Short-handed Fresno State shot a scorching 60% from the field in the second half and blew past Air Force 93-63 on Saturday.
It will be the last trip to Fresno, California, for the Falcons in a conference game, as the Bulldogs are among the teams leaving the Mountain West for the Pac-12 this summer.
Air Force (3-22, 0-14 Mountain West) fell behind 11-0, trailing throughout. The deficit was 54-42 about four minutes into the second half when the Bulldogs, who shot 55.2% in the game, started an extended 23-8 run that turned this into yet another lopsided setback for a Falcons team that has suffered five of its 13 conference losses by at least 30 points.
Lucas Hobin scored a game-high 26 points for Air Force, hitting 5 of 10 3-pointers and all five of his free-throw attempts. Hobin was one of three Falcon freshmen in double digits, with Riley Dering scoring 13 and Kam Sanders adding 10. Eli Greenberg chipped in eight points, as the Falcons had all but six of their points from the freshman class.
Sanders posted his first double-double as he dished out 11 assists.
Hobin has hit 58 3s this season, setting a freshman record. Zach Kocur’s 57 in 2015 had been the top mark.
“The biggest thing is we weren’t able to get out in transition and run fast, which is what we’re good at, because we kept giving up easy buckets,” Hobin said in a postgame radio interview with AM 740 KVOR.
Fresno State (12-13, 6-8) was without Jake Heidbreder, an Air Force transfer (by way of Clemson) who is averaging 17.5 points per game in his return to the Mountain West. Heidbreder, who scored 14 at Air Force on Jan. 31, missed the game with an undisclosed injury.
The Bulldogs were also without starting guard David Douglas Jr. because of an injury.