San Diego State men snatch win at Boise State in conference clash

The San Diego State Aztecs (9-3, 2-1 Mountain West Conference) took on the Boise State Broncos (11-4, 3-1) in a Mountain West clash, where the Aztecs won, 76-68 at ExtraMile Arena.

Coming into the game, Boise State had won six of their last seven matchups. Aztecs head coach Brian Dutcher rolled out a starting lineup of Magoon Gwath, Nick Boyd, BJ Davis, Miles Byrd, and Jared Coleman-Jones.

Both teams are conference powerhouses, so unsurprisingly the game had a playoff intensity.

8 minutes into the first half saw the Broncos up 16-12. In the following minutes, the Aztecs were able to go on a 16-12 run of their own, to tie the game at 28-all with just over 3 minutes left in the first half.

Byrd had a great first half, he headed into the locker room with 14 points, and San Diego State with the lead 33-32.

The Aztecs were able to hold the Broncos to just 20% from beyond the arc. What was keeping Boise in the game, and consequently not allowing the Aztecs to pull away, was their overall field goal attempts and percentages.

San Diego State took more shots in the first half, but on lower efficiency (12 of 31, good for just under 39%). Where as Boise State took less shots, but on higher efficiency (10 of 23, sitting at 43.5%).

Byrd continued his brilliance by hitting a wing 3-pointer to open up the second half. Postgame, he said, “Great minutes from Taj (DeGourville) today, he’s one of the best passers I’ve ever seen.”

A lob to Gwath from Byrd gave the Aztecs a 47-41 lead with 14 minutes left in the game.

A 6-0 run by Boise State tied the game, but Miles Heide was able to make a layup to regain control for San Diego State.

A 9-4 run by the Aztecs saw them up 58-52 with under 8 minutes to play. Wayne McKinney III started to heat up for them as well, scoring a 3-pointer along with a mid-range jumper to cap off that run.

Boise’s Alvaro Cardenas responded with 5 points of his own, but once again on a few layups by San Diego State, they maintained a 62-57 lead.

With the game stagnant at 67-59, the Aztecs had Boise in a 5 minute field goal drought, typical of their noteworthy defense.

As the game winded down, it really came to fouling and free throws. Boise made both, but the Aztecs still led 69-63, not trying to make the same mistake they made against Utah State.

“Losing at home to Utah State was really tough. They’re a great team obviously, but you’re chasing behind already. So to come out and get a win on the road, against a team who’s beaten us five out of six, it made up for some of that,” said Dutcher after the win.

Boyd got to the line and hit both, then Boise came and hit a 3-pointer. The Aztecs then proceeded to turn over the ball, resulting in a scare for San Diego State, whose lead fell to 73-68.

Once again, Boise sent the Aztecs to the line, only it was Byrd this time, who went 1 of 2. The Broncos started chucking 3-pointers, and to the Aztecs luck, weren’t hitting at a high percentage.

After all was said and done, with the Aztecs at the line and Broncos attempting their comeback, the buzzer sounded and San Diego State came out with the win.

“I think the key to the game was fast break baskets. The fast break is what usually separates the game, and we had some layups and run-outs,” said Dutcher. 

Byrd finished with a career-high 22 points on an efficient afternoon, going 8-15 and hitting 3-6 from beyond the arc.

“I think all of it is to trust the process, I’ve been here three years now. I know the way the coaches trust me, so why not trust myself that way as well.” Byrd continued, “I’m a really confident shooter now, whether catch and shoot or off the dribble. But I’m also a guy who knows how to do other stuff on the floor as well.”

San Diego State’s bench scored 34 points, and Dutcher had to note on it. “(The bench) all gave us valuable minutes. We have a deep team, a talented team. But we foul too much. I love my team, I think we’ll continue to get better as time goes on.”

Next up for San Diego State is on January 8, where they take on Air Force. They’ll be at home, so the game is at Viejas Arena. Tip-off will be 7:30 p.m.