FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State men's basketball team delivered a gutsy effort, but fell short in trying to overcome a depleted rotation losing 51-48 to Air Force on Saturday at the Save Mart Center before a season-high 5,864 fans.
Fresno State (6-11, 2-4 Mountain West) played a seven-man rotation with six players unavailable due to injury and led for more than 30 minutes before faltering down the stretch.
Eduardo Andre finished with a team-high 14 points and corralled a career-high 15 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
Donavan Yap recorded 13 points, Jordan Campbell chipped in 10 and Anthony Holland added seven on his birthday and 100th career game.
Air Force (11-7, 2-3 MW) was led in scoring by Ethan Taylor with 15 points and Marcell McCreary added 13 for the Falcons.
How It Happened
Getting off to a quick start, the 'Dogs jumped out in front 6-0 and increased their lead to as large as 12 after a layup from Yap put the Bulldogs ahead 22-10 with 4:39 to play in the opening half.
Air Force closed out the half on a 10-4 run - holding the 'Dogs to a pair of field goals as Fresno State took a 26-20 lead to the break.
A layup from Campbell kept the 'Dogs in front by five at 34-29 in the early going of the second half, but the Falcons responded with an 8-0 run to take a three-point lead after a three-pointer by Taylor.
The 'Dogs answered back with an 8-0 run of their own to go back up five at 42-37 after a three-pointer by Holland with 8:03 remaining in the second half.
The Bulldogs' offense fell cold over the next three-plus minutes as Air Force reeled off an 11-0 run to go up 48-42 with the 'Dogs able to cut the Falcons' lead to three in the final minute of regulation, but could not get any closer in the hard-fought and short-handed defeat.
Notes
Fresno State now leads its all-time series with Air Force 25-9 (overall) with victories in 16 of the last 20 meetings.
This was just Air Force's second-ever win over Fresno State at the Save Mart Center.
Eduardo Andre's career-high five blocks marked the fourth-ever single-game performance by a Bulldog of five or more blocks in a MW contest.
Eduardo Andre's career-high 15 rebounds marked the first time this season a Bulldog has recorded 15 rebounds in a game.
Fresno State's defense limited Air Force to a 2-for-18 mark from the field to open the game and just 31.5 percent from the field (17-for-54) in the contest.
Fresno State outscored Air Force 34-10 in the paint and the teams combined for just 20 personal fouls.
Fresno State has now limited 27 of its last 30 opponents in regular season games to fewer than 70 points.
Up next
The Bulldogs have a week off before their next game hosting UNLV (12-5, 1-4 MW) next Saturday (Jan. 21) at 3 p.m. on CBS Sports Network and Bulldog Sports Network.