Air Force men’s basketball lost to Utah State 99-62 in a Mountain West Conference game at Clune Arena on Tuesday night. The Falcons now have a record of 3-12 overall and 0-4 in conference play, while Utah State improved to 13-1 overall and 4-0 in the Mountain West.
Junior forward Caleb Walker led Air Force with 12 points and six rebounds. Walker was efficient, making all four of his field goal attempts and going 4-for-5 from the free throw line. Freshman Kam Sanders contributed 11 points, three assists, and four rebounds.
Utah State applied early pressure with a press defense, leading to turnovers by Air Force. At halftime, the Aggies held a 45-31 lead, outscoring the Falcons 8-1 in points off turnovers and 13-4 in second-chance points.
Utah State finished with 31 second-chance points for the game, helped by grabbing 14 offensive rebounds. The Aggies shot 59 percent from the field and scored 48 points in the paint. MJ Collins led Utah State with 20 points, while Kolby King added 15 points off the bench.
For Air Force, sophomore guard AJ Patterson recorded a career-high nine points. Freshman forward Lucas Hobin made three three-pointers for nine points, and freshman forward Brendan Martin hit both of his three-point attempts for six points. Freshman guard Ethan Greenberg added five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
The Falcons shot 41 percent from the field and made six three-pointers. They converted on 14 free throws for a shooting percentage of 74 percent from the line.
Air Force will next play New Mexico at home on Saturday, January 10 at 1 p.m. MT. The game will be streamed on the MW Network.
