FRESNO, Calif. – Trailing by three at the half, Fresno State used a 14-point swing in the first five-plus minutes of the second to defeat Air Force 84-70 on Saturday afternoon at the Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs held the Falcons to 27 points over the final 20 minutes, the first time they have kept an opponent below 30 points in a second half this season.
Fresno State got a dominant performance out of junior Enoch Boakye. The center turned in his second-career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Isaiah Hill also posted the second of his career, and first of the season, with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Three other Bulldogs landed in double figures with 15 coming from Xavier DuSell, a career-high 14 from Jalen Weaver and 13 from Isaiah Pope. It was the third time this season that Fresno State had five players in double figures.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Air Force jumped out to a five-point lead six minutes into the game through the three-ball, connecting on four of its first six. Fresno State pulled within one at the 10-minute mark after buckets at the rim from Jalen Weaver and Enoch Boakye.
Despite Xavier DuSell getting going from outside with a pair of 3's, the Falcons started getting inside to maintain their advantage and keeping it at five at 30-25 with 6:38 on the clock. Following the final media timeout of the half, a pair of offensive boards from Boakye started a 6-0 spurt to give the 'Dogs their first lead since the opening minutes.
Back-and-forth in the final minutes, Ethan Taylor sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Falcons a 43-40 lead at the half.
The 'Dogs opened the second half with a four-point possession after a 3-pointer from DuSell off a missed free throw that gave Fresno State the lead. That started a string of three straight triples for the Bulldogs as they took a 50-44 advantage with 17:51 on the clock.
After Beau Becker sank his third 3 of the day for the Falcons, the 'Dogs hit a 10-2 run with 3's coming from Isaiah Hill and DuSell, extending the lead to 11 at 60-49 just over five minutes into the half. Just as Air Force cut its deficit back to six, Jalen Weaver responded with five of his own to put the Bulldogs lead back to 11 with 11 minutes to play.
With Fresno State's lead back into single digits for the next three-plus minutes, the Bulldogs locked in defensively, holding the Falcons without a field goal for the next four minutes as they went on an 8-0 run to go up 77-63 with 3:13 to play. The 14-point lead was Fresno State's largest of the game.
NOTES
Fresno State moved to 5-0 on the year when scoring 80 or more points.
Fresno State knocked in double-digit 3-pointers for the fourth time this season. The 11 were tied for the third-most made in a game this year.
Five Bulldogs scored in double figures for the third time this season (3-0).
Fresno State outrebounded Air Force by 11. It was the fourth time this season the Bulldogs outrebounded an opponent by 10 or more.
Fresno State shot over 50 percent from the field for the second game in a row and third time in their last four.
Enoch Boakye set a new career high in points with 19.
The junior center recorded his second double-double of his career, adding 10 points.
Isaiah Hill posted his second career double-double, and first of the season with 11 points and 10 assists.
The senior's 10 assists matched his career high, a number he hit for the third time.
Jalen Weaver set a career high in scoring with 14 points in 16 minutes.
Xavier DuSell's 15 points was his most since Dec. 9. It was his 11th game.
Isaiah Pope reached double-digits for the fifth time in the last six games, scoring 13 points.
The senior added a season-high five assists.
UP NEXT
Fresno State will head to Las Vegas on Tuesday to face UNLV. Tipoff at the Thomas & Mack Center is set for 8 p.m. PT and will air on CBS Sports Network.