Air Force Falls To Fresno State, 74-69

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - Air Force men's basketball (14-15, 5-11 MW) fell 74-69 to Fresno State (10-17, 6-10) in Mountain West action Tuesday night at Clune Arena. Sophomore guard Jake Heidbreder led the Falcons with 17 points.

Despite shooting 58.5 percent from the field, the Falcons turned the ball over a season-high 21 times which led to Fresno State holding a 31-5 advantage in points off turnovers. The Bulldogs also dominated inside, holding a 52-18 advantage in points in the paint.

Trailing by 13 with six minutes left, the Falcons mounted a furious late-game rally with a 16-4 run to pull to within one at 70-69 with 34 seconds left. The 16 point run featured three three's and a three-point play.

The Falcons were forced to foul and Fresno State's Jemarl Baker made both of its free throws with 20 seconds left to go up 72-69. Fresno State then fouled with seven seconds left and the Falcons missed the free throw. Center Eduardo Andrew made his free throws with five seconds left to make it 74-69 and seal the game.

Andre led the Bulldogs with 26 points and seven rebounds. Guard Isaiah Hill scored 22 points and dished out eight assists. Baker added 13 points.

Heidbreder went 6-10 from the field and 3-5 from three point range. Heidbreder also added a career-high seven assists.

Joining Heidbreder in double-figures were senior Carter Murphy, sophomore Beau Becker and freshman Rytis Petraitis. Murphy scored 14 points on 5-7 shooting and 3-4 from three. Becker scored 14 points on 6-8 shooting, making 2-3 from three. Petraitis added 10 points, to go with four rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots.

The first half was a back-and-forth battle that saw the Falcons take a one-point lead into halftime at 29-28. Despite trailing in shots attempted 27-16, Air Force shot 69 percent from the field in the opening half.

Fresno State forced Air Force into 12 turnovers, which led to a 16-0 advantage in points off turnovers. The Bulldogs dominated inside as well, scoring all 28 points in the paint.

Air Force jumped ahead by seven to start the second half, but Fresno State then rallied. After the Falcons went up 37-30, Fresno State went on a 9-0 to take the lead. The Bulldogs would go on a 36-16 run to get up 13 at 66-53 with six minutes to play.

Air Force returns to action Friday, Feb. 24, at UNLV. Tip time is 6:30 pm PT and the game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

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Team Stats

Jake Heidbreder

Carter Murphy

Beau Becker

Rytis Petraitis

Players Mentioned

Beau Becker

Jake Heidbreder

Carter Murphy

Rytis Petraitis

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