No. 24 San Diego State makes season-high 11 3-pointers, cruises to 77-64 win over Air Force

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) — Reese Waters scored 15 points, making five of San Diego State's season-high 11 3-pointers, and the 24th-ranked Aztecs cruised to a 77-64 win over Air Force on Tuesday night.

The Aztecs (18-5, 7-3 Mountain West) took 5 1/2 minutes to settle in and grab their first lead, but once they did they never looked back. They broke open the game with a 13-0 first-half run and eventually led by 25 in winning their ninth straight over the Falcons (8-14, 1-9).

San Diego State moved into a four-way tie for first place in the conference standings, joining No. 25 New Mexico, No. 22 Utah State and Boise State.

The physical presence of Jaedon LeDee down low proved too much for Air Force to handle as he finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. San Diego State played hounding defense, too, and forced 14 turnovers — including three shot-clock infractions.

Beau Becker and Jeffrey Mills both had 15 points to lead Air Force. Two of the Falcons' top scorers, Rytis Petraitis and Ethan Taylor, were held to a combined 10 points. Petraitis got into foul trouble trying to help contain LeDee.

Micah Parrish added 14 points for the Aztecs, who have back-to-back wins for the first time since early January. They led 45-20 at halftime and improved to 17-0 this season when leading at the break.

The Falcons have no seniors or graduate transfers. It’s the program’s first senior-less squad since 1987. What coach Joe Scott has been able to do is develop a squad from scratch. Like sophomore guard/forward Kellan Boylan, who played a total of six minutes last year as a freshman. This season, he’s in the conference's top 15 in rebounding, steals, blocks and minutes. He was limited Tuesday to 6:32 with a hip ailment.

BIG PICTURE

San Diego State: The Aztecs are a victory away from winning at least 19 games in 19 straight seasons.

Air Force: The Falcons fell to 4-90 against ranked teams. Their last win over a Top 25 opponent was March 9, 2013, against No. 12 New Mexico.

UP NEXT

San Diego State: Plays at Nevada on Friday.

Air Force: Will host Fresno State on Saturday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball