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SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State coach Steve Fisher thought about giving Winston Shepard a breather just past the midway mark of the second half in a close game against Air Force. It turns out the last thing the sophomore forward needed was a spot on the bench. Shepard scored 14 of his 16 points in the final 7 minutes, 14 seconds and the No. 5 Aztecs bounced back from their first loss since mid-November to beat Air Force 64-56 on Saturday night. Shepard started his hot streak by keying a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer, a slam dunk following a steal by Xavier Thames and two free throws. After the Falcons closed to 54-50 with 2:28 to go, Shepard converted a three-point play and hit two more free throws to give SDSU some breathing room. "I was having a tough night up to that point," Shepard said. "Honestly, I have to thank my teammates, X Thames, coach Fish; they stuck with me and had encouraging words for me. I just wanted to go out there and continue to help my team." Shepard made seven of nine free throws. "With the style of basketball I play, being able to handle the ball, I find myself in the paint a lot," he said. "I was taught a rule when I was young, when you get to the paint, at worst, you have to get to the free throw line. Not only that, a lot of the time tonight I wasnt handling the ball. My teammates were finding me under the basket. I have to credit my teammates with that and once again Id like to thank them for sticking with me and finding me in spots." Said Fisher: "I thought it was time for him to get a break and he made a 3 and then made a rebound or steal and we rode with him for a while and he performed. He did a nice job. "Winston is a very, very smart basketball player," Fisher added, noting that hes getting better at passing and shooting free throws. "He knows how to and has the ability to get to the rim. Hes a good player. Hes a hard guard. He played the next play. Sometimes all of us, Winston in particular, if youre not careful you worry about what just happened and all of sudden something negative happens on the next trip. Hes much, much better on that front, and thats allowed him to grow." Thames and Dwayne Polee II each scored 13 points for SDSU (22-2, 11-1 Mountain West), which had its 20-game winning streak snapped Tuesday night at Wyoming. It was SDSUs first loss since a 69-60 home defeat to Arizona on Nov. 14. Josh Davis had 10 rebounds. Max Yon scored 20 and Kamryn Williams 12 for Air Force (10-14, 4-9). The Falcons leading scorer, Tre Coggins, was held to nine points, nearly seven below his average. "They were really on him," coach Dave Pilipovich said of the Aztecs play on Coggins. "They were there on the catch and they are so long with their extra length and size that he couldnt create a little space to create an advantage there." Coggins had 29 points in a 79-72 home loss to the Aztecs on Jan. 13. "Trey had an off night, so somebody had to step up," Yon said. "So Kam Williams and I took over the scoring a little bit, but it just wasnt our night. "I think we handled their pressure better this time around, but they are long. We did a good job rebounding. But being in this environment, with them at home, is an advantage for them. But we are right there and can play with anybody with the way we battled." With the game tied at 28 four minutes into the second half, Thames made consecutive 3-pointers and Polee had a tip-in and then a slam dunk on an alley-oop pass from Shepard to give the Aztecs a 38-28 lead. Air Force closed to 44-40 on Yons three-point play and a reverse layup by DeLovell Earls sandwiched around a 3-pointer by SDSUs Aqeel Quinn. Shepard then came on strong for SDSU during a 9-0 run that gave the Aztecs a 53-40 lead with 5:20 left. Shepard had a 3-pointer, a slam dunk after a steal and pass by Thames and two free throws. JJ OBrien had a bank shot. San Diego State led 24-23 at halftime after scoring 12 of the final 18 points. Drew Robinson Jersey . - A lot of scenarios ran through Terrell Suggs head when the Baltimore linebacker prepared to face the Pittsburgh Steelers. Cole Hamels Jersey . Last year, Islanders forward Colin Mcdonald released a "Do It For Colin" campaign to promote his teammate and friend John Tavares for the EA sports honour:The most popular sports voting video ever has to go to Chris Bosh who showcased his comedic abilities in his effort to get fans to vote him into the 2008 All Star Game:You can vote for TJ and other star players for the NHL 15 cover vote here. http://www.officialrangersgearshop.com/R...ar-Kids-Jersey/. The NFLs Defensive Rookie of the Year will be named at the NFL Honours Award show on February 1. The 23-year-old 2013 second-rounder out of Oregon becomes the third Bills linebacker to win the honour after Jim Haslett (1979) and Shane Conlan (1987. Matt Moore Jersey . "Win basketball games," Collins said. He will get at least a few more chances. Collins played the final minutes of a winning home debut with the Brooklyn Nets, who cooled off the Chicago Bulls with a 96-80 victory Monday night. Ferguson Jenkins Jersey . He had even more fun Friday. Coming off a sensational rookie season, Spieth opened the new year by never coming close to bogey and making a 12-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 7-under 66.NEW YORK -- Carmelo Anthony kept losing the ball all night long, and now the New York Knicks have lost their hold on eighth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Anthony committed nine turnovers and Bradley Beal made another big shot at Madison Square Garden, a go-ahead jumper over Tyson Chandler with 6.9 seconds left as the Washington Wizards beat the Knicks 90-89 on Friday night. Beals jumper quieted the Garden crowd just as he did back on Dec. 16, when he beat the Knicks for a go-ahead layup. "Its pretty cool, I guess", Washingtons second-year guard said. "For them to go silent, thats kind of, Wow." John Wall, who added 19 points, combined with Beal for Washingtons final 12 to dampen New Yorks playoffs hopes. Anthony was favouring an ailing right shoulder he said he initially banged up during the win against Brooklyn on Wednesday. He felt it go out during the first half but decided to keep playing. He lost control of the ball as he tried to go left into the lane on New Yorks last possession, but J.R. Smith, who as of late has recaptured the form that earned him last years Sixth Man of the Year award, recovered it but missed a potential winning 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left. Smith finished with a season-high 32 points. "I felt like I lost the ball," Anthony said. "It was a tough loss, man. I wish I could have did better and played better. For the most part I thought my teammates did what they had to do. J.R. had a phenomenal game. I wish I could have rewarded that." The Knicks announced after the game that Anthony strained his right shoulder but X-rays were negative. He said he expects to play Sunday against the Miami Heat. New York dropped out of the final playoff position just two nights after moving into it by beating the Nets. Struggling Atlanta went back ahead by one game after beating the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier Friday. Smith would have liked to have had the chance to take the initial shot. "Yeah, no matteer who that is, I always want the last shot.dddddddddddd Its something Ive never been shy about", Smith said. Anthony, held to 10 points, made a jumper to cut the Wizards lead to 88-86 lead with 1:33 remaining. After Wall missed a long shot in front of the arc at the top of the key, Anthony tried to connect with Tim Hardaway Jr., who was open near the Washington bench for a 3, but Martell Webster intercepted Anthonys pass. The Knicks got the ball back after Wall lost control of it as he drove to the basket. With 33.5 seconds left, Anthony then found an open Raymond Felton for a 3-pointer to give the Knicks an 89-86 lead, but Beal answered with his jumper over Chandler, who had come out to help. It was the second straight win for Washington, which clinched its first playoff since 2008 on Wednesday. "Our defence was pretty good but Trevors (Ariza) defence on Carmelo was outstanding", Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "Trevor fought and fought him. At the end we decided to trap him and make someone else beat us." The Knicks couldnt and now they will face a tough challenge Sunday when they travel to face the Miami Heat, who have already beaten them twice this season. The Knicks have five remaining games, three on the road, against three teams that are all playoff-bound in the East. New York cant afford to have its leading scorer out. "Well I knew it was bothering him, but you know weve got to have Melo on the floor," Woodson said. "Again, it was a hard-fought game. Our guys came up defeated, so now we have to figure out how were going to get it back because ... Atlanta won tonight." Notes: Former Buffalo Bills quarterback and Hall of Famer Jim Kelly attended the game with his family. Kelly, who is battling his second bought with cancer, will undergo treatment next week at a hospital in the city. ... Before the game, the Knicks honoured Anthony with a plaque to celebrate his 62-point, Madison Square Garden record, set Jan. 24. ' ' '