Final
Nwaelele's jumper extends Air Force's home streak
Jan 21, 2007 - 2:23 AM COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (Ticker) -- Senior star Dan Nwaelele awoke from his slumber just in time to provide Air Force the best start in school history.Quiet for most of the game, Nwaelele hit a go-ahead fallaway jumper and two free throws in the final 45 seconds to provide No. 11 Air Force a 56-51 victory over San Diego State.
Jacob Burtschi had 23 points and nine rebounds for Air Force, which bounced back from Wednesday's 85-79 loss to Utah to win its 26th straight home contest - third-longest active streak in the nation. Air Force also is 18-2 for the first time ever.
The Falcons (18-2, 5-1 MVC), who entered ranked third in scoring defense (56.3 points), held the Aztecs to under 40 percent (21-of-53) shooting, including 3-of-20 from the 3-point line.
"I thought we got it back today with a typical Air Force win where we just dug down deep, defensively," Air Force coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "We stayed even on the boards with them. For the most part our defense was solid."
Air Force controlled the contest throughout, but a pair of baskets by Jerome Habel in between a lefthanded drive by Mohamed Abukar gave San Diego State a 51-50 lead with 65 seconds left.
Nwaelele, the conference's player of the year last season, then took his defender off the dribble, stepped back and hit a fallaway jumper from the left wing with 45 ticks left. He then rebounded a miss by Habel on the other end, got fouled and sank two free throws with 17 second remaining.
San Diego State guard Brandon Heath then air-balled a 3-pointer from the left wing with seven seconds left and Burtschi made two free throws to seal it.
"We played well enough to win, but they just wouldn't let us," San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said. "We didn't answer on that final shot. We put ourselves in a position to win with Air Force, that's all you can do. Air Force made the shot, but we didn't answer."
"I think that the turning point was when the final horn sounded," Bzdelik said. "This is the kind of basketball games that we needed to play against San Diego State."
Nwaelele finished with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting and three rebounds. He entered averaging 15.4 points on 59 percent shooting. Burtschi shot 5-of-10 from the arc.
Heath and Habel scored 15 points apiece for San Diego State (13-6, 2-3).
Heath, who scored his 1,900th career point in Thursday's loss to New Mexico, brought the Aztecs back after intermission. He shot just 1-of-7 in the first half and did not draw iron on his first shot of the final 20 minutes.
Heath hit a runner and a pair of 3-pointers to cut a six-point halftime deficit to 36-35 with 10 1/2 minutes left. His 3-pointer from the left wing with 5:51 left gave New Mexico its first lead of the game at 43-42. He finished 5-of-17 from the floor.
But the Falcons responded immediately with 3-pointers by Matt McGraw and Tim Anderson - his first points of the game - to restore a five-point edge.
- NCAA BB
FINAL 1ST 2ND TOTAL
--- --- -----
SAN DIEGO ST 17 34 51
AIR FORCE (11) 23 33 56 FINAL
Jan 20 6:55 PM - NCAA BB
SAN DIEGO ST 17
AIR FORCE (11) 23 HALFTIME
Jan 20 5:48 PM
Related News
- San Diego State vs. UConn: NCAA Tournament Same Game Parlay Picks (4/3) Apr 3
- San Diego State vs. UConn: 2023 NCAA Tournament Player Prop Bet Projections Apr 3
- San Diego State vs. UConn: 2023 NCAA Tournament Player Prop Bet Picks Apr 3
- 2023 NCAA Tournament Championship PrizePicks Player Predictions Apr 2
- College Basketball March Madness National Championship Game Prop Bets (2023) Apr 2
- NCAA Tournament: Best Bets for the National Championship (2023) Apr 2
- San Diego State Advances to Championship After Buzzer Beater Win Over Florida Atlantic Apr 1
- Florida Atlantic vs. San Diego State: NCAA Tournament Same Game Parlay Picks (4/1) Apr 1
- 2023 NCAA Tournament: Final Four Prop Picks & Predictions Mar 30
- Florida Atlantic vs. San Diego State: 2023 NCAA Tournament Player Prop Bet Projections Mar 29
- 2023 NCAA Tournament Final Four Picks & Predictions Mar 29
- 2023 NCAA Tournament: Final Four Parlay Picks & Predictions Mar 29