Air Force men’s basketball lost to Boise State with a score of 96-54 in a Mountain West Conference game held Saturday at ExtraMile Arena in Boise, Idaho. The defeat brings Air Force’s record to 3-17 overall and 0-9 in conference play, while Boise State improves to 12-8 overall and 4-5 in the conference.
Freshman guard Kam Sanders led the Falcons with 10 points. He also hit two three-pointers and tied for the team lead with four rebounds. Other contributors for Air Force included sophomore Eli Robinson with eight points, and Lucas Hobin and Wesley Celichowski, who each scored seven points.
Freshman Riley Dering came off the bench to score seven points, highlighted by an alley-oop dunk for his first career basket. Junior forward Josh Gatete also recorded his first career basket on a made three-pointer.
Boise State shot 57 percent from the field and made 12 three-pointers during the game. The Broncos outscored Air Force 40-20 in points in the paint and converted more free throws, finishing with an 18-8 advantage at the line. At halftime, Boise State led 48-29 after making seven three-pointers and hitting 13 of their 16 free throw attempts. Air Force shot 41 percent from the field in the first half compared to Boise State’s 54 percent.
In the second half, Air Force shot 43 percent but was unable to close the gap as Boise State went on an 18-0 run midway through. Drew Fielder led all scorers with 20 points for Boise State on efficient shooting (8-of-9 from the field), while Spencer Ahrens added 18 points off the bench, including four three-pointers.
Air Force finished with eight made three-pointers; AJ Patterson and Elliott Taite each hit their first career threes alongside Gatete’s long-range effort.
Air Force will next play Fresno State on Saturday, Jan. 31 at Clune Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. MT and will be streamed on the MW Network.
