21) in the second half.
Deandre Moore had 11 points and eight rebounds for SDSU, and Tony Bland also had 11 points.
The Aztecs shot 58 percent compared to Air Force's 39 percent.
Air Force jumped out to a 12-7 lead with 13:30 left in the first half as Tom Bellairs scored on two quick layups, A.J. Kuhle and Joel Gerlach hit 3-pointers and Keller had a steal and layup.
The Falcons then endured a drought of 5:22, during which SDSU scored 13 straight points to take a 20-12 lead.
Burns hit a jumper, had a steal and slam dunk, then followed with a turnaround in the lane and a short jumper in a span of 1:40. Mike Mackell's layup and Tommy Johnson's 3-pointer capped the flurry.
Air Force countered with a 13-4 run, hitting four straight shots, to take a 25-24 lead with 5:05 left in the half. David Peterson, Keller and Kuhle each hit 3-pointers during that spurt.
Bland and Moore each scored five points as the Aztecs outscored AFA 10-4 the remainder of the half.
Air Force cut the deficit to four points on three occasions early in the second half, but the Falcons' poor shooting, particularly from 3-point range, stymied any comeback. The Falcons were 1-for-12 on 3-pointers in the half.
Freshman Steve Sir hit a 3-pointer and a twisting shot on the baseline as San Diego State boosted its lead to nine points with 9:55 left. After AFA cut the lead to six, Burns made a jumper and Mike Mackell had back-to-back baskets for a 51-42 lead with 5:00 to go.
