Johnson scores 27 as No. 17 Nevada beats Air Force

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) Jazz Johnson scored a career-high 27 points and hit seven of his team's 13 shots from 3-point range in leading No. 17 Nevada over Air Force 90-79 on Tuesday night.

Cody Martin added 18 points and twin brother Caleb contributed 16 as the Wolf Pack (27-3, 14-3 Mountain West Conference) beat Air Force for a seventh straight time.

The Wolf Pack were coming off an 81-76 loss at Utah State on Saturday. Chaos broke out in the hallways after Aggies students stormed the court and left Nevada's Jordan Caroline noticeably upset. Caroline broke glass when he hit a fire extinguisher case.

Caroline finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Air Force (13-16, 8-9). It was his 17th double-double of the season.

Up the road at Colorado State on Tuesday, Utah State clinched at least a share of the Mountain West title by beating the Rams in overtime. Nevada can join the Aggies atop the league standings by defeating San Diego State on Saturday.

Behind the long-range shooting of Johnson, Nevada went on a 12-0 run midway through the second half to break open a tight game. Johnson also sealed it with a late free throw when the Falcons made a last-gasp charge.

Johnson's scoring spurt was his best in a Nevada uniform, eclipsing his previous high of 20 points set against Tulsa on Nov. 22. He scored 26 for Portland before transferring.

Air Force dropped to 4-85 against ranked opponents.

Ryan Swan led Air Force with 21 points, and Lavelle Scottie added 13. Scottie became the 26th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.

Fans in the cadet section didn't let Caroline forget about the trouble at Utah State, holding up a sign with ''R.I.P'' written in ink along with a picture of a fire extinguisher. The heckling fans went back and forth with Nevada big man Trey Porter, who put a hand to his ear to egg them on.

BIG PICTURE

Nevada: Coach Eric Musselman's teams have been a resilient bunch, improving to 28-3 after a loss in his time at Nevada.

Air Force: The Falcons haven't beaten a ranked team since 2013.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The loss last weekend dropped Nevada from No. 12 to No. 17 in the rankings. This win, coupled with another one Saturday, would probably bump the Wolf Pack back up.

THIS & THAT

The Falcons wore warmup tops to honor the Class of 1959. It was the first graduating class at the Academy. ... Air Force coach Dave Pilopovich gave away 1,000 tickets for the game.

UP NEXT

Nevada: Wraps up the regular season Saturday by hosting San Diego State, a team that beat the Wolf Pack 65-57 on Feb. 20.

Air Force: Closes the regular season at Boise State on Saturday.

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