SAN DIEGO — After the first nine minutes you could've heard a pin drop in Viejas Arena, aside from head coach Brian Dutcher angrily calling a timeout, but the San Diego State men's basketball team revved it up the rest of the way in a comprehensive 67-38 win over the Air Force Falcons on Wednesday night.
The Aztecs (10-3, 3-1 Mountain West Conference) finished the first half on a 25-4 run, then scored the first 15 points of the second half as they held the Falcons (3-12, 0-4) to 14 points in the second half and just one true field goal make. Nick Boyd had a game-high 16 points while BJ Davis scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half and Jared Coleman-Jones notched his first double-double in Scarlet and Black with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
"Our defense picked up and set the tone for the game," Dutcher said. "Our ball pressure was a major factor, they had 20 turnovers and they had a tough time even if a guy was open to find him because the ball pressure was so great."
Yet, perhaps the biggest fan favorite on the night was Brown transfer and Francis Parker School graduate Kimo Ferrari, who came in as part of a mass-substitution following the the timeout at 11:02 in the first half and helped SDSU finished the half +14 with him on the floor and +20 for the game. One of the loudest cheers of the second half after the Aztecs had pulled away was when he drove and scored a layup with 4:38 remaining.
"I think the best thing is, Kimo doesn't play a lot, but when he comes out there it's like he's been playing the whole game," Davis said. "Kimo came out and played in and played incredible defense and it sung the whole energy, it swung our energy as a team."
SDSU out-rebounded Air Force 49-24, including a 24-2 advantage on the offensive glass, with the +25 margin on the glass being the most ever for the Aztecs in a Mountain West contest. It equaled the third-fewest points allowed in a Mountain West game by Aztecs, and was the lowest since a 51-38 win over Air Force on March 1, 2017.
"I think now, as much as I trust (my teammates) shots, it's just about sending a message (that) we have to go to the glass," said Coleman-Jones, who snared ten of his rebounds on offense. "Just continuing to put that pressure on the O-glass and continuing to beat down our opponents on the glass...it's just an overwhelming feeling.
"We're been on the other side of that, but we decided it was time for us to do what we're supposed to do."
Davis was essentially a one-man-run as he scored 11 points as part of the 15-0 burst to start the second half. First he hit a 3-pointer from the right wing, then stuck a step-in pull up at the top of the key, before splashing in the left corner and deep on the left wing from the land of plenty.
"It was good to get going like that...it was good to see the ball go in," Davis said. "It's good for confidence, but it should affect my effort. Even if I'm not scoring, that's not my focus right now.
"My focus is to just be the best I can for the team and give 100% effort defensively and offensively."
Kyle Leibel - The Sporting Tribune
Senior guard Kimo Ferrari (23) drives into the lane during a conference matchup against Air Force, Wednesday, January 8, 2025, in San Diego, CA.
Through the first nine minutes, the SDSU offense looked as disjointed as it was during the second half against Utah State.
Settling for long jumpers, taking a couple of dribbles before stepping into pull ups that fell short, Not moving the ball as a team and instead being content to try their hands one-on-one that invariably would get disrupted by late help from the Falcon defense.
After Boyd made a 3-pointer just under two minutes into the game, the Scarlet and Black would miss 13 of their next 14 from the field as Air Force opened up a 20-8 lead and forced a frustrated Dutcher to call timeout at the 11:01 mark.
"You're mad at the guys because they're not playing well, but you know it's early in the game and if you start yelling at them, you take them out of an kind of mental state where they can come back and play well," Dutcher said.
Enter Ferrari.
SDSU began attacking the basket on offense as Magoon Gwath scored on a drive from the right corner to begin shifting the offense out of neutral. More impactfully, the defense upped its torque and began pressuring the visitors into giveaways, which led to the first 10 Aztecs points as part of a 12-0 run that tied the game.
Miles Byrd had a momentum-revving steal off an Air Force inbound leading to an slashing and-one, then later added an exclamation point after Gwath swatted a shot off the backboard and Byrd flew free for an emphatic left-hand jam.
In total the Falcons coughed it up nine times in the final 11 minutes and 13 times in the half as SDSU had a 20-5 edge in points off turnovers. The Aztecs in total forced 20 turnovers and outscored Air Force 24-7 on giveaways.
"That's a credit to the kids not getting down and letting the coaches take them out of rhythm because they weren't playing well," Dutcher said. "They had confidence in themselves, believed in the game plan and they came out and just performed better as the half went on."
Reese Waters was no longer wearing a walking boot while attending the game in street clothes and according to Dutcher has another CT scan scheduled within the next two weeks. SDSU was also without Miles Heide and Demarshay Johnson Jr. against Air Force, who missed the game with the flu.
San Diego State heads out to Albuquerque for a 10 a.m. tip against the New Mexico Lobos on Saturday, Jan. 11 for a game that will be broadcast on CBS. The next home game against Colorado State will be at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
This story was updated at 11:48 p.m.