GAME NOTES: Mountain West Conference play tips off on the final day of the calendar year, as the San Diego State Aztecs host the Air Force Falcons at Viejas Arena.

San Diego State figures to still be the team to chase in the Mountain West Conference, even though the program has fallen out of the top-25 rankings after picking up a third loss early on. Since losing to Cincinnati in overtime back on Dec. 17, SDSU has responded with three straight victories, the latest being a 72-50 romp over San Diego Christian on Saturday.

The Falcons are coming off their first overtime outing of 2-14-15 on Dec. 22, slipping by Jacksonville State by a score of 66-65 to cap off a five-game homestand that featured four wins overall. The Academy is 8-7 all-time in MWC openers, winning four straight such games which is tied for the best run in school history.

In terms of the all-time series between the programs, the Aztecs own a 50-22 advantage overall and have won all but six of the 33 games in San Diego since the relationship began in 1973. The Aztecs swept the two meetings last season and have won three in a row overall.

Also working in favor of SDSU this time around is the fact that the squad has won 15 consecutive home conference meetings dating back close to two years.

Max Yon, who scored 16 points overall against Jacksonville State, was the key figure in overtime for the Falcons as he tallied seven of the unit's nine points in the bonus session and assisted on the other field goal as the Academy squeezed by with the win at Clune Arena. In addition to Yon, Marek Olesinski also scored in double figures with 14 points, followed by Kamryn Williams and Zach Kocur with 12 and 10 points, respectively, as the team survived despite clearing only one offensive rebound.

Yon, who scored a mere four points in the loss to UC Davis 11 days ago, is someone the Falcons generally rely on to give them some strong play at the offensive end of the floor, but it is not always a guarantee. Still, Yon paces the program with 14.8 ppg on 54.1 percent shooting from the field and 45.8 percent accuracy beyond the arc. Williams is the second-leading scorer with 9.3 ppg and has been instrumental on the glass with his 6.0 rpg, helping to give the Academy a 3.5 rpg advantage over the competition.

Ahead by two with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first half against San Diego Christian, the Aztecs ripped off a 20-2 run to put plenty of distance between the squads, en route to the 22-point victory. Once the game was no longer in doubt, the Aztecs pulled the starters and played plenty of reserves, which is why Winston Shepard and Matt Shrigley were left as the only double- digit scorers for the hosts with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The overall stats for the Aztecs display similar types of stats as the team tends to spread the wealth and get as many players involved in the action as possible. Shepard is the lone double-digit scorer with 11.0 ppg, while Shrigley is much further down the list at 4.3 ppg while shooting a dismal 24.3 percent from the field. San Diego State as a whole is making only 40.7 percent from the floor and 28.0 percent on the perimeter, but thanks to a defense that has limited opponents to only 36.4 percent from the field and 28.3 percent on the outside, that still works for the Aztecs.

The Aztecs have already shown that they are not invincible, but a team like Air Force will need everyone on the roster to be ready and willing to play mistake-free basketball if the Academy hopes to score the upset on the road.