Air Force men’s basketball lost to San Diego State 81-58 in their Mountain West Conference opener on Wednesday night at Viejas Arena. The Falcons, now 3-9 overall and 0-1 in conference play, were led by freshman guard Kam Sanders who scored 13 points.
The Falcons kept the game close in the first half, holding San Diego State to 39 percent shooting and trailing by only three points at halftime with a score of 33-30. However, San Diego State pulled away in the second half, shooting 68 percent from the field and making seven three-pointers. Air Force struggled with turnovers after halftime, committing ten.
Sanders was the team’s top scorer for the second consecutive game and also contributed four assists. Sophomore forward Eli Robinson and freshman forward Lucas Hobin each added 11 points. Robinson made five of his seven shots from the field and led Air Force with six rebounds. Hobin came off the bench to hit three three-pointers.
Junior forward Kolby Gilles started for the first time in his career, playing a personal best of 28 minutes while scoring four points and grabbing four rebounds. Sophomore guard AJ Patterson chipped in six points and matched his career high with two steals.
San Diego State’s BJ Davis came off the bench to lead all scorers with 19 points, along with six assists and four made three-pointers.
Air Force made eight three-point shots during the game—their highest total since hitting ten against IU Indy earlier this season—and shot 75 percent from the free throw line, marking their third-best performance at the line so far this year.
The Falcons will next play Wyoming at home on December 30. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. MT tip-off and will be broadcast on Altitude as well as streamed on the Mountain West Network.
