Martinez scores 21 to help No. 22 Utah State top Air Force 72-60

LOGAN, Utah (AP) — Ian Martinez scored 21 points to lead No. 22 Utah State to a 72-60 victory over Air Force on Friday night.

Mason Falslev added 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists to help the Aggies (24-5, 12-4 Mountain West) win their third straight game.

Ethan Taylor led Air Force with 15 points. Rytis Petraitis chipped in 14 points and Beau Becker added 12 for the Falcons (9-19, 2-14) ,who lost for the ninth time in 10 games.

Utah State made six straight baskets and scored on eight consecutive possessions overall to build a 34-19 lead late in the first half. Martinez led the charge with two baskets and a pair of free throws during that decisive stretch.

Air Force trimmed the deficit to single digits after halftime, cutting Utah State’s lead to 56-48 with 12:14 left after Taylor and Becker knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers

That’s as close as Air Force got before the Aggies pulled away again. The Falcons endured a seven-minute scoring drought, opening the door for Utah State push its lead back to double digits.

Javon Jackson’s fastbreak layup capped an 11-0 run that gave the Aggies a 67-48 lead with 5:27 remaining.

BIG PICTURE

Air Force has never won a road game against a ranked opponent and fell to 4-91 all-time against ranked teams.

Utah State led wire to wire while taking another step closer to clinching a share of the Mountain West Conference regular season title.

UP NEXT

Air Force visits Wyoming on Tuesday.

Utah State visits San Jose State on Wednesday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball