Aztecs pad win streak vs. Falcons

SAN DIEGO -- There was a good reason No. 16 San Diego State looked sluggish against Air Force on Saturday night.

Chase Tapley scored 16 points and Jamaal Franklin supplied 14 points and 10 rebounds to help the Aztecs defeat the Falcons 57-44 for their 10th straight victory.

After winning high-intensity games against UNLV and New Mexico in previous days, the Aztecs couldn't put away the deliberate Falcons until the end.

"When you're an up-tempo team like us, it's a little bit frustrating guarding a team like that," Tapley said. "I mean, they're really persistent with their offense; back-dooring, cutting, curling, flaring, it's just tough to guard. You have to maintain for maybe the whole 35 seconds on the shot clock."

Tapley had two quick baskets in the final minute for the Aztecs (17-2, 3-0 Mountain West Conference). In their previous two games, the Aztecs beat then-No. 12 UNLV 69-67 in a physical game at home a week earlier, then won 75-70 at New Mexico on Wednesday after falling behind 10-0.

"Nothing comes easy and rarely does it look pretty when you play Air Force," coach Steve Fisher said.

Taylor Broekhuis scored 16 for Air Force (11-6, 1-2).

■ Wyoming 70, Colorado State 51 -- At Laramie, Wyo., Leonard Washington had career highs of 32 points and 14 rebounds, and the Cowboys (16-3, 2-1) never trailed while ending the Rams' eight-game winning streak.

Washington banked in a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to give Wyoming a 64-49 lead with 2:56 to play,.

Greg Smith led Colorado State (13-5, 2-1) with 18 points. Wes Eikmeier, who was averaging 16.7 points, was held to two.

■ Texas Christian 54, Boise State 52 -- At Fort Worth, Texas, Las Vegan Hank Thorns scored seven of his 12 points during a late 20-2 surge that carried the Horned Frogs (11-7, 1-2) past the Broncos (10-8, 0-3).

Thorns (Valley High) made a basket to ignite the surge with 8:50 remaining and ended it with a 3-pointer and layup.

Kyan Anderson led TCU with 16 points and Adrick McKinney made three blocks. Boise State's Derrick Marks had 13 points.