Air Force Academy
Utah State
Falcons Rally to Defeat Utah State, 73-72
1/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 01, 2014
Max Yon and Marek Olesinski scored 21 points apiece to lead Air Force past Utah State, 73-72, in the Mountain West opener for each school Wednesday night at Clune Arena.
Air Force (7-5) used an 11-2 run in the final minutes to take a 72-69 lead with 3:17 remaining. Yon keyed the run with nine points, including hitting seven-of-seven from the free-throw line. Olesinski scored the other two points on a layup with 4:11 to give Air Force its first lead since early in the second half.
The Aggies scored three points to tie the score at 72 with 1:23 remaining, but Tre' Coggins hit one-of-two free throws with 53 seconds left and Kamryn Williams got the offensive rebound off the miss to keep possession for Air Force. Following a missed 3-pointer by Justin Hammonds with 20 seconds left, each team turned the ball over setting up Utah State with possession with 11 seconds left. Air Force's defense forced a desperation 3-pointer by Jalen Moore in the final second to secure the win for the Falcons.
Olesinski came out of the gate on fire, scoring Air Force's first nine points and finishing the half with 15 as the Falcons held a 39-34 advantage at the break. Yon scored 15 of his points in the second half. Air Force shot 56 percent (14-of-25) from the field and was 6-of-12 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes.
"Tonight Max was pretty good," said Air Force head coach Dave Pilipovich. "He played with lots of energy and a lot of emotion. He gave us some leadership when Tre' (Coggins) was out with four fouls. He's just hard-headed. That's a good thing sometimes. He just competes and plays so hard."
Air Force finished the game hitting 51.1 percent from the field and hit 19-of-24 free throws. The Falcons held a 30-26 rebounding advantage against the Aggies, who entered the game as the conference's top team and among the nation's top 10 in rebound margin. Williams added four points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Coggins chipped in with 14 points.
Utah State (10-3) was led by Preston Medlin, who scored 19 points. Spencer Butterfield added 16 points while Moore added 14. Kyle Davis had 11 points and 11 rebounds. The Aggies hit 48.2 percent from the field and 37 percent from 3-point range. Utah State also hit eight-of-11 from the free throw line. The Aggies, who trailed 39-34 at the half, opened the second half on a 15-4 run to take a 49-43 lead with 16:01 remaining. They extended the lead to as many as nine points, 57-48, with 13:18 remaining.
The Falcons won their fourth straight conference opener and have captured eight of their last nine home conference games dating back to last season. They travel to Las Vegas to take on UNLV on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. (PT).
