National Basketball Association
San Diego St. 53, Air Force 49
When: 5:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Where: Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl, San Diego, California
Officials:
# Gregory Nixon, # Tony Padilla, # Mike Reed
Attendance:
12414
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 25 San Diego State 53, Air Force 49: J.J. O'Brien scored 10 points and had three steals, including one in the final seconds, as the Aztecs survived a second-half meltdown to claim their school-record 23rd consecutive home win.
Ageel Quinn and Matt Shrigley each scored nine points for San Diego State (11-3, 1-0 Mountain West), which has won four straight meetings overall and 10 in a row at home. Leading scorer Winston Shepard went 2-of-12 from the field but made three key free throws down the stretch for the Aztecs, who have won 81 of their last 82 home games against unranked teams.
Max Yon scored 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting for Air Force (7-5, 0-1), which dropped to 4-83 all-time against ranked opponents and has never beaten a top-25 team on the road. Kamryn Williams tallied 11 points and four steals while Marek Olesinski grabbed 10 rebounds for the Falcons.
Air Force erased most of a 19-point deficit and Yon made the first of two free throws to cut the deficit to 50-49 with 42 seconds left, but he missed the second and Shepard snagged the rebound and made one of two at the line. O'Brien stole the ball from Yon on the ensuing possession and Shepard hit two more foul shots to seal it.
Both teams got off to slow starts, as San Diego State led 2-0 at the first media timeout and 10-8 at the 10:31 mark of the half. The Aztecs rattled off a 12-0 run to open it up and led by as many as 19 before settling for a 33-19 halftime advantage.
GAME NOTEBOOK: San Diego State has held all nine visiting opponents under 60 points this season. … The Falcons went 0-for-8 from 3-point range in the first half and did not record an assist on any of their eight field goals before the break. … San Diego State has won eight straight conference openers.
Top Game Performances
| Air Force |
|
San Diego St. |
|
Max Yon 15 |
Scoring |
J.J. O'Brien 10 |
|
Zach Kocur 3 |
Assists |
J.J. O'Brien 3 |
|
Marek Olesinski 10 |
Rebounds |
Angelo Chol 5 |
|
Kamryn Williams 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Winston Shepard 3 |
|
Kamryn Williams 4 |
Steals |
J.J. O'Brien 3 |
|
DeLovell Earls 1 |
Blocks |
Dakarai Allen 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Air Force
|
49 |
44.2 |
1-11 |
10-13 |
5 |
30 |
3 |
6 |
17 |
| San Diego St.
|
53 |
36.1 |
4-21 |
5-10 |
12 |
27 |
4 |
6 |
9 |
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