Air Force had plenty of energy this time. But not nearly enough baskets or clutch plays down the stretch.

The Falcons scored just four points and had no field goals in the last 7 minutes Tuesday night and lost to Colorado State 51-47 in front of an announced crowd of 1,709 at Clune Arena.

Just three days after playing with “no energy,” according to coach Jeff Reynolds, in a home loss to TCU, the Falcons scrambled onto the floor for loose balls, bravely took charges and battled in the lane for rebounds.

But they shot just 4-of-22 in the second half and could not come up with a bucket late.

“I thought we played hard,” Reynolds said. “But in this league, playing hard’s not good enough.”

Air Force fell to 9-14 and 1-9 in Mountain West Conference play. In the past two seasons, the Falcons have lost 26 of 28 games against league foes.

Colorado State, meanwhile, seems to have learned how to win in coach Tim Miles’ third season. The Rams(15-9, 6-4) have won three straight and four of five.

Air Force made 43.5 percent of its shots in the first half and led by seven at halftime. The Falcons had a 38-32 lead with 13:07 left after freshman Todd Fletcher drained a 3-pointer from several feet behind the arc at the top of the key, just beating the shot clock.

The Rams, however, chipped away at the lead as the Falcons went cold. After Fletcher’s 3, Air Force made just one field goal — when junior guard Evan Washington tipped in his own miss with 7:01 left to give Air Force a 43-39 lead.

Colorado State answered Washington’s basket with a 3-pointer by freshman guard Dorian Green. And after Washington missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity, the Rams’ Travis Franklin hit two free throws to give Colorado State a 44-43 advantage.

The Rams were up 50-47 after a pair of free throws by Green, and Air Force came up empty on three straight possessions down three points. The last came after Air Force got a stop and called timeout with 27.3 seconds left.

Reynolds said he wanted his players to try to drive the ball and get a quick basket but his players, including three freshmen, “went a little brain dead.” They settled for a contested 3-pointer by Washington that missed the mark.

Air Force forward Taylor Broekhuis (34) and Colorado State forwards Greg Smith (44) and Andy Ogide (32) fought for a loose ball in the second half. Photo by KEVIN KRECK, THE GAZETTE