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With a favorable bounce or two, Utah State would be flying high on Saturday, when it visits Air Force.

Instead, the Aggies will try to snap a two-game losing streak in their Mountain West Conference battle against the Falcons at Clune Arena.

Utah State led late in its last three losses to Indiana State (62-61), Weber State (77-71) and Boise State (83-80). But the Aggies couldn't finish.

In its league opener against the Broncos on Wednesday night, USU owned a 61-58 lead with five minutes left before five straight empty possessions, starting with a missed layup by Alexis Dargenton that would have bumped the Aggies' lead to five.

"We've shown good fight to scratch and claw and get the lead," coach Tim Duryea said. "… We just need a more of a closer's mentality."

Briefly against Boise State, Utah State lost its aggressiveness on offense. After taking their three-point lead, the Aggies went four minutes without earning a trip to the foul line, where they eventually finished making 26 of their 27 free throws.

"We did a good job getting the ball into the lane," Duryea said. "When you do that, good things happen … and getting to the line is one of them."

Against Air Force, the Aggies must play better defensively than they did against the Broncos.

Boise's Chandler Hutchison scored 21 points — all by breaking down the perimeter defense and getting to the basket. Standstill shooter Justinian Jessup was given enough space to make five of his 11 3-point attempts.

"Defensively," Duryea said, "we didn't do a very good job. … We didn't take away as much as we wanted to take away. The moral of the story is you have to play all 40 minutes, and we had a chance to win."

Twitter: @sluhm —

Utah State at Air Force

P At Clune Arena, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Tipoff • Noon

TV • ROOT Sports

Radio • 610 AM, 1280 AM, 102.1 FM

Records • Utah State 6-6, 0-1; Air Force 7-7, 0-1

Series history • Utah State leads 14-3

Last meeting • Utah State, 78-65 (March 1)

About the Aggies • They have lost back-to-back games to Weber State (77-71) and Boise State (83-80). … Senior F Jalen Moore has reached double figures in scoring in 25 consecutive games. … He averaged 21.5 points in two wins over Air Force last season. … G Koby McEwen leads all Mountain West Conference freshmen in scoring (13.2) and minutes (30.2).

About the Falcons • They come off an 84-72 loss at Wyoming. … They have lost four of their last five games. … They average 78.2 points per game. … They shoot 41 percent from the 3-point line. … Their top scorers are senior F Hayden Graham (11.6) and junior G Jacob Van (11.5). … Head coach Dave Pilipovich is 67-80 in five seasons at Air Force.