USAFA, Colo. - Behind a career-high 26 points from Eduardo Andre, the Fresno State men's basketball team defeated the Air Force Falcons 74-69 on Tuesday evening at Clune Arena.
Fresno State (10-17, 6-10 Mountain West) was fueled by Andre's career performance, his ninth double-figure scoring outing of the season, as the junior center went 10-of-14 from the field adding seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in 26 minutes of action.
Isaiah Hill notched his fourth game this season with 20 or more points - adding 22 points while dishing out eight assists with no turnovers and nabbing three steals.
Air Force (14-15, 5-11 MW) saw four Falcons finish with double figures led by 17 points from Jake Heidbreder.
How It Happened
Getting out to a 22-14 lead in the first half after a layup from Hill, the Falcons used a 15-2 run over the next five-and-half minutes to take a 29-24 lead with 2:42 to play in the opening half.
A jumper by Hill and a dunk by Anthony Holland cut Air Force's lead down to one with the 'Dogs trailing 29-28 at the break.
A jumper by Jemarl Baker put the 'Dogs up 49-42 eight minutes into the second half, but the Falcons continued to chip away at the Bulldogs' lead getting it down to four after a layup by Heidbreder made it 57-53 with 7:49 to play.
The Bulldogs responded with a 9-0 run, capped by a three-pointer by Hill, to take a 66-53 lead with six minutes to go.
The Falcons refused to go away going on a 16-4 run to cut the 'Dogs lead down to one at 70-69, but key free throws from Baker and Andre in the final 20 seconds sealed the road win for Fresno State.
For the game, Fresno State outscored AFA 52-18 in the paint, 31-5 in points off turnovers and 17-4 in transition. The Bulldogs shot 94.1 percent at the free throw line (16-for-17) with every attempt coming in the second half.
Notes
Fresno State now leads its all-time series with Air Force 26-8, including a 12-4 road record against the Falcons and 7-3 overall in head coach Justin Hutson's five seasons coaching the Bulldogs.
Fresno State has now won 10 of the last 13 meetings, including six straight road games at Clune Arena.
This was Fresno State's fourth true road of the 2022-23 season.
This is the second time this month that two Bulldogs (Andre – 26 & Hill 22) have scored 20 or more points in the same game (Baker – 23 & Hill – 22, at UNLV, 2/3/23).
This was the first time a Bulldog scored at least 20 points with at least eight assists since Deshon Taylor had 37 points and eight assists in a 121-81 win over San Jose State on March 9, 2019 (Hill – 22 points & 8 assists).
Isaiah Hill moved into sole possession of 46th on the Bulldogs' all-time scoring list (904 career points at Fresno State).
Leo Colimerio has now made 21 consecutive free throws.
Through the first 27 games of the season, Fresno State has had 11 of its 13 scholarship players miss at least one game for a non-coaches decision and have combined to miss 90 games throughout the 2022-23 season.
Fresno State has split its season series with Air Force and are up a game on the Falcons in the MW standings.
Up next
The 'Dogs return home to host Nevada (20-7, 10-4 MW) on Friday for an 8 p.m. PT contest on FS1 and the Bulldog Sports Network. It's BDF Member Appreciation Night with tickets starting at $5 online.