Mountain West SDSU NCAA
Aztec Nathan Mensah. Photo credit: goaztecs.com

Another Aztec enjoyed a career-best night Tuesday as Nathan Mensah scored 18 and blocked six shots, to help San Diego State easily upend St. Mary’s, 74-49.

Mensah’s big night followed the highs recorded this month by teammates Jordan Schakel against Arizona State and Matt Mitchell against BYU.

Mensah added 13 rebounds in the win, played on a neutral court, Mott Athletics Center at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The junior forward has 12 blocks in the last three games.

The victory put San Diego State back on a winning track after their first loss of the season, at BYU’s hands. That loss dropped them out of the national polls, after two weeks in the Associated Press Top 25 and a week in the Coaches Poll.

SDSU improved to 6-1, while St. Mary’s fell to 8-2.

The Aztecs led 40-20 at the half, following a 23-4 run. That doubled up on their effort against BYU, when they only scored 20 by the break.

Terrell Gomez added 13 points, while Schakel recovered from a poor shooting day against BYU to score 12.

They also held the Gaels to 25% shooting in the first half and 31% for the game.

San Diego State isn’t set to take the court again until Jan. 2, at UNLV, as Mountain West conference play begins. UNLV though shut down team activities on Dec. 15, when it was revealed that head coach T.J. Otzelberger had tested positive for COVID-19.

If the UNLV game can’t happen, the Aztecs won’t play again until Jan. 7 at home against Nevada.

Coach Brian Dutcher wants to pick up a game in the interim, “anybody, anywhere, any place,” he said. SDSU has talked to schools on the West Coast and in the Southwest, including top-ranked Gonzaga and Baylor, in hopes of adding a non-conference contest.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported that 18 other teams, like UNLV, are not playing due to pandemic issues. That leaves their opponents, as San Diego State hopes, open to filling gaps in their schedules.

– Staff reports