Ninth-seeded Air Force upends Colorado State in MWC opener

Four players scored in double digits to give Air Force its first conference win of the year as it beat Colorado State 71-67 on Wednesday in the opening round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The ninth-seeded Falcons (10-20) move on to face the top seed, No. 25 Brigham Young, in the tournament's quarterfinals today.

Andrew Henke and Evan Washington each scored 18 points for Air Force, Anwar Johnson had 15 and Grant Parker 12.

Washington's 3-pointer with about 11 minutes left was part of a 16-5 Air Force run that gave the Falcons their first lead since the opening bucket.

The eighth-seeded Rams (9-22) pulled to within a point three times after that but were unable to retake the lead.

Marcus Walker led Colorado State with 20 points.

Colorado State led 33-30 at halftime despite Air Force shooting 61.9 percent from the floor (13 of 21).