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Air Force hands Utah State third straight loss, 79-60

Air Force guard Chris Joyce, left, Utah State center Trevin Dorius (32) and Air Force guard Keaton Van Soelen (44) vie for a rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, at Air Force Academy, Colo. (Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP)

Colorado Springs, Colo. • Ryan Swan had a season-high 31 points with 11 rebounds as Air Force topped Utah State 79-60 on Tuesday night.

A.J. Walker had 12 points for Air Force (8-8, 2-2 Mountain West Conference). Swan was 11 of 16 from the field and made 8 of 11 free throws.

Air Force entered the locker room at the half trailing narrowly, 34-31, but the Falcons were able to outscore the Aggies 48-26 in the second half to pull away for the 19-point victory. The Aggies’ 26 second-half points were a season low for the team.

Brock Miller had 16 points, making five 3-pointers, for the Aggies (13-5, 2-3). Sam Merrill added 10 points.

Air Force faces New Mexico on the road on Saturday. Utah State plays Nevada at home on Saturday.

AIR FORCE 79, UTAH STATE 60

UTAH ST. (13-5)

Merrill 4-12 0-0 10, Miller 5-10 1-2 16, Brito 2-11 0-0 5, Porter 0-3 0-0 0, Bean 3-6 0-0 6, Bairstow 2-4 0-0 5, Anderson 1-4 0-0 3, Queta 4-7 1-2 9, Dorius 1-3 0-1 2, Grootfaam 1-3 2-3 4. Totals 23-63 4-8 60.

AIR FORCE (8-8)

Swan 11-16 8-11 31, Walker 5-8 1-1 12, Tomes 3-10 0-0 8, Scottie 3-9 0-1 7, Joyce 2-5 2-2 8, Morris 0-2 0-0 0, Van Soelen 3-5 2-2 9, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor 1-3 0-0 2, Akaya 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson 1-2 0-0 2, Kinrade 0-0 0-0 0, Murphy 0-1 0-0 0, Vander Zwaag 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-61 13-17 79.

Halftime—Utah St. 34-31. 3-Point Goals—Utah St. 10-28 (Miller 5-9, Merrill 2-6, Bairstow 1-1, Anderson 1-2, Brito 1-6, Bean 0-1, Porter 0-3), Air Force 8-25 (Joyce 2-3, Tomes 2-5, Van Soelen 1-1, Walker 1-3, Swan 1-4, Scottie 1-6, Murphy 0-1, Morris 0-2). Rebounds—Utah St. 28 (Bean 5), Air Force 47 (Swan 11). Assists—Utah St. 14 (Porter 3), Air Force 15 (Tomes 6). Total Fouls—Utah St. 19, Air Force 15.