Air Force hasn’t had much to celebrate on senior night in recent years. The Falcons’ 61-42 loss to San Diego State on Saturday marked the third time in four years they lost their final home regular season game.

Grant Parker had a particularly difficult final game at Clune. The Falcons’ leading scorer missed all six of his shots from the floor in the first half and finished with just four points on 2-of-10 shooting.

Mike McLain was the only senior with a night to remember. The center scored 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting from the floor.

Bench provides boost

Three reserves helped give Air Force a lift in the second half.

With sophomore point guard Shawn Hempsey running the Falcons’ offense, junior forwards Derek Brooks and Tom Fow combined to score 12 points in a stretch of just over five minutes to help the Falcons cut San Diego State’s lead to 39-30.

“They certainly gave us some energy tonight,” Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said. “I thought when they came in the game we got a little juice.”

PT for the manager

San Diego State had just nine players in uniform on Saturday – and one was former manager Ben Kneller. A four-year manager for the Aztecs, Kneller was forced into service before San Diego State’s game earlier in the week against Colorado State because of injuries to other players. He entered with 1:38 left and missed both his shots.

Etc.

Air Force freshman guard Michael Lyons missed all three of his 3-point attempts, continuing a slump. He is now 1-of-19 from beyond the 3-point arc in his last five games. … Air Force scored 14 points in the first half – the fewest in a half this season.

Mike McLain scored 10 points Saturday night in his final game at Clune Arena. Photo by CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE