Air Force Rally Not Enough In 59-52 Loss To Boise State

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Air Force men's basketball (12-11, 3-7 MW) dropped a 59-52 contest to Boise State (18-5, 8-2 MW) in a Mountain West action Tuesday night. Freshman Rytis Petraitis led Air Force with 20 points.

Air Force came back from a 15-point deficit to take a one point lead late in the second half. Boise State rallied however, by finishing on a 17-6 run to close out the game.

Max Rice led Boise State with 22 points and seven rebounds. Marcus Shaver Jr. added 12 points for the Broncos.

Air Force started out strong, jumping ahead 12-4 seven minutes into the game. Petraitis opened the game by scoring Air Force's first eight points and had 14 at the half.

Boise State slowly came back as the Falcons went ice cold from the field. The Broncos out-scored the Falcons 30-9 the rest of the half to go up double-digits at 34-21 at the half. Max Rice did most of the damage for Boise State, scoring 16 points and going 4 for 5 from three point range.

The Broncos opened the second half with a bucket to go up 15. The Falcons responded with a 13-0 run to cut the Boise State lead to two with 13:29 to play.

Boise State went back up nine points before the Falcons rallied again. A 13-2 spurt propelled the Falcons to a one-point lead at 46-45 with 7:01 to play. The Falcons took the lead when Jeffrey Mills converted a three-point play on a layup and made foul shot.

Air Force was unable to maintain the lead, as the Broncos closed the game out.

Petraitis reached 20 points for the third time this season. He reached the free throw line four times to give him 102 for the season, which ties the Air Force freshman record.

Air Force's next two leading scorers were Jake Heidbreder with nine points and Mills with eight. Beau Becker added a career-high nine rebounds and Mills added five assists. Air Force shot 39 percent from the field and 80 percent from the line.

Air Force returns to action Friday, Feb. 3, at Nevada. Tip time is 8 pm PT and the game will be broadcast by CBS Sports Network.

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