March 6, 2010
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) -Malcolm Thomas and Kawhi Leonard each scored 18 points as the San Diego State men's basketball defeated Air Force 61-42 Saturday night.
The Aztecs (22-8, 11-5 Mountain West) finished the regular season by winning six of seven, and they beat the Falcons (9-20, 1-15) for the fifth consecutive time.
Despite San Diego State's second consecutive season with 11 conference wins, coach Steve Fisher isn't sure his team has sealed an NCAA tournament berth just yet.
"We better win a few more," Fisher said. "We've got a good team, but there are a lot of good teams out there. We're hopeful that we'll go to Vegas, win three games and take all the doubt out of it. This is a really good league with, in my opinion, four NCAA-deserving teams. I told our players, just win the next one and eventually, you will wake up and you're in."
Air Force scored a season low while losing its ninth straight and for the 15th time in 16 games.
Mike McLain led the Falcons with 10 points. Air Force's leading scorer, senior Grant Parker, was held to four points on 2-of-10 shooting in his final home game.
San Diego State will be the No. 4 seed in the Mountain West Conference tournament and will play Colorado State in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The Aztecs won both regular-season games against the Rams.
Air Force, the No. 9 seed, will play Wyoming on Wednesday in the first round. Those teams split two regular-season games, with each team winning at home.
Air Force cut the lead to nine on two separate occasions midway through the second half, but the Aztecs used a 9-0 run to pull away. San Diego State shot 57.9 percent from the field, including 65 percent in the second half.
San Diego State swarmed Air Force in the first half, holding the Falcons to 25-percent shooting and a season-low 14 points. The Aztecs shot 50 percent from the field and led 27-14 at the break.