Walker lifts Air Force past Fresno St. 77-70 in MWC tourney

A.J. Walker had a career-high 24 points as Air Force topped Fresno State 77-70 in the first round of the Mountain West Conference tournament Wednesday.

The No. 9 seed Falcons plays top-seeded and fifth-ranked San Diego State the quarterfinals Thursday. The Aztecs won the only regular-season matchup between the teams 89-74.

Walker made 5 of 7 from 3-point range. Lavelle Scottie added 21 points and Ryan Swan scored 12 for Air Force (12-19).

New Williams made six 3-pointers and finished with 21 points for the Bulldogs (11-19). Nate Grimes added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Noah Blackwell and Niven Hart each scored 13 points as well.

Grimes hit a 3-pointer to give Fresno State a 66-64 lead with 4:33 to play but the Bulldogs shot just 1 of 8 from there as Air Forced scored 13 of the final 17 points.