COLORADO SPRINGS -- Wayne McKinney III did all his scoring after halftime, but no bucket was bigger than his three-quarter court sprint for a game-winning layup as time expired in San Diego State’s 77-76 overtime win over Air Force on Wednesday night at Clune Arena.
The Aztecs (12-5, 5-3 Mountain West Conference) survived as the senior guard led SDSU with 18 points, helping bail the Scarlet and Black out after the Falcons rallied from a 10-point deficit early in the second half to have the lead change hands 10 times over the final 13:47 of combined regulation and overtime.
“We made too many mistakes still and that’s what young teams do,” said head coach Brian Dutcher on the radio post-game show. “The dike has got some leaks and we’re trying to put our fingers in there and plug all the holes, and sometimes they take longer to plug than you hope — to the credit of this group, they found a way to win.”
McKinney’s heroics were needed after Air Force (3-16, 0-8) center Wesley Celichowski tapped in a missed second free-throw by Yoda Oke, scoring last of the big man’s game-high 22 points and giving the hosts a 76-75 lead with 4.5 seconds remaining.
“Taj (DeGourville) with the great pass, Jared (Coleman-Jones) with the great screen, it gave me an opportunity to get a layup so everything worked out perfectly, picture perfect, it was a great moment,” said the graduate of Coronado High on the radio post-game show.
DeGourville scored 6 of his 11 points in the second half and overtime, equaling Magoon Gwath’s seven rebounds for the SDSU-high, while Coleman-Jones scored 14 points with six rebounds, and was the only Aztec to make multiple from 3-point land as the post player his 2 of 3 from beyond.
After Gwath opened the second half with with an and-one, McKinney scored the next 10 points for the Scarlet and Black as they built a 48-38 lead 5:27 in before the Falcons mounted their comeback.
"I worked really hard on my mid-range this summer," McKinney said. "My speed has always been there (and) my athleticism, I've always been able to blow by defenders. Adding a mid-range game to my game, knowing I can fade away and not have a 7-footer block my shot... I've had a lot of practice this season (and) this summer and ultimately it's helped me a lot."
The Aztecs trailed by as much as 4 points with 3:12 left in the second half, but DeGourville sparked a 6-0 run with jumpers sandwiching a pair of Miles Byrd free throw makes. Kyle Marshall, who had a game-high 11 rebounds to go with 6 points for Air Force, scored on a cut to the rim with 49 second left to tie it. DeGourville had a chance to win it at the regulation buzzer, but his curling hoist from the top of the key rimmed off.
"Air Force is going to beat somebody, it could've been us tonight and we're fortunate to escape," Dutcher said. "They fight hard, this is an Academy team, they're going to fight from the start to the finish. They put themselves in a position, but we stole it and the end and we're grateful for that."
In a game where the teams combined for 55 fouls — SDSU was whistled for 31 — the Aztecs saw Nick Boyd foul out with 4:37 left in the second half after going 2 of 10 from the field with 6 points and three assists. Byrd picked up his fifth personal with 49 seconds remaining in regulation while attempting to draw a charge after scoring 8 points on 2 of 9 shooting — he also picked up a technical foul in the first half.
14 days removed from rallying from a 12 point deficit halfway through the first half against the Falcons, the Scarlet and Black used an early 11-0 run to jump out in front 17-8 with just under 12 minutes played as Coleman-Jones kicked it off with a pair of 3-balls, then Gwath had a layup and DeGourville nailed a triple from the corner.
The Falcons responded, gradually chipping away with 3 pointers and free throws. Ethan Taylor scored 10 of his 21 points in the final 8:22 of the first half, as the hosts pulled within a single possession six times before ultimately trailing 35-31 at the break when Coleman-Jones made a jumper and a free throw in the final 67 seconds.
SDSU continues their stretch of three games in seven days with a visit to Reno at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25 to face the Nevada Wolf Pack, then will return to The Mesa to face San José State at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28.
“You’ve got to make plays… we made enough to escape with a victory. No one cares how, you’ve got to get the win and we got the win,” Dutcher said.
This story was updated at 11:34 p.m.