A game removed from clawing back their way back atop the Mountain West, the San Diego State Aztecs are now faced that the top spot may slip out of their hands after an 81-76 loss to New Mexico on Saturday afternoon at The Pit.
With the game played on a knife’s edge in the second half, where neither side were able to build more than a two possession lead, the Aztecs (19-9, 13-5 Mountain West) inability to limit the Lobos (22-7, 13-5) on the offensive glass played a key role. UNM turned a 14-7 edge in offensive boards into a 16-7 second chance scoring edge.
Miles Byrd scored 11 of his SDSU-high 17 points in the second half, one of four players in double figures. But Tomislav Buljan scored 14 of his 24 points and grabbed 10 of his 18 rebounds (nine total on offense) in the second half, as New Mexico made 25 of 36 at the free throw line to SDSU’s 13 of 22 for the game.
A critical moment came with 30 seconds remaining, after Tae Simmons made a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 1 point. Simmons and Elzie Harrington trapped Uriah Tennette in the left corner back court and the ball went out of bounds, seemingly off the New Mexico guard’s right hand.
Head coach Brian Dutcher called for a review, but after several minutes the call on the court was determined to stand by the officiating crew.
From there the Lobos would score the final five points of the game, all on the free-throw line.
So now, SDSU and New Mexico await the result of the Grand Canyon at Utah State game later Saturday night to find out whether it will be a three-way tie atop the Mountain West, or if the Aggies will go back ahead by a game with two remaining.
The Aztecs had a shot to take the lead after Byrd trimmed the deficit to one with just under four minutes remaining after the Lobos had taken their largest lead of the second half at 6 points on a Buljan score, But Reese Dixon-Waters missed a reverse layup, slashing from the right wing across the lane and on the ensuing runout Tennette was left alone in the left corner for a key 3-pointer.
SDSU had led for just over half the game and for much of the first five minutes of the second stanza, as there were three lead changes and six ties in the final 20.
A Pharaoh Compton transition dunk with 14:13 remaining was the last time the Scarlet and Black led, and Byrd’s 3 with a minute remaining was the last time the teams were tied, as the Lobos responded with a Luke Haupt triple.
Downtown shooting played a big part in the Aztecs first half success.
Sean Newman Jr. knocked down a triple just after five minutes played that kicked off the first run of the afternoon for the Scarlet and Black. The 10-0 burst included a pair of Magoon Gawth scores, with one being a jam, as well as the first of multiple 3-pointers off the bench by BJ Davis.
Davis, who saw his shooting percentage dip nearly 6% below his season average over the seven games he started at point guard with Harrington injured, was efficient off the bench in the opening half.
He finished with three from beyond the arc in the opening half, as well as leaking ahead of an uncontested layup off a free throw miss near the midway mark. Both Davis, and then Reese Dixon-Waters hit depth charges on possessions sandwiching a Harrington jumper that gave SDSU their biggest lead of the half at 11 points.
Davis scored all 11 of his points in the first half.
But New Mexico dashed off a 7-0 run, with three free throws from Tennette, and then back-to-back paint buckets by Buljan. On the first, he appeared to get away with a travel that went uncalled, then SDSU turned the ball over on a travel on the ensuing possession to set up his second score.
With The Pit crowd roaring, Byrd knocked down a deep left wing three and then Davis made another from beyond with 1:44 remaining. But the Lobos got 3’s from Antonio Chol and Haupt for their final two scores of the half to make it 37-36 SDSU at the break.
Gwath finished with 11 points, three rebounds and two blocks in 22 minutes, while Harrington added 10 points.
San Diego State’s final regular season road game is at Extra Mile Arena in Boise, facing a Boise State team battling for conference tournament seeding in the middle of the bracket. The two sides played a memorable triple-overtime game earlier this season at Viejas Arena that SDSU won 110-107.
Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3 and will be televised on CBS Sports Network, with a local radio broadcast available on 760 AM.