GAME NOTES: A pair of Mountain West Conference programs trying to get back into the win column meet at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, as the Utah State Aggies host the Air Force Falcons.

The Aggies have been sitting idle since last weekend when they were dealt a 66-60 loss by New Mexico at home, the second straight setback for the program since opening the conference slate with consecutive triumphs over San Jose State and Boise State.

In a similar situation, Air Force has also dropped back-to-back league bouts and is now just 1-3 against the rest of the MWC, compared to USU at 2-2. The Academy tallied a season-low 48 points in a 12-point setback to New Mexico on Wednesday night, marking their fourth loss in five tries.

Utah State, which leads the all-time series by a 10-3 margin, has won all but one of the last nine encounters and is undefeated in Logan after six meetings.

Without leading scorer Max Yon, out due to a strained quadriceps that has him listed as questionable for the meeting against USU, the Falcons were at a serious disadvantage against New Mexico on the road. The team shot only 34.8 percent from the floor, 6-of-22 behind the 3-point line, and came away with just 22 rebounds.

Zach Kocur tallied a team-best 12 points for the Falcons on 3-of-5 shooting behind the 3-point line, followed by Marek Olesinski who dropped in nine points, but the team failed to have a single player make more than three field goals in the matchup.

Through 16 games, which the Falcons have evenly split, Yon is the only player scoring in double figures with his 15.3 ppg, stemming from 50.6 percent shooting from the field and 42.0 percent accuracy beyond the arc. He is also first on the unit with 38 assists, so his absence will again be greatly felt if he is not healthy enough to return to the lineup. Hopefully the team will be able to again tighten up on defense as they have all along, limiting opponents to only 62.9 ppg.

The Aggies have had plenty of time to rehash the happenings of their meeting with New Mexico at home last weekend when they watched an eight-point lead in the first half turn into a nine-point deficit after the break and eventually the six-point setback. Jalen Moore tried to keep USU in contention with a team-best 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor and a perfect 5-of-5 at the free-throw line, but the rest of his teammates combined to shoot only 6- of-15 at the stripe. Julion Pearre, who was 4-of-9 at the line, added 18 points.

Moore, who has scored in double figures in all but one outing this season, has watched his scoring average jump from 5.6 ppg as a freshman in 2013-14 to 15.7 ppg this season, then again he is playing almost twice as many minutes in order to make that happen. David Collette steps up with another 12.9 ppg and Chris Smith 11.0 ppg, the duo also combining to pull down 9.0 rpg, to go along with the team-best 7.1 rpg coming from Moore.

In order to win, the Falcons need Yon to be not only back in the lineup but also playing up to his potential. Unfortunately, coming back from injury is not that easy, so expect the hosts to hold serve.