AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Air Force center Keith Maren had some senior moments Saturday afternoon at Clune Arena. But when fitting his play into the big picture, it was for all ages.
On senior day, Maren played the part with two big plays in the second half as the Falcons closed out the regular season with a 46-43 Mountain West Conference victory over San Diego State.
The Falcons (16-13, 8-8), who finished tied for fifth in the MWC standings, and Aztecs (19-11, 9-7) won’t have much time to forget each other. They meet in the first round of the conference tournament at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in Las Vegas. The Falcons haven’t won an MWC Tournament game in eight previous tries.
It was Maren’s steal and court-long dash for a layup with 9:34 left in the game that put some starch back into his team’s game and got the crowd of 3,649 back into it.
Maren’s points were his first of the game and ended a 3:24 scoring drought by the Falcons to give them a 35-30 lead. He finished with another field goal with 5:52 left and then saved the day by knocking away San Diego State’s inbounds pass with a second to play and the Falcons leading by three points. Maren tied his career high with three steals.
“Hustle plays in general — all the ones we had today — picked up our team,” Maren said. “For me on offense, I go in droughts. On the last play, I saw Amoroso’s (San Diego State forward Ryan Amoroso) eyes get big and I just jumped up in front of him and knocked the ball away.”
The defensive play at the end was the stopper in a hectic final 2:49 as the Falcons nursed their lead.
Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds started his four seniors: Maren, guard Tim Anderson, forward Eric Kenzik and guard Adam Hood. After the game, Reynolds saluted the four for their efforts in keeping Air Force’s recent winning ways (five consecutive winning seasons) going.
“Our seniors didn’t want to lose this game,” Reynolds said. “We wanted to finish higher in the league than people expected. Our seniors and our team took a step forward today by doing that.”
SAN DIEGO STATE (19-11, 9-7 MWC)
Wade 1-8 4-6 6, White 1-3 0-2 2, Amoroso 3-8 2-2 8, Williams 1-8 1-2 4, Gay 6-11 0-2 17, Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Pastorek 0-0 2-2 2, Thomas 1-1 0-0 2, Davis 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 14-41 9-18 43.
AIR FORCE (16-13, 8-8)
Kenzik 1-2 2-2 4, Johnson 3-7 1-4 7, Maren 2-5 1-1 6, Anderson 3-7 4-6 11, Hood 0-1 0-1 0, Henke 2-7 1-3 7, Holland 1-2 2-2 5, Washington 2-4 2-3 6. Totals 14-35 13-22 46.
Halftime — Air Force 27-18. 3-point goals —San Diego State 6-18 (Gay 5-10, Williams 1-4, Davis 0-1, Wade 0-3); Air Force 5-15 (Henke 2-5, Holland 1-1, Anderson 1-1, Maren 1-4, Washington 0-2, Johnson 0-2). Fouled out —Henke. Rebounds — San Diego State 31 (Amoroso 9), Air Force 26 (Washington 5). Assists — San Diego State 12 (Williams 6), Air Force 9 (Washington 3). Total fouls —San Diego State 19, Air Force 14. A — 3,649.
