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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. Brandon Saad Jersey .Y. -- Phil Jackson lost out on his preferred coach, but hes working hard on keeping his star player. Denis Savard Jersey . -- Canadas Nicole Vandermade won the Four Winds Invitational on Sunday for her first Symetra Tour title, closing with a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke victory. http://www.officialblackhawksfanstore.com/authentic-keith-magnuson-blackhawks-jersey/ . Browns advice worked. Irving scored 20 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, and Cleveland defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 88-82 Saturday night. Irving made his first shot of the night on a layup a little over three minutes into the game. Chris Chelios Jersey . -- DeMarcus Cousins had 25 points and 16 rebounds to help the Sacramento Kings snap a seven-game losing streak by defeating the Chicago Bulls 99-70 on Monday night. Duncan Keith Jersey . -- During a players meeting following the All-Star break, Jermaine ONeal promised his teammates to play the rest of the regular season like he would never play again -- because he very well might not.HOUSTON -- Houston rookie George Springer has had a month to remember. And hes not about to let up. Springer hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh inning, and the Astros extended their winning streak to six with a 3-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Springers shot to left off Preston Guilmet (0-1) extended the rookies hitting streak to 11 games and was his seventh homer in his last seven games. The shot barely got over the left field wall. "I was screaming at it," Springer said. "I was saying Go, go, go and it went. So thank you, baseball." Springers 10 home runs in May extended his Astros rookie record and tied him for the third most long balls by a rookie in May with Jose Canseco, Wally Joyner and Walt Dropo. Mark McGwire set the rookie record for home runs in May with 15 in 1987. "What a guy," Houston manager Bo Porter said of Springer. "Its been pretty impressive. Its fun to watch. Its almost must-see TV." Springer said he was happy to help the Astros continue winning and gave a lot of credit to the man hitting before him in the lineup, Jose Altuve, who had three hits. "The guy thats on base, and its always Jose Altuve," Springer said of his late game poise. "Hes always on base, and with him on base, I understand that hes a threat. With him on base, if they miss, I have to hit it." Springer became the first Astros rookie to hit seven home runs in seven games and first Houston player to do it since Morgan Ensberg in 2006. Ensberg, however, hit his seven home runs over a six-game span. "Hes an exciting player," Porter said. "At any moment, he can change the game with one swing. It doesnt matter if hes 0 for 3 or 3 for 3, he has the ability to impact the game every time he steps into the batters box." Brad Peacock allowed a run on six hits with eight strikeouts in six innings. Peacock, who was scratched prior to his scheduled start May 24 at Seattle with forearm soreness, went six innings for the fifth straight start. Porter said it was the best Peacock had pitched all season. Peacock said it was the best he had felt all year, and he was able to locate his pitches. "I went out there, I wasnt scared," Peacock said. "I threw my fastball, the team came up with some big plays. Springer got the homer and the team got the win. Thats all you can ask for." Josh Fiellds (1-3) threw two scoreless innings for the win, and Chad Qualls pitched the ninth for his fourth save.dddddddddddd Ubaldo Jimenez allowed one run on three hits with eight strikeouts in six innings. Jimenez had struggled in his last two outings, allowing 10 runs in nine innings. "I was able to get a little bit deeper in the game and thats always good," Jimenez said. "Hopefully I get deeper than that in my next game. I felt good. I was able to be there for the team." Houston could not take capitalize with runners in scoring position, going 0 for 11 against Jimenez and finishing 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position with the lone hit being Springers home run. Nelson Cruz remained hot, extending his hit streak to 10 games with two hits, including an RBI single in the fourth that tied it at 1. The Orioles losing streak reached three games. "Its not always going to click together," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said of the Orioles inconsistency of late. "Youre hoping one part of the game is good enough to offset another and we have for the most part. I have a lot of confidence that our best baseball is ahead of us. Tonight we just didnt swing the bats well enough Ubaldo deserved a better fate." Jason Castro scored from third on a wild pitch by Jimenez in the second on a close play at the plate to make it 1-0. After a 4 minute, 25 second review, the call was upheld -- Castro was safe. Jimenez, who had loaded the bases with one out on two walks and a single before Castro scored, escaped the inning by inducing groundouts to Robbie Grossman and Jonathan Villar. NOTES: Baltimore right-hander Tommy Hunter, on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 21 with a left groin strain, has been throwing on flat ground for four days and feels good, Showalter said. ... Orioles catcher Matt Wieters, on the 15-day DL since May 11 with a right elbow strain, is expected to start doing light tossing Friday, Showalter said. ... Houston will send lefty Brett Oberholtzer to the mound Friday against Baltimore right-hander Miguel Gonzalez in the annual Major League Baseball Civil Rights Game. There was a roundtable discussion Thursday and there will be a Beacon Awards Luncheon Friday. The Astros will wear the uniform of the Houston Eagles and the Orioles will wear the uniform of the Baltimore Elite Giants of the Negro Leagues for the game. ' ' '