Recap: Fresno State vs. Air Force

Fresno, CA (Sports Network) - Tyler Johnson provided a huge spark off the bench with 21 points as the Fresno State Bulldogs defeated the Air Force Falcons, 56-41, in Mountain West Conference action at the Save Mart Center.

Johnson went 9-of-11 from the floor for Fresno State (10-18, 4-11 MWC), which also received 11 points from Allen Huddleston and eight rebounds from Kevin Foster. The win came after the Bulldogs lost five of their previous six games.

Mike Fitzgerald tallied 11 points for Air Force (16-11, 7-7) as it lost for the third time in four outings.

The Falcons had trouble getting anything going early on in the bout as they went 7-of-23 from the field in the opening 20 minutes of action. Fresno State took a 27-20 lead into the break despite making only 1-of-9 from 3-point range in the first half.

After hitting on only 32.4 percent of their shots from the floor before the intermission, the Bulldogs improved to convert 45.5 percent of their field goal tries in the second stanza. Air Force went 5-of-20 from the floor and missed all nine of its tries from beyond on the arc as it was unable to muster a second half comeback.

Fresno State outscored the Falcons, 30-14, in the paint and also, 14-3, in points off of turnovers to defend its home court successfully for the first time since Feb. 6.