Air Force led for 3:28 to start the first half, but it was all San Diego State after that. 

With a 19-point lead at the half, the Aztecs continued to dominate in all facets of the game to roll to an 88-54 win over Air Force men’s basketball Saturday night at Clune Arena. San Diego State extended its lead to a game-high 37-point margin in the second half while scoring 32 points off 22 Falcon turnovers, 12 in the first half. The Aztecs had six turnovers, a season low. 

“They are a good basketball team, that’s a fact,” Air Force interim head coach Jon Jordan said. “That is not an excuse, not a rationalization, that’s a fact. They are long and really got after us in a unique way. You try to tell players what to expect and until they actually experience it, it’s difficult for them to make the connection of what is required of me as a player to do.”

Air Force (3-20, 0-12 Mountain West) was scoreless for the last two minutes of the game but almost held the Aztecs without a point for the last four minutes until a turnaround jumper by Cam Lawin in the last 28 seconds. 

The Aztecs (17-6), who share a conference-leading 11-2 Mountain West record with Utah State, are averaging 4.4 blocks per game this season, but had seven Saturday. San Diego State’s 14 steals is a season high and the Aztecs scored 52 points in the paint to 20 from Air Force. 

“We need to lock down on defense,” junior Wes Celichowski said. “We have a lot to learn from their defense and the turnovers. We are going to watch film, see what we did wrong and improve from that to be ready for CSU.”

Air Force is back at Clune Arena on Tuesday at 7 p.m. to face in-state rival Colorado State for the last time as Mountain West opponents.  

The Aztecs had five players in double figures, led by BJ Davis with 16 points, who went 7-for-8 from the field while Miles Heide scored a season-high 13 points. Ethan Greenberg and Kam Sanders led the Falcons with 11 points each. 

Air Force had eight 3-pointers Saturday, with the freshmen accounting for 41 points, their third straight game with over 40 points. 

“I take positives from the fact that as a unit, we understand where we are at and help each other not to give up,” Jordan said. “We are working together to stay locked in. I call it going through the fire, you cannot escape this, you must go through the fire.” 

The Falcons were without leading scorer Caleb Walker for the sixth straight game due to injury.

“(Walker) is continually trying to get back as soon as he can, but is not ready to play a basketball game yet,” Jordan said. “We are giving him the time to get his body and confidence back so if we play him we don’t have setbacks. The team wants him to play but you can’t rush these things.” 

A 3-pointer by Davis at the buzzer gave San Diego State a 45-26 advantage at the half after a 22-6 run during the first half. Air Force had a brief 6-0 run in the final 3 minutes, its largest run of the contest. The Aztecs had 20 points off 12 Air Force turnovers in the first half while San Diego State only recorded one. 

The first half was vastly different from the first matchup between the programs this season, when the Aztecs only led by three (33-30) at the half before pulling away to an 81-58 win in San Diego. 

“This team is really good and if you’re not careful, not aware of how important that basketball is, you’ll end up with 22 turnovers,” Jordan said. “Some of the turnovers are inexplicable. We are just going to have to work on that, and encourage our guys to understand we must win those turnovers.”