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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. USA Soccer Shirts . Goergl, the 2011 world champion, started 28th after the other top contenders had already gone down but had the fastest time at each interval. Goergl finished the demanding 3-kilometre Kaelberloch course in 1 minute, 47. USA Soccer Jerseys 2019 . Both sides came closest to scoring in the first half, when Roma had a goal from Mattia Destro waved off for offside and Inters Rodrigo Palacio headed high. "A draw was a fair result. Neither squad had many chances," Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic said. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/ . The appointment of Boullier continues the behind-the-scenes restructuring at McLaren, who recently brought back former team principal Ron Dennis as its new chief executive. USA Soccer Store .C. -- Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe is resigning after 13 seasons at the school. USA Soccer Jerseys China . The Gatineau Olympiques head coach will lead Canada in its quest to end its gold medal drought at the 2015 world junior hockey championship held in Montreal and Toronto at the end of this year.MALMO, SWEDEN – Santa Claus paid a visit to Team Canadas Christmas Eve dinner on Tuesday evening at Örenäs Castle, about a 40-minute drive outside Malmo where this years World Junior Hockey Championship is being held. And the big guy in red came armed with gifts and scouting reports. He called up the players one at a time and offered a quick hockey-related message. "That was quite the shot you had last game," Santa bellowed when Connor McDavid was on his lap, "Shoot, shoot, shoot." WATCH: Behind the scenes at Team Canadas Christmas Eve dinner And the 16-year-old listened, putting the puck on net four times against Germany on Monday, matching Anthony Mantha and Bo Horvat for the team lead in the tournament opener, but came away empty-handed. McDavid did notch two assists in his world junior debut, but that first goal is proving elusive. "I missed a whole bunch of chances that Im pretty embarrassed about, but I thought I played an alright game," he said. WATCH: Bob McKenzie breaks down McDavids performance against Germany If theres one criticism McDavid has faced recently its that he sometimes passes up his own scoring chance to set up an even better one with a higher degree of difficulty for a teammate. Its something hes well aware of. "I know one of the big criticisms from other people is that I dont shoot the puck enough and Im always looking for the fancy play and the pass so I try and listen to that and I do try and shoot the puck as much as I can," McDavid said. "I just try and make the right play." McDavid, more often than not, makes the right play. For example, he found his way behind the Swiss defence on Monday and scored on a breakaway in Canadas final pre-tournament game. That was the goal Santa was talking about. "He sees the ice so well," said head coach Brent Sutter. "You look at that goal he got. After he scored, the guys were all looking at each other on the bench and asking, Where did he come from? He just knows how to play the game. Hes smart, intelligent and hes got great sense for the game, tremendous hockey sense and hes got the skill-set to go with it." "There was just a quick turnover," McDavid recalled, "and I saw Mantha had the puck there and everyone kind of jumped forward on their team so I just kind of took a step to the offensive side, which I shouldnt be doing too much, but it worked out, I guess." That hockey sense, that ability to know what moment to strike, thats a key reason why McDavid is seen as the slam-dunk choice to go first overall in the 2015 NHL draft. And thats why any critique of his game at this moment in time – when hes just become the sixth 16-year-old to ever make the Canadian world junior team – seems ridiculously nitpicky. "Its probably nitpicky for sure," agreed Sam Reinhart, when asked if his linemate needs to shoot more. "Hes a great player. How does he have so manny goals if he doesnt shoot? Thats my question.dddddddddddd." When he left for Canadas selection camp, McDavid was eighth in Ontario Hockey League scoring and third on the Erie Otters with 12 goals and 50 points in 31 games. He helped Canada win gold at the 2013 World Under-18 Championship, leading all scorers with eight goals and 14 points in just seven games. Reinhart and McDavid also played together at the under-18 level and formed instant chemistry. That chemistry has carried over to the under-20 level, even though McDavid has been shifted to left wing. Horvat has played between the two "youngsters" and its the one trio Sutter refused to tinker with when he juggled every other line coming off a disappointing loss to the Swedes in pre-tournament play Sunday. "Theyve probably been our most consistent line since Day 1 so thats why I wanted to keep them together," the coach explained. "Its nice," said Reinhart. "We felt like we were playing well together. Its nice when he has that confidence to keep putting us out there together." It was also a sign of just how important that line and McDavid in particular will be to the teams success. Goals may be hard to come by later in the tournament and McDavid, who also gets time on the power play, will be expected to shoulder a big part of the load. Although he doesnt see it that way. "No, I dont feel that pressure," he argued. "We have 13 unbelievably gifted forwards here that can score at any time. If its my line or any other line, it really doesnt matter to me. I dont think offence is something that we need to worry about." Sometimes its easy to forget the phenom is just 16 years-old. He was taking his driving test on the day the Canadian selection camp roster was announced. And yet his maturity suggests his mental game is just as advanced as his physical gifts. The Newmarket, Ontario native is grateful for the opportunity, but not overcome by the moment. On Thursday, he officially joined Wayne Gretzky, Eric Lindros, Jason Spezza, Jay Boumeester and Sidney Crosby as 16-year-olds to wear the Maple Leaf at the world juniors. "Its pretty special. Just to be named in the same breath as those guys is something to be pretty proud of," he said. "It was a dream come true. Its pretty special to be here, but now that were here, we know what we want to do and well take it day by day." WATCH: McDavid talks to Nabil Karim about his first ever world junior game So what will McDavid remember about his first world junior game? "Probably just the Canadian fans who made the trip. I was not expecting that at all. It was unbelievable to see. "I noticed them right away, I got chills skating out for the first little bit." Any nerves considering the stage? "Yeah, I was a little nervous," McDavid admits. "Any time you wear the Canadian jersey, there are nerves that come along with that." ' ' '