Air Force Academy — Malcolm Thomas scored 20 points and Kawhi Leonard posted his 19th double-double to help sixth-ranked San Diego State outlast Air Force 70-58 Saturday and set a school record with their 27th win.
Leonard had 18 points and 15 rebounds as the Aztecs (27-1, 12-1 Mountain West) beat the Falcons (13-12, 4-8) for the seventh straight time. Thomas grabbed 13 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.
The Aztecs now get six days to prepare for seventh-ranked BYU, which handed them their only loss this season, 71-58 on Jan. 26 in Provo, Utah.
The Aztecs’ previous record for wins was set in 2008-09, when they went 26-10 and reached the NIT semifinals. Owners of the nation’s best record, San Diego State has won a school record 36 consecutive games against non-ranked opponents.
Air Force, which was beaten on the glass 50-26 and allowed 21 offensive rebounds, fell to 0-30 against top-10 opponents and 1-71 all-time against ranked teams.
Michael Lyons led the Falcons with 18 points.
The Falcons, who lost at San Diego State by 13 a month ago, made the Aztecs grind this one out until fading over the final 10 minutes.
The Falcons took a 32-31 lead at the break on Tom Fow’s dunk off a backdoor cut to the hoop in the closing seconds of the first half, halting an 8-0 run by the Aztecs, who couldn’t break free from the feisty Falcons in converting just four of 10 offensive rebounds before halftime.
Air Force came out cold in the second half, Fow’s pair of 3-pointers serving as their only points in the first eight minutes as the Aztecs began to find a rhythm and build a 44-38 lead.
With 9:52 left, Adam Brakeville was whistled for an intentional foul as Billy White had a breakaway to the basket and Brakeville’s technical foul shots made it 52-44. On the ensuing possession, Leonard sank two more freebies to make it a double-digit lead.
James Rahon’s 3-pointer was followed by a technical on Air Force’s bench and Leonard sank both foul shots after a timeout for a 61-47 advantage.
Leonard was just 4 of 14 from the floor but 9 of 10 from the free throw line.
