Wayne McKinney III calls game as Aztecs win 77-76 at Air Force
Credit: SDSU
Wayne McKinney III’s game-winner puts an exclamation point on a massive night in Colorado Springs.
The Air Force Falcons and San Diego State Aztecs met in Colorado Springs for the second meeting of the campaign. The Aztecs have now won 11 straight games against the Falcons, but not after a scare in Clune Arena.
Air Force almost won their first conference game of the season, but a late mistake cost them. They allowed McKinney to hit the game-winner with basically no defense. San Diego State escaped with a win, but by no means should they be satisfied.
It was almost a sloppy start for the Aztecs yet again, but this time, they started to hit shots at a consistent rate. Jared Coleman-Jones nailed back-to-back three-pointers to give his team a four-point lead. Even more impressively, the Aztecs started 4-6 from the floor and 2-3 from beyond the arc. Air Force started 2-7 from the field.
After a Brian Dutcher timeout, Magoon Gwath hit a floater in the paint. On the next possession, Gwath assisted on a triple to Taj DeGourville. SDSU was 6-9 from the floor and showed up big on the defensive end with four blocks and the one steal from Miles Byrd. The Aztecs are one of the best shot-blocking teams in the country and proved it early in this contest.
Falcons’ Caleb Walker proceeded to end the Aztecs 11-0 run with a lay-in plus the foul. After a media timeout, he would miss the free throw to keep it a seven-point lead.
Free throws kept the Falcons in the game. They got in the double-bonus early in the first half and converted on 10-16 attempts. The Aztecs kept fouling, and it cost them the first 20 minutes.
Kimo Ferrari entered the contest for the Aztecs and nailed his only triple of the game. He played his season high in minutes (20) against Air Force a few weeks back.
The Mayor with some three-point diplomacy!
📺: @CBSSportsCBB pic.twitter.com/KeUySG2vrl— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) January 23, 2025
Ethan Taylor played very well. He was the player to watch coming into this matchup and kept his team in the game with 13 first-half points, including three triples.
SDSU led 35-31 at the half. Air Force had almost as many points in the first half as they did in the first matchup altogether. JCJ led SDSU with 10 points on 3-3 shooting. Wayne McKinney III also had 10 points off the bench. Byrd only had two points as he picked up his second foul late in the half.
Gwath started the second half with a massive put-back slam and converted on the foul for the and-one finish. They saw their lead reach eight, but then a quick 4-0 run from Air Force trimmed the lead down to four.
The Falcons would not go out without a fight. Through the midway point of the second half, the Falcons had a higher shooting percentage. Taylor hit another shot from beyond the arc to extend Air Force’s run to 7-0.
Just 11:44 remained, and the Falcons had a chance to make this interesting.
Fouls continued to be an issue for the Aztecs. They were playing physical defense, but the whistle kept blowing. With 10 minutes remaining, the Falcons were yet again in the bonus. They had already attempted 24 free throws to this point.
The Aztecs fouled once again, and that allowed the Falcons to regain the lead for the first time since early on. The contest then went back and forth. Falcons’ team captain Jeffery Mills fouled out, and Nick Boyd fouled out moments later.
Air Force led 65-62 with just under four minutes remaining.
Air Force extended the lead to four, and then DeGourville made it a two-point game with a floater in the paint. The Aztecs needed to fight for a win.
With 2:26 remaining, a rare double foul was called on JCJ and Ethan Taylor. The game was tight—an even score with less than a minute caused for madness in the Mountain West.
DeGourville hit a clutch layup with 52 seconds left, and then, on the other end, Byrd attempted to force the Falcons into a charge. Byrd slid just a tad too late and was called for a blocking foul. He fouled out of the game with 49 seconds left. Marshall converted on the shot as well and tied the game. Marshall went to the line with a chance to take the lead late, and he missed to keep the score tied.
20.5 seconds remained, and the ball was in SDSU’s hands. Without Byrd and Boyd, could the Aztecs find a way to win the game?
The Aztecs needed to take the final shot. However, DeGourville got the ball knocked out of his hands in what looked like a turnover. The play was reviewed, but the ball remained with SDSU.
DeGourville rushed his three-point shot at the end and it did not fall.
The game was headed to overtime. Dutcher needed to find a way to energize his team without their top two scorers.
Air Force earned possession first, and Taylor was fouled by Gwath behind the line. Taylor nailed all three free throws to take a 71-68 lead. BJ Davis went 1-2 from the line on the other end to cut the Falcons’ lead to two.
After forcing the Falcons to commit their 16th turnover, Davis tied the game with a layup. He almost took the lead with a triple on the next possession, but the ball rolled in and out. That was a tough result that the Aztecs needed.
The Aztecs finally regained the lead after a floater from the freshman, DeGourville. He found himself wide open after the screen from Coleman-Jones, and he hit the clutch shot. Credit to Dutcher for going to the freshman in a crucial scenario.
.@_degourville_ gives us the lead!
📺: @CBSSportsCBB pic.twitter.com/w7rKPFh07f— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) January 23, 2025
Just 1:24 remained, SDSU led 75-73.
On Air Force’s next possession, a close play happened at the end of the shot clock. San Diego State played very well defensively and forced Taylor into a tough shot from deep. He air-balled the shot, but Wesley Celichowski almost made the put-back dunk. He was about a half-second too late, which would have tied the game.
Air Force had the final possession down two points. Yoda Oke got fouled on the rebound attempt on the missed triple from Taylor. He made the first and then missed the second, however, Celichowski tipped it into take a one point lead.
McKinney then caught the ball on the inbound pass and went coast to coast for the win. The players rush toward the San Diego native as he cashed in late when the team needed him the most.
SAN DIEGO STATE BUZZER BEATER TO BEAT AIR FORCE IN OVERTIME 😳
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) January 23, 2025
San Diego State will now head to Nevada on Saturday to take on the Wolf Pack.
Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and now covers San Diego State Men’s Basketball. He also contributes regularly about the Padres. Chris is an athlete and is a huge fan of San Diego sports.