Aztecs Mountain West NCAA
Malachi Flynn in SDSU’s win over Cal Poly. Photo credit: Ernie Anderson, via goaztecs.com

San Diego State added to its great start to close the year, improving to 13-0 after beating Cal Poly 73-57 before a sold-out home crowd.

The Mustangs held tight with the undefeated Aztecs, going up by one after a 13-3 run with just under three minutes left to play in the first half.

San Diego State took over from there, and led 31-23 at the break. The Aztecs also started the second half hot, scoring 14 in the first five minutes. That extended their lead to 45-28.

Malachi Flynn topped all scorers with 14 and added seven assists. Yanni Wetzell logged eight rebounds and scored 12, as did Jordan Schakel.

Matt Mitchell electrified the crowd, though as the Aztecs took over before the end of the first half. He raced in to grab a missed three-pointer by Flynn, and slammed it home, while also being fouled.

The Aztecs rank at No. 14 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 15 in the AP Top 25. At a Friday news conference, Coach Brian Dutcher said he’d warned his players they are a target now.

“I always tell the team that the team we’re watching (on film) is not the team you are going to see,” he said. “That is one of the good things about being undefeated; we are going to see everyone’s best effort, because they want to be the one to put the first “L” on us. So, we’ll see an inspired Cal Poly team.” 

Cal Poly fell to 2-11 before the crowd of 12,414 at Viejas Arena. The Aztecs remain at home to face Mountain West opponent Fresno State at noon on New Year’s Day.

In addition, the Aztecs finished with an undefeated non-conference record for the fourth time in the 99-season history of the program. They are 2-0 in conference play on the season.

– Staff reports