San Diego State defeated New Mexico 78-71 Saturday afternoon in Viejas Arena and were assisted by what the Mountain West is now calling an “incorrect” call in the waning seconds of the game, according to a statement released late Saturday.
The call stems from an inbound violation called against New Mexico with less than 10 seconds remaining in the game that gave SDSU the ball and setup a game-tying 3-pointer from sophomore forward Malik Pope to tie the game and send it into overtime.
Referees said that the inbounding player never obtained out-of-bounds status before taking the ball, forcing the violation and turnover.
“While this was a very close judgment call made at full speed, it has been determined after careful review of slow-motion video replays the call was in fact incorrect. The New Mexico player did get one foot down (two feet are not required) out-of-bounds before receiving the ball, thus establishing his location in accordance NCAA Basketball Playing Rules 4.23.1.a and 7.1.1.,” the statement said.
The statement went on to say that according to NCAA rules the referees were not allowed to go to the replay and that the conference would have no further comment.
With the win, the Aztecs’ set a school record for best start to conference play with an 11-0 record, which also tied the conference record for best start.
The Aztecs’ next game comes at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Fresno State.