AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - 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 and Lamont Butler tacked on 11 for the Aztecs. Waters' five 3-pointers were a career-high and the most by an Aztec since the first game of the season on November 6.
San Diego State was dominant in the first half, leading 45-20 at the break. It was the second time since 1996-97 that the Aztecs led a Division One team on the road by that much at halftime. To build that lead, SDSU shot 70.0% from the field, 72.7% from beyond the arc and 75.0% from the free throw line while Air Force turned the ball over 11 times.
"It's an academy team, they're not going to give in," said Head Coach Brian Dutcher on the second half. "They hit a rhythm with what they were doing, and they shot 58% in the second half. They played a great second half. That's why I'm so happy we created the margin we did at halftime. We maintained it for much of the second half, then they went on a run at the end of the game, but it's a hard place to play. I'm excited to get out of here with a win and to be back in first place in the Mountain West tonight."
The Aztecs outshot the Falcons from the field (51.0%-45.7%) and from the free throw line (72.7%-57.1%) while both teams made half of their three point attempts. San Diego State had more rebounds (29-25) and fewer turnovers (9-14).
San Diego State heads to Reno, Nevada, to face the Wolf Pack on Friday, February 9, at 5 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network and San Diego Sports 760.