Boise State hammers Air Force for third straight Mountain West victory

The Boise State men’s basketball team extended its winning streak to three games on Saturday with a dominant 96-54 Mountain West home victory over Air Force.

Drew Fielder led the Broncos (12-8, 4-5) with 20 points and eight rebounds.

Boise State finished 33 of 58 (57 percent) from the floor and 12 of 23 (52 percent) from three-point range.

Here are three takeaways from the Broncos’ blowout win over the Falcons (3-17, 0-9).

Spencer Ahrens lights it up

Spencer Ahrens is becoming a key piece of Boise State’s rotation as a true freshman.

Ahrens, rated a four-star prospect and the nation’s No. 121 overall recruit by On3, led the Broncos’ bench mob with 18 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Ahrens had 14 points in the first half, going 4 of 5 from beyond the arc.

It was Ahrens’ sixth double-figure scoring game of the season and one point off his career-high.

The 6-foot-10 Ahrens has been up-and-down during MWC play, but the versatile forward can impact the game with his shooting and playmaking. He was a matchup nightmare for an Air Force team in search of answers at both ends of the court.

Another slow start for Broncos

In what’s become a pattern to the dismay of head coach Leon Rice, Boise State once again got off to a poor start against Air Force.

Wesley Celichowski and Lucas Hobin both drained early three-pointers, staking the Falcons to an 8-5 lead. A Josh Gatete triple made it an 11-9 game after the first media timeout.

The Broncos roared back to seize a 48-29 halftime lead and won going away.

Sluggish starts have become a trend for the Broncos, who fell behind early in losses to Grand Canyon, Nevada, San Diego State and Utah State. Boise State also had to come back from first-half deficits in victories over New Mexico and Wyoming.

Rice has been unable to solve the problem over the first half of MWC play.

Falcons threatening history

The Air Force men’s basketball program has fallen off a cliff in the new world of college sports.

The Falcons, who have now lost 13 straight games after Saturday’s result, dropped to 0-3 under interim head coach Jon Jordan. Last weekend, Air Force placed head coach Joe Scott on indefinite suspension pending a player treatment investigation.

Scott coached the Falcons to a 2004 NCAA Tournament appearance but has compiled a 46-120 record since returning to Colorado Springs for the 2020-21 season. Air Force went 4-28 (1-19 MWC) last year and is on track to become the first program to go winless in MWC play since San Jose State in 2014-15.

As service academies aren’t allowed to sign athletes from the transfer portal or pay NIL money, Air Force men’s basketball faces a murky future.