The Falcons lost to San Diego State by a single point in a game at Clune Arena in Colorado on Wednesday night. (Air Force Men’s Basketball via X)
A stunning upset almost occurred at Clune Arena on Wednesday night as Air Force was one point away from taking down 2023 NCAA runners-up San Diego State.
Instead, it was the Falcons who left their home court stunned as Wayne McKinney III drove the length of the floor for a layup at the buzzer to give the Aztecs a 77-76 victory.
A tip-in layup by Wes Celichowski in the last 4.4 second put the Falcons up 76-75, but McKinney’s layup stripped Air Force of a fairytale ending.
The Falcons led by four points with 3 minutes remaining, by 3 early in overtime and by 1 after Celichowski’s tip-in on a missed free throw from Yoda Oke. But it wasn’t quite enough as the Aztecs stretched their series winning streak to 11 and kept Air Force winless in conference play.
“The spirit of the team has been the best since I’ve been back,” said coach Joe Scott, who is in his second tenure as head coach after leading 2000-04. “We aren’t getting the results but, boy, do I see an improvement in toughness and learning the essence of out-competing.”
Celichowski led Air Force (3-16, 0-8 Mountain West) with 22 points and two rebounds while Ethan Taylor had 21 points, eight rebounds and an assist.
The Falcons shot 43% from the field while holding the Aztecs to 42%. Air Force’s 44 free throw attempts is a school record for most in a conference game, but it missed 14 of its shots at the line.
Wednesday’s result is a stark contrast to the Falcon’s last meeting with SDSU, where Air Force fell 67-38 in San Diego.
“We knew last time we dug ourselves a hole,” Taylor said.“We put in energy today, our defense was a lot better. We are developing. The spirit is there, it’s just disappointing the way it ended.”
Trailing by four points at the half, the Falcons watched as the Aztecs (12-5, 5-3) stretched the led to 10 points. Then Air Force went on a 7-0 run and eventually got it within one on a Luke Kearney 3-pointer with 9:34 remaining.
Then Caleb Walker gave Air Force a 53-52 lead with 8:37 remaining. It was back and forth from there with a rowdy crowd willing the Falcons to keep up with the Aztecs. After the contest was tied at 68 with less than a minute left, no more scoring occurred in regulation after a missed free throw by Kyle Marshall.
Despite the loss, the Falcons said they are seeing improvement and recognize they are in the process of building. As Scott has previously said, with experience comes confidence and consistency.
“We sorely lack the experience required to win that last .04 seconds,” Scott said. “How do you beat a team that everyone says is better than you? You out-work them. Out-discipline them, out care them. If we keep developing the way we are as individuals and a team we can put ourselves in a situation like tonight. Is it heartbreaking? Yeah. But boy is it fun to watch.”
The Falcons return to action on Saturday as they host Utah State at Clune Arena. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. MT and will also be streamed on the Mountain West Network.
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