Air Force Overtakes Colorado State In Overtime, 85-74

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Air Force men's basketball (10-7, 1-3 MW) overtook Colorado State (9-9, 1-3 MW) in overtime, 85-74, for its first Mountain West win of the season Tuesday night at Moby Arena. Freshman Marcell McCreary erupted for 26 points to help lead the Falcons to its first win in Fort Collins since 2018.

In a see-saw battle that featured 19 lead changes and 14 ties, it was the Falcons that came out on top. Air Force out-scored the Rams 20-9 in overtime.

The Falcons got the game to overtime in dramatic fashion. With 27 seconds left, sophomore Jake Hiedbreder split a pair of CSU defenders and scored the game-tying layup. The Falcons then withstood two missed CSU shots at the end of the game to get to overtime. Corbin Green had a blocked shot on Ram guard Isaiah Stevens shot with two seconds left.

In overtime, Heidbreder opened with a three to give the Falcons an immediate lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way. The Falcons got up by five with a minute to play and then went on a 6-0 run to close out the game.

Four Falcons reached double-figures in scoring, led by a banner night from McCreary. The freshman went 8 of 12 from three and 5 of 6 from three. He also added seven rebounds and four assists.

Heidbreder added 15 points, including five key points in overtime. Freshman forward Rytis Petraitis notched his third double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds in his first-career start. Freshman forward Corbin Green also notched double-figures with 11 points on 5 of 8 shooting.

The Falcons shot 50.8 percent from the field and 37 percent from three. Air Force out-rebounded Colorado State 39-25. The Falcons were also efficient from the free throw line, making 16 of 19 shots, good for 84 percent shooting.

Forward Patrick Cartier led CSU with 23 points. Stevens added 17 points on 6 of 22 shooting from the field.

The first-half was a back-and-forth affair as the teams played to a 30-30 tie. The two teams played to three lead changes and six ties in the opening half.

Trailing by four, Air Force went on a 8-0 run to go up four at 14-10 with 12:59 to play. Following four points by CSU to tie the game, the Falcons went on a 6-0 run to go up 20-14 with 11:39 to go. Colorado State rallied to re-take the lead with 4:06 to go in the first, but the teams traded baskets to close out the half.

The second half was just as big a battle, with teams trading leads 16 times. Colorado State got up by four with five minutes to play, before the Falcons rallied back.

Air Force returns to action Saturday, Jan. 10 at Fresno State. Tip time is 4 pm PT and the game will be broadcast by the Mountain West Network.

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