GAME NOTES: The San Diego State Aztecs shoot for their fourth straight victory, as they contend against the Air Force Falcons in Mountain West Conference action at Clune Arena on Tuesday night.

Winners of seven of the last eight outings overall, with that lone setback being a two-point decision against Fresno State on the road back on Jan. 3, the Aztecs have been tightening up at the defensive end of the floor during this stretch. The team has not surrendered 60 points in any one outing since bowing to Cincinnati in overtime (71-62) more than a month ago.

The latest outing for SDSU saw the program dismiss UNLV at home on Saturday, 53-47, marking the team's 25th straight home win and the 133rd consecutive victory overall in which the team owned a lead with five minutes remaining in regulation.

Over on the other side, Air Force now finds itself a game below .500 due to three straight defeats and setbacks in five of the last six games on the schedule. Three days ago, the Academy was taken out by Utah State on the road, 71-59, which means Air Force is now next-to-last in the MWC standings with a record of only 1-5.

San Diego State owns a 51-22 advantage in the all-time series with the Falcons, posting an 18-15 mark at the Academy over the years. The Aztecs have won four straight encounters, the latest being a 53-49 triumph on New Year's Eve.

In that last contest of 2014, JJ O'Brien was the lone double-digit scorer for the Aztecs with 10 points at Viejas Arena, while Max Yon led all scorers with 15 points in the loss for Air Force.

For the second game in a row, Aqeel Quinn scored a team-best 14 points for the Aztecs as they took out UNLV at home by six over the weekend. O'Brien logged his second double-double of the campaign with 11 points and 10 boards for a squad that survived a miserable 2-of-12 showing behind the 3-point line and a dismal 9-of-17 effort at the free-throw line as well. However, SDSU did win the battle on the boards, 36-25, and forced 16 turnovers in order to arrive at the victory.

Now second on the team in scoring with 10.3 ppg, Quinn has led the group in that department three times in the last four outings and six times overall this season. However, Quinn has managed to knock down only 37.4 percent of his field goal chances and 65.5 percent at the charity stripe, while his 25 3- pointers serve to lead the program currently. Winston Shepard checks in with 11.0 ppg, but he has connected on just 28.6 percent from beyond the arc, although that is still better than the team as a whole at 27.6 percent out on the perimeter.

After making a total of only eight field goals in the first half against Utah State in the latest outing, the Falcons made things interesting in the second half before being dealt the double-digit road loss. Zach Kocur accounted for 20 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Falcons, followed by Trevor Lyons with 16 points as the pair made good on 7-of-9 shots behind the 3-point line, but the rest of the unit only 2-of-13.

Max Yon, the leading scorer for the Falcons with his 15.3 ppg, had been listed with a strained quadriceps, making him doubtful for the meeting against SDSU, but on Monday it was announced that he was taking an indefinite leave from the team for personal reasons. With Yon out of the picture, as well as Kamryn Williams (9.5 ppg) having undergone Achilles surgery to begin the new year, that leaves Marek Olesinski as the top scoring threat with his 9.4 ppg, followed by Trevor Lyons with 7.7 ppg for a team that is producing 68.3 ppg overall, but just 63.8 ppg in conference play.

With so many missing pieces the Falcons will be lucky to be in contention after just 20 minutes of action. If the scoring remains low, Air Force might cause SDSU some concern, but not enough to pull off the upset.