Air Force travels to Utah State
1/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
THE SERIES
Air Force and Utah State are meeting for the 14th time overall and second time as conference opponents. Utah State leads the series 10-3 overall, including a 6-0 mark at home. The Falcons are 1-0 in conference games following last season's 73-72 win in Clune Arena to open conference play. The series is tied 3-3 at the Academy and the Aggies have a 1-0 mark in neutral site games. The teams first played Feb. 15, 1963 at the Academy. Air Force won the game, 66-65.
LAST SEASON VS. UTAH STATE
1/1/14: 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 at Clune Arena. Air Force 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. 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 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.
AIR FORCE EARLIER THIS WEEK
Sam Logwood scored a career-high 17 points and hit a crucial 3-pointer for New Mexico to defeat Air Force, 60-48 Wednesday night. Zach Kocur scored 12 points for the Falcons (8-8, 1-4 Mountain West), but no teammate reached double digits. Although the Lobos (12-5, 4-1) never trailed in the second half, they could not extend the lead beyond five points until inside five minutes. A 7-0 run that began with five foul shots pushed New Mexico's lead to 49-40. But the streak ended when the Lobos' Devon Williams was called for a flagrant foul, which turned into a four-point Air Force possession, cutting the lead to 49-44 with 2:20 left. On the ensuing possession, Logwood buried a baseline 3-pointer just before the shot clock ran out and the Falcons did not threaten thereafter. Hugh Greenwood had 11 points and six assists for New Mexico.
AIR FORCE LAST THIS WEEK
Air Force split a pair of home games. The Falcons defeated San Jose State, 78-56, on Wednesday while falling 92-87 to Colorado State on Saturday.
Vs. Colorado State: J.J. Avila scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Colorado State to a 92-87 win over rival Air Force . Gian Clavell chipped in 13 for the Rams, and Joe De Ciman had 12. Max Yon led Air Force with 25 points, while Marek Olesinski added 20 and Justin Hammonds had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Colorado State turned a 40-30 rebounding advantage into 12 second-chance points, and the Falcons shot just 58 percent (11 of 19) from the free-throw line. The teams combined for 38 fouls in the intensely physical battle. Air Force was able to keep the game close thanks to a season-high 16 3-pointers and had 25 assists on 30 baskets. Colorado State used a 17-5 run late in the first half to build a double-digit advantage and led 48-28 at the break. The Rams shot 61 percent from the field in the first half, while Air Force hit just 37 percent of its attempts.
Vs. San Jose State: Marek Olesinski scored 16 points as Air Force coasted to a 78-56 victory over San Jose State on Wednesday night and its first Mountain West Conference win of the season. Air Force closed out the opening half with 12 straight points to lead 37-26 at the break. The Falcons were up by 15 with 8:02 left in the second and held San Jose State without a field goal for 4:19 to take a 23-point advantage with 4:16 left to play. Air Force dominated in rebounds (32-22) and assists (23-11), ending the contest shooting 61.1 percent (33 of 54) from the floor. Hayden Graham finished with 14 points, Max Yon added 13 and Zach Kocur chipped in 12. Rashad Muhammad scored 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting - including 6 of 12 from 3-point range - and Darryl Gaynor II added 11 for the Spartans.
